Executive Summary 

In May 2001 representatives from a number of countries including Brazil met in Sweden and adopted the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants as an international legally binding instrument.

Such instrument was firstly discussed in 1997 when the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), through Resolution 19/13C, recommended the creation of an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee – INC to discuss the global issue of the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

In 1998 it was created the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) with the purpose to search for the elimination of the persistent organic pollutants and follow the intergovernmental discussions in the scope of the UNEP.  The Association of Combat against POPs (ACPO) was one of the first entities to subscribe the IPEN platform.

  The Stockholm Convention was approved by the National Congress on May 7^th 2004 when the Federal Senate issued the Legislative Decree no. 204/04, promulgated by the Executive Power through the Decree no. 5.472 of July 20^th 2005.

On May 1^st 2004 IPEN launched a global project to structure NGOs and follow the next stage of the convention, i.e., the implementation of the terms thereof in all the signatory countries.  Such project named as International POPs Elimination Project - IPEP is executed in partnership with UNIDO and UNEP, having GEF as its financial supporter. 

As a part of the national efforts, Brazil is carrying out the Project GED ID 2096 - Status PDF-B” since 2005, which is a pre-project for the Brazilian National Implementation Plan (NIP-POPs). The follow-up work of Conventions, including the Stockholm Convention on POPs, is also made by the National Council of Chemical Security (CONASQ), in which the Civil Society participates together with other stakeholders.

In such context the Civil Society, that is observing the Convention since its birth, prepared and organized the Seminar Mobilizing Brazilian Civil Society for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention with the main purpose to discuss, organize and deliver contributions of the civil society to the Brazil National Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention on POPs.

As the final product of the Civil Society’s efforts, we are delivering this Report that briefly describes the Brazilian scenario, reports the activities of the Seminar and its conclusions, gives a list of participants and features the different sponsors, and also includes a view of the Civil Society participation in preparatory Seminars carried out by the Ministry of Environment for the elaboration of the Brazilian NIP-POPs.