This project strengthens the capacity of customs and regulatory agencies across 12 Caribbean countries to identify and manage the trade of hazardous chemicals.
This regional initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of customs and regulatory agencies across 12 Caribbean countries (Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, The Dominican Republic, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago) to identify and manage the trade of hazardous chemicals. The project supports the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements and promotes regional cooperation to reduce environmental and human health risks.
Small island developing states in the Caribbean face growing challenges in controlling the illegal or unsafe trade of products containing hazardous chemicals. These include persistent organic pollutants, mercury, and highly hazardous pesticides, all of which pose serious threats to human health and ecosystems.
In many countries, limited institutional coordination, inadequate enforcement mechanisms, and weak data systems hinder effective border control. There is often a lack of formal mechanisms for communication between agencies, and customs officials may not be adequately trained or equipped to identify hazardous imports. Most nations also lack clear legal frameworks for labelling and screening of chemical products.
To address these issues, the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean) is leading a comprehensive project to enhance institutional and technical capacities across the region.
This project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) under the Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-Chemical Development in Small Island Developing States (ISLANDS) Programme, focuses on 12 Caribbean countries and aims to:
• Assess national capacities for identifying hazardous chemical imports and managing their trade, through stakeholder consultations and desktop reviews.
• Develop national and regional reports summarizing current practices, gaps, and country-specific needs.
• Create standardized pre-screening and inspection guidelines for customs and affiliated agencies, tailored to persistent organic pollutants, mercury, and highly hazardous pesticides.
• Design and implement a regional training programme, aimed at building capacity among customs, pesticide inspectors, and regulatory authorities.
• Pilot the new tools in selected countries, including on-the-ground training and testing using X-ray fluorescence devices to detect mercury-containing products.
• Integrate training materials into a "Digital Learning Hub" to ensure long-term sustainability and regional knowledge sharing.
The project also emphasizes gender balance, local participation, and compliance with multilateral environmental agreements including the Basel, Stockholm, Rotterdam, and Minamata Conventions.
The consulting team will work in close collaboration with national working groups consisting of stakeholders from relevant government agencies in each country. The activities include a virtual regional inception workshop to align methodologies and collect preliminary data, country missions and stakeholder interviews where needed, the development of 12 National Country Summaries and a Regional Assessment Report, and the facilitation of a hybrid regional training workshop.
The final phase will include two pilot exercises – one in Guyana or Suriname, and one in Cuba or The Bahamas – to test the implementation of the screening tools. The results from the pilot phase will help revise the screening tools and provide a model for scaling the approach throughout the region. Finally, a closeout report and concept note for digital integration will ensure that all materials and lessons learned are archived and accessible for continued use across the Caribbean.
