Moldova has all chances to become the first country in this region to solve the pesticides problem, stated John Vijgen, director of the International HCH and Pesticides Association. According to him, Moldova’s accomplishments and efforts in the past few years in managing obsolete pesticides are highly appreciated by the countries in the region and by international organisations. This statement was made at the 9th International Forum for HCH and Pesticides, taking place on September 20-22 under the aegis of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the International HCH and Pesticides Association. Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Constantin Mihailescu told a press conference on Thursday, September 20 that the organisation of the Forum in Chisinau underlines the experience and the progress Moldova made with regards to disposing of toxic substances. The organisation of the forum is part of the international movement for solving problems related to unusable and interdicted stocks of pesticides, especially in the Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. The meeting brought together 150 representatives from international financing organisations, ministries, institutions and NGOs which work in the field of forbidden and unusable pesticides in Moldova and abroad. According to the recent research made by the Ministry of Ecology in Moldova, there are 4 thousand tons of liquid pesticides in stock, in 37 warehouses. One third of this quantity, as well as 80% of the stocks of flammable substances existing in the energy system will be destroyed as planned by the project “Improved Management and Disposal of Persistent Organic Pollutants”, started in March 2006 with the support of the Global Environment Fund and the World Bank. Moldova was one of the first countries to ratify the Stockholm Convention on POPs and to come up with a National Plan for the implementation of the convention.