In order to strengthen the source management of toxic and chemical substances, assist relevant ministries and agencies in enhancing management of chemical substances, and improving inter-ministrial cooperation in verification and linking of chemical substance management activities, this project will assist the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau (the “Bureau”) in planning for an integrated and comprehensive policy on toxic and chemical substance management, and enhance the core functions and capability of relevant personnel. In addition, this project will also promote efficient communications among relevant ministries, agencies and stakeholders. For this purpose, this project will compile administrative results and achievements of the Bureau into documentary records and videos to facilitate communications with stakeholders, and allow the general public to better understand the effectiveness of the government's actions in chemical substance management. For implementation results of each work item of this project, a brief summary and descriptions will be provided as follows.
The following information have been collected regarding the current status of international chemical management: national legislation and policies related to the current status in implementation of chemical substance management were collected from countries including the United States, Canada, Mainland China, India, European Union, ASEAN, and South Korea; information related to the promotion of Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), including resolutions from three meetings for SAICM intersessional process and information related to the Beyond 2020 process; information related to the Global Chemical Outlooks II - UN Environment report, concerns expressed by Sweden, Spain, and the United States, and recommendations on drafting of policy guidelines and action plans.
In order to fully understand the management responsibilities and implementation results of relevant ministries and agencies, through systematic integration of the Bureau’s and relevant ministries’ chemical substances management results, the following reports have been prepared: “2020 Report on the Implementation Results of National Chemical Substance Management Action”, “2019 Annual Report for the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau”, and “2020 Annual Report for the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau”. These reports are intended to facilitate the sharing and fair use of government information, protect the citizens’ right to know, enhance the citizens’ understanding and trust in public affairs and supervision, and promote citizens’ democratic participation.
In line with the 3rd anniversary of the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau, the project has compiled several records and videos to showcase the Bureau’s administrative results for 2019; photos for the Bureau’s relevant 2019 meetings and activities were collected and compiled into albums for easy viewing by foreign guests and colleagues. A video was also produced by inviting colleagues to talk about their experience working for the Bureau, and was presented for public viewing as part of the anniversary activities.
In order to facilitate the implementation of relevant policies and external communicates, and improve understanding of the current trends and future directions of chemical substance management policies, relevant personnel were invite to participate in the following events: “2019 Conference and Workshop on Implementation and Results of National Chemical Substances Management Policy Guidelines and Action Plan”; and “2020 Conference and Workshop on Implementation and Results of National Chemical Substances Management Policy Guidelines and Action Plan”. During both events, participants exchanged their views on management of toxic and concerned chemicals and offered valuable recommendations, so that the Bureau was able to interact with relevant stakeholders and enhanced the external effects on promoting relevant policies. In addition, in order to improve the core functions and capacity of the Bureau’s staff, and generate consensus and solidarity among the management and staff, the following events were held: "Business Planning Meeting for 2020-2023 and the 3rd Anniversary Event” and “Organizational Learning Activities for 2021". During both events, new ideas were exchanged and promoted through different inter-unit and cross-unit team activities, so that different units with the Bureau are able to manage, communicate and cooperate better, through stimulation of innovative thinking and strengthening of internal integration, thereby enhancing their capacity to face the future challenges in promoting diverse and complex policies.
In order to meet the administrative needs of the Bureau, several presentation materials were prepared related to the comprehensive policy planning or regulatory requirements of relevance to the management of toxic and concerned chemical substances. The contents of these presentations include tables, figures, animations and/or videos. The prepared presentations include “Introduction to the Responsibilities of the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau", "Introduction and Overview of Toxic and Concerned Chemicals Control Act", "National Chemical Substance Management Policy Guidelines and Action Plan”, “Introduction and Overview of Future Operations for National Chemical Substance Management and Reporting Board”.
In line with the revisions of the Toxic and Concerned Chemicals Control Act, the project assisted with the update, layout, proofreading and printing of the Act and relevant regulations, and provided copies of the Act and regulations to every county and city’s environmental protection bureaus and relevant agencies, so that relevant government agencies can understand the latest updated information on management of toxic chemicals.
In order for trainees taking part in the "Professional and Technical Management Personnel for Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances" training course to fully understand their duties and work ethics, regulations related to the Toxic and Concerned Chemicals Control Act and Taiwan’s chemical management policy and relevant international development and trends, a set of training materials were developed focusing on the practical applications of the course’s contents to the trainees’ actual work.
