BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a511f04996f1 DTSTART:20260604T110000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20260604T120000Z LOCATION:Abuja (In-person only)\, Nigeria SUMMARY:Building a West African plastics governance architecture CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:REGISTER HERE (In-person only)About the eventAs part of the Nat ional Plastic Summit 2026 in Abuja\, UNCTAD is organizing a session bringi ng together policy makers\, industry and practitioners to discuss regional approaches to single-use plastics controls in West Africa\, material stan dards (such as biodegradation and compostability standards)\, as well as p lastic substitution roadmaps for key sectors. The summit will bring toget her government\, industry\, finance\, civil society\, innovators and other actors from the plastics value chain to advance practical pathways for pl astics circularity in Nigeria and across Africa.The National Plastic Summi t 2026 is convened by the Nigeria National Plastic Action Partnership\, ho sted by the Policy Innovation Centre\, with the Government of Nigeria thro ugh the Federal Ministry of Environment\, and with strategic support from the Global Plastic Action Partnership\, hosted by the World Economic Forum . Selected sessions are being co-developed with partners\, including UNIDO and the Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution Programme\, supported by the United Kingdom and implemented in partnership with UN Tr ade and Development (UNCTAD). UNCTAD’s Session 2\,“Building a West Af rican plastics governance architecture\,” will focus on regional approac hes to the control of unnecessary and problematic single-use plastics\, th e development and adoption of material standards for plastic alternatives\ , and the role of plastic substitution roadmaps in supporting a practical transition away from avoidable plastic use. Why this session mattersPlast ic pollution is one of the most urgent environmental and development chall enges facing West Africa. Single-use plastics accumulate in coastal areas\ , rivers\, urban waterways and waste systems\, creating environmental risk s and economic costs for fisheries\, tourism\, agriculture and public serv ices. While several countries in the region have adopted national measures to address plastic pollution\, fragmented policy approaches can limit the ir effectiveness\, particularly where plastics and plastic products move t hrough regional and cross-border trade. The session will explore how a mo re coordinated West African plastics governance architecture could help cl ose regulatory gaps\, reduce the circulation of non-compliant products\, s trengthen incentives for industry compliance and create economies of scale for sustainable alternatives. It will examine how regional cooperation ca n support national implementation while helping to build a more predictabl e market for circular and substitute materials.The discussion will also fo cus on three enabling conditions for a durable transition: controls on unn ecessary and avoidable plastics\, agreed material standards and clear subs titution roadmaps. Standards for biodegradable and compostable materials a re essential to ensure that alternatives perform as claimed\, do not creat e new environmental risks and can be recognized across borders. Substituti on roadmaps can translate policy ambition into sector-specific transition pathways\, identifying which products can be substituted\, on what timelin e and under what enabling conditions. WATCH ONLINEBuilding on UNCTAD and SMEP programme experienceThe session builds on UNCTAD and SMEP Programme w ork supporting regional and national efforts to reduce plastic pollution a nd promote circular economy solutions. In East Africa\, UNCTAD\, in collab oration with FlipFlopi Project and the Africa Legal Network\, has supporte d dialogue on harmonized approaches to single-use plastics\, including thr ough a 2023 workshop in Nairobi that brought together officials\, parliame ntarians and policymakers from seven East African Community member countri es to discuss national laws\, regional policy harmonization\, plastic subs titutes\, plastic trade and a draft bill to harmonize controls on unnecess ary single-use plastic items.The session also draws on UNCTAD’s support to work on biodegradation and compostability standards in Kenya\, Nigeria and Ghana. A 2024 UNCTAD workshop convened national standards bodies\, env ironmental regulators and other stakeholders to discuss policy and standar ds frameworks for biodegradable and compostable plastics and alternative m aterials\, with a view to strengthening cross-border cooperation and regul atory harmonization.In West Africa\, the session will draw lessons from th e FreshPPact project\, supported under the SMEP Programme\, which helped c atalyse Ghana’s national policy blueprint for plastic alternatives and n on-plastic substitutes. The blueprint\, launched in Accra in April 2025\, provides a strategic framework to support Ghana’s transition towards loc ally produced and sustainable alternatives\, including biodegradable packa ging and other substitute materials.ObjectivesThe session aims to generate concrete\, actionable proposals to support follow-up work on plastics reg ulation harmonization\, material standards and targeted substitution oppor tunities in West Africa. It also seeks to support dialogue between East an d West African countries to share regulatory and implementation experience s. Specifically\, it will seek to advance discussion on:possible instrume nts for ECOWAS-level harmonization of single-use plastics controls\, drawi ng lessons from the East African experience\;priority material standards f or biodegradable\, compostable and other alternative materials that could be developed\, adopted or recognized at regional or continental level\;how national plastic substitution roadmap methodologies\, including the Fresh PPact experience in Ghana\, could be extended to additional West African c ountries and eventually coordinated at regional level.ProgrammeJune 4th\, 12:00–13:00Scene-setting: The case for a West African plastics governanc e architectureMs. Marxine Waite\, Environmental Coalition on Standards (EC OS) - First speaker and moderatorFrom national blueprint to regional model Mr. Ebenezer Laryea\, Aston University / FreshPPact Project Director\, UNC TAD SMEP grantee\, GhanaNigeria'\;s national perspectiveMr. Chukwudi N wabuisiaku\, Deputy Director\, Inspection &\; Enforcement Department\, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESRE A)\, NigeriaInsights from the private sectorMr. Sameer Mohinani\, Head of Business Operations\, Mohinani Group\, NigeriaMs. Victoria N’dee Uwadoka \, Public Relations\, Public Affairs &\; Sustainability Lead\, Nigeria\ , NestléOpen floor discussionQuestions and discussionhttps://smepprogramm e.org/smep-funded-fresh-produce-impact-hub-successfully-launched-its-polic y-blueprint-moving-ghana-beyond-plastics/\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nh ttps://unctad.org/meeting/building-west-african-plastics-governance-archit ecture DTSTAMP:20260710T163412Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR