By signing and ratifying the Stockholm Convention, Burundi has committed itself to implementing the said Convention, with the first obligation of a Party to the Convention being the development of a National Implementation Plan, in accordance with Article 7, which states that “each Party shall develop and endeavour to implement a plan to meet its obligations”.

The National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention in Burundi (PNM/Burundi) was developed from 2004 to 2006 with financial support from GEF and technical assistance from UNIDO.

From 2006 to 2017, Burundi implemented its National Plan for the Implementation of the Stockholm Convention, which included 8 action plans: i) Awareness-raising, information and training for the general public; ii) Institutional and regulatory strengthening; iii) Sound management of discharges resulting from unintentional production of POPs; iv) Monitoring and research and development; v) Information exchange system and participation in international cooperation; vi) Environmentally friendly management rational management of sites contaminated by POPs; vii) Management of PCBs and equipment containing them; and viii) Management of stocks and wastes of pesticides containing POPs.

New chemical substances have been recognized as persistent organic pollutants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorooctane sulfonyls (PFOS) and have been listed in Annexes A, B and C of the Stockholm Convention. To take into account the new POPs, Burundi has revised and updated its initial PNM, in accordance with Article 7, which states that “Each Party shall review and update, as appropriate, its implementation plan at regular intervals and in accordance with the modalities to be specified by the Conference of the Parties in a decision to that effect”.