BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a8cc5526d91c DTSTART:20250804T070000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20250804T090000Z LOCATION:Geneva\, Switzerland SUMMARY:INC-5.2 Pre-event: West African voices in plastics controls and inn ovative recycling CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:This session aims to highlight the necessary interplay between various stakeholders involved in policy and practice to enable practical s olutions to plastic pollution challenges in West Africa. Recent developme nts in the region involve Ivory Coast’s initiative for a regional recycl ing hub in West Africa involving C4+ countries (Benin\, Burkina Faso\, Cha d\, Mali and Cote D’Ivoire) presented in June 2025 at the WTO Dialogue o n Plastics. In parallel\, national standards agencies from Nigeria and Gha na have engaged in recent discussions on biodegradation and composability standards for plastics in order to improve national legislation and combat greenwashing. As an illustration of realities on the ground and ongoing initiatives to tackle the plastic crisis in the region\, the session will have presentations from from the Governments of Ghana and Nigeria\, sharin g how they are working on plastic control policies and standards that faci litate higher material recovery and recycling rates. The World Economic F orum will discuss how their National Plastics Action Plans (NPAP) contribu te to experience sharing and cohesive action across West Africa and beyond . The panel will then zoom into practical cases\, including the challenge of plastic pollution in Agriculture\, with insights from the FreshPPact p roject in Ghana which is testing innovative ways to substitute agricultura l mulch films and conventional packaging\; as well as views from an entrep reneur from GIVO in Nigeria deploying modular\, resilient\, renewables-pow ered and data-enabled community recycling stations.INC-5.2 refers to the s econd part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Commi ttee (INC-5.2)\, focused on developing a global legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. It is scheduled to take place in Geneva from August 5 to 14\, 2025.  The meeting is a continuation of efforts to reach a glo bal treaty to address plastic pollution\, including in the marine environm ent\, following the initial INC-5 session in South Korea in late 2024.   REGISTRATION (INDICO REGISTRATION - MANDATORY FOR UN BUILDING ACCESS)JOIN ONLINEProgrammeOpening remarks: Ms. Luz Maria de la Mora\, Director\, Div ision of International Trade and Commodities\, UNCTADModerator: Mr. Henriq ue Pacini\, UNCTAD SMEP Programme LeadPanelists:Representative from Ghana\ , Ministry of Environment\, Science\, and Technology (MEST) (tbc)Mr. Chukw udi Nwabuisiaku\,  Assistant Director\, Plastics &\; Wood Waste Pollut ion Control\, Inspection &\; Enforcement Dept.\, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency\, NigeriaMr. Christian Kaufh olz\, GPAP\, World Economic ForumMr. Victor Boyle-Komolafe\, GIVO-AfricaDr . Ebenezer Laryea\, FRESHPPACT Project Lead\, Aston UniversityQ&\;A ht tps://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODI3NmM2NzUtMTA5Zi00Y TFiLTk4NGQtNWRlOTQ1Y2Y0ODIz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35 db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225776f170-cdcd-48c7-8815 -f6360f87e7b4%22%7d"\; target="\;_blank"\; title="\;Open i n MS Teams\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/inc-5 2-pre-event-west-african-voices-plastics-controls-and-innovative-recycling DTSTAMP:20260824T222730Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR