Abdouraman BARY is Coordinator for the Africa Region of the Chemicals, Waste and Air Quality Sub-programme with the United Nations Environment Programme. He is a Burkina Faso national and holds and PhD in Materials Science and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Caen, France. Prof. Bary has more than 20 years of work experience in teaching chemistry and leading a research laboratory in the field of chemical pollution control and remediation. Prior to joining UNEP, he was professor at the University of Ouagadougou. He has an extensive expert knowledge on toxic chemicals, including chemical risk assessment and management. His scientific research work concerns mainly persistent organic pollutants and other highly toxic compounds, including dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls, volatile organic compounds and pesticides.