How far to the 2020 goal? The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management in Tanzania

The study finds that SAICM implementation has positively impacted chemicals management in Tanzania across all five of its objectives, including improved registration of imports and reduced risks in the mining sector. However, significant challenges remain, particularly regarding the unsafe use of chemicals in the informal sector, lack of national coordination at the decision-making level, and the absence of facilities for destroying obsolete chemicals.

• Stakeholders report that SAICM implementation has had a positive effect on chemicals management in Tanzania, with progress made across all five of the framework's objectives.
• Concrete achievements include the initiation of the globally harmonized system of classification and labelling of chemicals (GHS), the creation of a cyanide use registry, and the establishment of new national guidelines for chemical transports, which have specifically benefited the mining sector.
• Tanzania has filled legislative gaps through the introduction of the Industrial and Consumer Chemicals Act of 2003 and the Fertilizers Act of 2009, though the Rotterdam Convention is not yet fully operational.
• A critical gap exists in the informal sector, where workers in small-scale mining, food production, and wood preservation—such as those applying copper-chrome-arsenic by hand without protective gear—face high exposure risks.
• National coordination remains a weakness; while technical committees coordinate well, there is a lack of coordination among senior government officials and directors.
• Tanzania lacks the necessary facilities to dispose of or destroy used and obsolete chemicals.
• In the agricultural sector, the Tanzanian Food and Drugs Authority (TFDI) has the mandate to monitor food for the national market, but this laboratory monitoring is not yet operational.

APA

Persson, L. (2014). How far to the 2020 goal? The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management in Tanzania. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Persson-Tanzania.pdf

Chicago

Persson, Linn. How far to the 2020 goal? The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management in Tanzania. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Persson-Tanzania.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Persson |first1=Linn |title=How far to the 2020 goal? The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management in Tanzania |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Persson-Tanzania.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{persson2014how, author = {Persson, Linn}, title = {{How far to the 2020 goal? The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management in Tanzania}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-Persson-Tanzania.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }