Project Reports

DISHA conducted an overall awareness and education campaign to educate local hospital employees and high school science students about the proper handling of mercury. With direct collaboration from local government environmental agencies, a series of trainings and workshops educated individuals about the dangers of mercury, the proper way to handle mercury in case of a spill, and how to reduce mercury use by using alternative equipment. Educational print media was developed and tailored for each of the target audiences.

Continuing their research on highly toxic pesticide use in North Sumatra and Central Java, Gita Pertiwi conducted an overall assessment of the current pesticide situation. This assessment used survey, interview, and observation methods to document the types of pesticides currently in use, how they are used, and the health effects on those using them. In addition, Gita Pertiwi also conducted market research exploring the advertising and selling practices of distributors and local vendors of pesticides.

For this project, Association pour la Recherche et la Formation en Agro-écologie (ARFA) conducted field demonstrations for farmers in Burkina Faso on the effectiveness of the fungus Trichoderma as a way to move away from the use of highly hazardous pesticides. Additionally, they shared information on the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO's) International Code of Conduct concerning the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, and distributed various information materials about non-hazardous pest control.

As a second phase of their e-waste project, CES in Belarus initiated a pilot program on e-waste management in which battery collection containers were provided throughout Minsk. In conjunction, a media awareness campaign about the environmental effects of improper battery disposal and e-waste featured posters, leaflets, brochures, and a mobile exhibition. Additionally, news media and other NGOs were provided with information to help educate the public, including a series of interviews and information e-newsletters.

Baytuna Society conducted a number of activities to properly understand the current situation and dangers associated with mercury contamination in Jordan. These activities included a review of all legislation governing mercury, literature review of all research studies conducted in the country, informational interviews with government officials, and the staging of events targeting relevant stakeholders to ascertain levels of understanding about the issue.

Recognizing the lack of legislation or policy related to waste management in Lebanon, AMWAJ led an on-the-ground and media campaign to create awareness and engage the general public, local and national government officials, and the tourism industry about the environmental and human health issues stemming from uncontrolled dumping. Using the Saida Waste Dump as a focal point for their continuous campaigning, AMWAJ brokered a meeting with local and national government officials to discuss how to eliminate the dump and replace it with a community garden.

To determine whether toys sold in Tunisia contain high levels of dangerous heavy metals, Association pour la Protection de l'Environnement et Developpement Durable de Bizerte (APEDDUB) had samples of 24 toys commonly found in schools and markets in the city of Bizarte analyzed. Results showed that most toys contained heavy metals. In addition, although both non-Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) and PVC made toys contained high levels of lead and cadmium, toys made with PVC have significantly higher levels of these heavy metals and therefore are far more toxic.

In an effort to increase public awareness and education about the invisible dangers of toxics, Toxisphera built a website to enable citizens to post information about chemicals and reach a wider audience. This interactive website also allowed other networks and websites to share articles and publications informing the public about emerging themes of SAICM as well as the Stockholm Convention on POPs, domestic chemical prevention projects, and mercury related issues.

Alianza por una Mejor Calidad de Vida organized a series of workshops and staged a media campaign with a national TV network to create public awareness about the dangers of pesticides in food. This included developing brochures tailored to the communities most affected by the use hazardous pesticides. An expose of pesticide poisoning cases of rural and seasonal female workers was also shared with the public. In addition, they worked closely with a prominent member of the National Congress to introduce legislation that would phase out the most hazardous and highly toxic pesticides.