Treaties chief Rolph Payet urges pollution action at Armenia summit

In an interview published on October 29 by Armenpress, Rolph Payet said his participation in Armenia’s COP17 biodiversity conference aims to connect nature protection with chemicals and waste management. Payet, executive secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm environmental conventions, said countries cannot fully implement global biodiversity goals without addressing pollution. The interview is the sole source for Payet’s statements in this article.

COP17 is the 17th meeting of countries party to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The UN Environment Programme lists the Yerevan conference for October 19–30, with the aim of assessing progress, strengthening cooperation and accelerating action to protect biodiversity—the variety of living things.

The work follows the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on December 19, 2022. Its 23 targets aim to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

Payet brings experience in national environmental policy: he served as Seychelles' environment and energy minister from 2012 to 2014.

Armenia’s hazardous-waste constraints

Payet said Armenia’s landlocked position makes it difficult to transport hazardous waste out of the country and address chemicals-related problems. He linked the need to generate less waste to countries' reluctance to have hazardous waste transported across their borders.

He identified two priorities for cooperation: finding environmentally sound ways to dispose of or destroy expired chemicals, and reducing the amount of waste generated. He pledged support for Armenia’s government to make chemicals management more effective.

How the three treaties connect to wildlife

Payet said protecting biodiversity requires attention to consumption, production and pollution as well as nature conservation. He described distinct roles for the three conventions:

• The Basel Convention regulates waste movements across borders. Payet said its work helps reduce illegal disposal of plastic waste, including into oceans, where animals can swallow plastic or become entangled in it.
• The Rotterdam Convention enables countries to exchange information, particularly about agricultural pesticides that can harm wildlife. Payet said better pesticide and chemicals management can reduce those effects.
• The Stockholm Convention addresses persistent organic pollutants—chemicals that remain in the environment and build up in living organisms. Payet said they can travel thousands of kilometres and affect health, reproduction and other biological processes. The convention provides for restrictions, prohibitions and gradual elimination of these chemicals.

Payet pledges continued cooperation

Payet promised continued cooperation but did not announce a funded programme or signed agreement, or specify projects, deadlines or measurable commitments. He said the Secretariat would keep working with Armenia’s government and residents to identify solutions that reduce the effects of chemicals and waste on the country’s territory, people and wildlife.

COP17 is scheduled to close on October 30.