20 May 2015 – The Philippines was among those recognized as a “BRS Practitioner” in the Conference of Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, being held in Geneva from May 04 to 15.

The “BRS Practitioner” is a recognition given by the BRS Secretariat to delegates who have participated in past and present meetings of the Conferences, benefited from the technical assistance activities conducted by the Secretariat in the form of workshops, webinars and other projects, and subsequently applied the technical knowledge in their jobs.

Mr. Geri-Geronimo Sañez, Chief of Hazardous Waste Management Section of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), received the award. He explained that the technical assistance activities had helped him revise or reformulate standards, prepare national technical guidelines and strengthen enforcement and compliance activities.

Other winners included Jamaica, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya.

The Basel Convention regulates the movements of hazardous wastes. Meanwhile, the Rotterdam Convention covers pesticides and industrial chemicals while the Stockholm Convention deals with persistent organic pollutants. END