Development Aspects Impressum Editors

TEST implementation in Honduras

From 2005 to 2006 the Honduran Government’s Center for the Study and Control of Pollutants carried out a water quality survey along the Rio Blanco, which showed levels of ammonium nitrogen, phosphorus and faecal coliforms higher than the permissible limits for irrigation and human use and lower dissolved oxygen than the recommended limits (Mérida and García, 2005–2006). Based on the findings of this survey, a number of industries were identified as the main source of industrial pollution on this river. Therefore, the initial stage of the TEST methodology was redundant and not implemented. The project went directly into the second stage.

From 2008 to 2011, UNIDO introduced the TEST methodology to three of the major industries still in operation that discharge their residual water into the Rio Blanco – one chicken-processing company and two textile companies – with the aim of reducing water use, industrial pollution and to increase their economic performance.
On-site project implementation relied on local capacity-building through the Honduras National Cleaner Production Centre (HNCPC) and international experts on EMA and EST tools.

1. Capacity development

The director of the HNCPC was trained in the TEST Methodology at UNIDO HQ in Vienna, Austria. This was organized in collaboration with another TEST project implemented by UNIDO in the Mediterranean Region. Following this event, the

staff of the HNCPC was trained in the TEST implementation by its director and the UNIDO project manager. The training consists of a 2.5-day classroom session including the theory behind the TEST methodology, the step-by-step implementa- tion, the analysis of each of the five management tools and their integration with one another. In each case, practical examples using past project experience are used to emphasize the applicability.

Once capacity was built within the national partner agency, a more tailored training was developed for the companies. In each participating industry, a team comprising, at minimum, the company accountant and the head of operations of the site received full TEST training. Then, for each management tool, one respon- sible member of staff was designated and trained by the HNCPC in this particular method. This ensures consistency in the dialogues between the HNCPC and the company during the whole implementation period as well as ownership of the introduced changes within the company.
Additionally, workshops were organized for the whole company staff and held by the HNCPC on broader aspects of the methods. These include, among others, the necessity to save water and reduce its pollution, and corporate social respon- sibility. These trainings, while not exactly part of the TEST methodology, are very useful to disseminate the need to consider water as a valuable resource to the broader community.
Therefore, the capacity development was mostly done through classroom training followed by on-site introduction of the technique. The fact that the TEST management tools are still used by the companies shows that the capacity-building exercise was successful. Quality control was done through regular contacts be- tween HNCPC and the companies during the project lifetime (to fine-tune the introduction of the methodology). It is this constant follow-up that gives assurance that the capacity-building was successful and this is an important lesson: it is es- sential to calculate enough resources to allow regular follow-up visits during the project.

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