Gender dimensions of chemicals and waste policies in Bolivia

Between 2019 and 2021, WECF and its partners in Bolivia (Reaccion Climatica) studied the gender impacts of hazardous chemicals, on request of UN Environment, secretariat of the chemicals conventions (Basel Rotterdam Stockholm).

Scoping studies were carried out in 2019, with a focus on the implementation of the International Chemicals Conventions, the Basel Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. Multistakeholder dialogue sessions with civil society, governments and the private sector were organised in La Paz. The project partners visited numerous hotspots of chemical pollution such as the illegal waste dumpsites near the capital, as well as a natural park where small-scale gold mining exploration happens, using toxic mercury.

The results of the scoping studies were discussed with different authorities and stakeholders, and recommendations for gender-responsive measures to reduce chemical pollution were formulated and introduced. The recommendations were presented at the United Nations in Geneva, during the Conference of Parties of the BRS Conventions, as well as at the United Nations in New York, during the High-Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals.

The project is financially supported by UN Environment.