Global Waste Challenge 2004

Conference special

Our Planet

The magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme

GLOBAL WASTE CHALLENGE Ioan Jelev Building partnerships, mobilizing resources Sachiko KuwabaraYamamoto Much to discuss, much to do Elliot Morley Delivery time Everton Vieira Vargas Adolescence and money problems Richard Gutierrez Complete the job Suzanne Arup Veltzé Creating synergy Philippe Roch New challenges BASEL CONVENTION COP7

Our Planet www.ourplanet.com From the desk of

KLAUS TOEPFER 2

Editorial Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director, UNEP

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Building partnerships, mobilizing resources Ioan Jelev, Secretary of State for the Environment, Romania

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Much to discuss, much to do Sachiko Kuwabara-Yamamoto, Executive Secretary, Basel Convention

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Delivery time Elliot Morley, Environment Minister, UK

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Adolescence and money problems Everton Vieira Vargas, Director, Department of the Environment and Special Issues, Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations

10 Complete the job Richard Gutierrez, Toxics Policy Analyst, Basel Action Network 10 Creating synergy Suzanne Arup Veltzé, Managing Director, International Solid Waste Association 12 New challenges Philippe Roch, State Secretary and Director, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) PO Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya Tel (254 20) 621 234; fax 623 927; telex 22068 UNEP KE e-mail: [email protected] www.unep.org ISSN 1013-7394 Director of Publication: Eric Falt Editor: Geoffrey Lean Coordinator: Naomi Poulton Special Contributor: Nick Nuttall Production: Banson Printed in the United Kingdom Front cover: Jerry Mason/Science Photo Library The contents of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP, the Secretariat of the Basel Convention or the editors, nor are they an official record. The designations employed and the presentation do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP or the Secretariat of the Basel Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory or city or its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UNEP hen the world drew up the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal the aim was to outlaw ‘toxic traders’ transporting the deadly chemicals of the developed world to dumping grounds in the developing one. Fifteen years later, the Convention is wrestling with many new and mounting waste streams triggered by, for example, the boom in electronic consumer goods such as the personal computer and the mobile phone. Other debates have spotlighted the disposal of old military vessels and decommissioned fishing boats. Is a vessel en route from Europe or North America to a breaker’s yard half way across the world a ship heading for dismantling? Or is it hazardous waste, since it is likely to be filled with asbestos, toxic metal sludges and other health-threatening substances? Similarly, shipping huge numbers of computers – outdated by the latest model in a developed country – to a developing one may offer poorer people there a chance to step onto the information technology ladder. Or maybe this is just a clever way of passing on the economic, social and environmental costs of disposal from the consumers and companies of the rich. The issues are complex, but the solutions may not be. If we focus on generating less waste in the first place, in any form, we are at least on the right track. Through new initiatives, falling under the Convention, the world is now starting to realize this goal. Guiding them are the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Its Plan of Implementation calls for action to change unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. Focusing on the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – is one way forward. We can reduce the impact of our consumer economies by cutting the quantities of resources and materials

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used to manufacture goods, from energy and water to the volumes and kinds of plastics, metals and chemicals. Many makers of electronics equipment, for example, can now proudly claim that between 50 and 100 per cent of their products have lead-free solder. Many products, or their components, can be reused. The Body Shop, for example, offers refillable cosmetics containers. To facilitate recycling, manufacturers need to ensure that their goods can be simply and safely taken apart. Eco-design is key, as are effective and readily accessible collection and recycling facilities. The theme of the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention is ‘Partnership for meeting the global waste challenge’. Governments have a critical role to play through enacting and policing regulations, introducing taxes or levies, and promoting policies, instruments and public awareness that favour the three Rs. But partnerships with industry, business and consumers are also vital. So are those with other areas of the United Nations like the International Maritime Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and secretariats of other environmental agreements – particularly those such as the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. So I am delighted to mention just one of the Basel Convention’s many excellent partnerships, with the Shields Environmental Group. Shields has established a mobile phone recycling plant in Bucharest, Romania, employing 100 people. It is part of a take-back initiative called Fonebak now operating in both the developed and the developing worlds. Finally, maybe I could make a special, possibly old-fashioned, plea for one more R. Many modern consumer goods end up in the bin because poor design, cost or lack of spare parts makes them impossible to fix when broken. Maybe we should talk not just about reduce, reuse and recycle – but also about repair! ■

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B U I L D I N G PA R T N E R S H I P S mobilizing resources IOAN JELEV reports on the last Conference of the Parties and looks forward to the new one

paved the way for a smooth implementation of the Convention, and for facilitating support mechanisms for it. These will be advanced further at COP7. Growing challenge

he Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention – from 9 to 14 December 2002 in Geneva – was memorable, with many key decisions taken and a finish in the early hours of the morning! As President of COP6, it gives me great pleasure to add my welcome to you in this special supplement of Our Planet magazine on the occasion of the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention. COP6 considered and adopted decisions on many issues concerned with implementing the Convention, its amendment and its annexes, and institutional, financial and procedural arrangements. Many contributed to refining the Convention through adopting technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of biomedical and health care wastes, plastic wastes, waste lead-acid batteries, and the dismantling of ships. COP6 also set the budget for 2003-2005, agreed on a compliance mechanism for the Convention, adopted a Strategic Plan, and finalized the Framework Agreement on the legal establishment of the Basel Convention Regional Centres. It thus

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The theme of COP7, ‘Partnership for meeting the global waste challenge’, was chosen to tackle the growing challenge of the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes against the backdrop of their continuously increasing generation in many countries. It calls for an integrated approach on hazardous and municipal wastes, in which partnerships with and between international organizations, governments, industry and civil society are crucial for success. COP7 will place great emphasis on defining the role of the Basel Convention in building partnerships to meet the global waste challenge. An important aspect of these is the mobilizing of adequate resources as a support base for Parties for the sound implementation of the Convention. I wish COP7 the greatest of successes ■ Ioan Jelev is Secretary of State for the Environment, Romania, and was President of COP6 of the Basel Convention.

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Much to discuss MUCH TO DO SACHIKO KUWABARA-YAMAMOTO describes the work of the Basel Convention and the challenges ahead ince the Basel Convention came into force in 1992, an effective international regime has been established to regulate transboundary movements of hazardous and other wastes. It is operating successfully worldwide with the support of 163 Parties. We are proud of our achievements and of the significant progress made recently with launching a tenyear Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the Basel Convention and a compliance mechanism, the legal establishment of our network of Basel Convention Regional Centres, and the continued development of our unique Partnership Programme. The time has now come for us to go further. Our Parties report generating over 100 million tonnes of hazardous waste a year. The actual global total is probably significantly above this figure – and the generation is growing steadily. Global population growth, industrialization and rising consumption are driving increasing levels of waste. The mass consumption of electronics and other equipment –

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together with their rapid obsolescence – is generating huge amounts of waste containing hazardous materials when such equipment reaches the end of its useful life, and its export on a massive scale to developing countries not equipped to receive it. More and more hazardous wastes are being found intermingled with municipal and household ones. It will take decades to reverse this upward trend from which human health and the environment can only suffer. Pursuing sustainable development will require decoupling waste generation from economic growth. An international regime regulating the transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes is essential but not enough to tackle this issue. Key issues Against this backdrop, the Note from the President of the Expanded Bureau of COP6 in consultation with the Expanded Bureau identified key issues, some of which are mentioned below.

WELCOME TO THE MEETING Welcome to the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Basel Convention. The COP takes place every other year and is the governing body of the Basel Convention, composed of all governments and organizations that have ratified or acceded to the Basel Convention (currently 163 Parties). Decisions are taken at every COP, for the next biennium and beyond, on strategic and financial planning, implementation and procedural matters, technical support, regional outreach and capacity building, and cross-sectoral partnerships, among other issues. On behalf of the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and its staff, I wish you a pleasant and most fruitful time with us in Geneva and look forward to concrete and proactive outcomes.

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A central goal of the Basel Convention is the ‘environmentally sound management’ of hazardous wastes; this aims to protect human health and the environment, particularly by minimizing hazardous waste production whenever possible. Environmentally sound management means addressing the issue through an 'integrated life-cycle approach', involving waste prevention and strong controls from the generation of a hazardous waste to its storage, transport, treatment, recycling, recovery and final disposal. A framework for life-cycle management of hazardous and other wastes has been set by the 1999 Basel Ministerial Declaration on Environmentally Sound Management adopted at the tenth anniversary of the Convention, as the focus of action in the second decade of operation. The ensuing Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the Basel Convention, adopted at COP6, identified priority activities for preventing, minimizing, recycling, recovering and disposing of hazardous and other wastes, and for promoting and using

Erico Wallfisch/UNEP/Topham

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hazardous wastes in isolation from broader waste issues takes us to partnerships. The theme of the Conference is 'Partnership for meeting the global waste challenge'. As we set out in our Strategic Plan, solving the hazardous waste problem requires 'cooperation and partnership at all levels, within and between countries, public authorities, international organizations, the industry sector, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions'. North-South and South-South partnerships, and cross-sectoral publicprivate partnerships all have their immense value. Partnerships do and will make a major contribution to strengthening the implementation of the Convention coupled with the promotion of the life-cycle approach and the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes. Different partnerships

The key challenges are to manage wastes in a way that protects human health and the environment, through measures applying to the entire waste cycle cleaner technologies. From a practical point of view, this means that it is necessary and appropriate to manage hazardous wastes that have been generated domestically in a similar way to imported ones. The key challenges are to manage wastes in a way that protects human health and the environment, through measures applying to the entire waste cycle – from reducing the production of wastes, to promoting recovery, recycling and reuse, and to ensuring that their disposal is carried out using environmentally sound methods and technologies. Recognizing that the sound implementation of the Basel Convention requires us to move away from looking at the transboundary movements of

COP7 will help define the role of the Basel Convention in building partnerships for its effective implementation. They are varied and wide ranging. For example, when they are related to the life-cycle approach to chemical and hazardous waste management, they can entail the sustained collaboration of the Basel Convention with the Stockholm Convention and the Global Environment Facility to tackle persistent organic pollutant wastes. Another example is pursuing synergies with the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and engaging with the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) process, launched by the UNEP Governing Council. Various initiatives have already been undertaken to ensure that the three Conventions support each other at the global, regional and national levels. Partnerships can be envisaged in the area of integrated waste management, to take another example, via the network of Basel Convention Regional Centres – as programmes with local governments to promote the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes as part of municipal waste. This would alleviate health risks from hazardous wastes

(from hospitals, laboratories or medium-sized enterprises, for example) that have been mixed with municipal wastes. Further promoting the regional approach, partnerships are sought for developing regional capacity for the environmentally sound recycling, recovery or disposal of hazardous wastes: this is exemplified by the ongoing Basel Convention initiative for the environmentally sound recovery of used lead-acid batteries in the Caribbean and Central America. This approach enables economies of scale, makes transparent the export and import of the specific wastes stream, and facilitates enforcement. Yet another example is represented by partnerships with the private sector – such as our mobile phone and e-waste initiatives – whereby manufacturers gather best practices in product life-cycle management for the benefit of the international community at large, especially developing countries. Essential base Partnerships with a wide range of potential donors are essential to ensure an adequate technical and financial resource base to support Parties in implementing the Basel Convention. The Convention is an under-resourced instrument in this challenge. Partnership initiatives reflecting real synergies will provide more effective and efficient mobilization of resources. Hence, a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy – Mobilizing Resources for a Cleaner Future – better to articulate the potential of the Basel Convention, has been formulated and will be discussed at the COP. There is much to discuss and much to do. We hope for lively discussions at the high-level segment of this year’s Conference, establishing an interactive forum with proactive interventions from Parties, other stakeholders, prominent experts and special guests ■

Sachiko Kuwabara-Yamamoto is Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention. 5

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have had a lifelong interest in environmental issues. The issue of hazardous waste may be perceived as the ‘poor relation’ compared with higher profile, more ‘exotic’ topics such as biodiversity loss and climate change – but I believe its environmentally sound management is crucial for the well-being of our planet. The

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Declaration on Environmentally Sound Management, which sets out the framework for the environmentally sound management of hazardous waste, including preventing and minimizing it and further reducing its transboundary movements. The Strategic Plan – agreed at the Sixth Meeting of the Conference of the

DELIVERY TIME ELLIOT MORLEY hails the successes of the Basel Convention and calls for a higher profile and a focus on strategic delivery Basel Convention represents one of the most important global agreements achieved in recent times. Nevertheless, public perception of the management of hazardous waste tends to be rather limited, except after accidents or disasters. In this respect the Convention has, to some extent, been a victim of its own relative success in preventing incidents of uncontrolled dumping of hazardous wastes through its control system of prior informed consent. When I look at its successes – and then ahead to what its future priorities might look like – I am convinced there is a strong case for raising the profile of the Convention and its work. The Convention’s second decade was heralded both by the adoption of the Protocol on Liability and Compensation and by the Ministerial

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Parties (COP6) – sets out how the activities and objectives envisaged by the Declaration will be translated into action, and is a good first step in delivering its aims. Exploring synergies However, while the Plan’s success is firmly linked with secure and adequate funding, Parties must also consider how it can be strategic in its delivery, as well as in its objectives. As we are beginning to see, the Basel Convention Regional Centres are important delivery mechanisms for the Strategic Plan. They provide an excellent opportunity to share both resources and expertise effectively, and will be particularly helpful in exploring synergies with other multilateral environmental agreements. Nevertheless,

Parties must explore means of ensuring that delivery through the Centres is both effective and efficient. Over the years the United Kingdom has made significant contributions to the work of the Convention, for example the part-funding of the used oils project in the Caribbean. We are attracted to funding projects developed and delivered through the Centres, given the regional benefits and efficiencies that they offer. Technological advances and the advent of the digital revolution have benefited the global community in many ways, but we are beginning to witness the problems of managing and disposing of the obsolete technology being replaced. Increasing quantities of ‘technology’ wastes – such as waste electronic and electrical equipment – are already providing new challenges for the Convention. Yet I have no doubt that the resources to tackle these problems lie within its network of experts. One of the Convention’s greatest, and most invaluable, resources is its experience and expertise, from governments, industry and environmental organizations. The United Kingdom is hopeful that Technical Guidelines on the Environmentally Sound Management of Persistent Organic Pollutants – a great example of Basel expertise being recognized and utilized in the international community – will be adopted at this COP7. The Convention also has a vital role to play in guiding the work of newer multilateral environmental agreements – such as

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the Stockholm Convention and the Rotterdam Convention – as they enter their initial phases; a role, for example, in providing expertise and opportunities on delivery at the regional level, and in providing the benefits of Basel’s considerable experience in operating a system of prior informed consent. Exploration of synergies between these chemicals/waste conventions will allow all three to use resources, knowledge and expertise more effectively. Linkages with other international initiatives – particularly those on sustainable consumption and production – are also vital if we are to mobilize and use resources for the Basel Convention more effectively. The United Kingdom recognizes and strongly supports progress in this area. The Convention has a number of opportunities to demonstrate its leadership credentials over the next few years – not least through its recently established Compliance Committee which, if suitably resourced, offers a mechanism for measuring and assisting comprehensive and constructive delivery of the Convention’s objectives. It is a unique mechanism among multilateral environmental agreements and many will be monitoring its progress. Key objectives Compliance and enforcement will remain key objectives over the coming years. The Multilateral Environmental Agreement Guidelines on Compliance and Enforcement are a useful tool but Parties need to consider whether they are being used as effectively as they could be, and what experience Parties have in using them. Again, expertise and experience within the Convention should be drawn upon to maximize the use of available resources. As we move towards the second half of the decade of environmentally sound management, we will no doubt face a number of new challenges, both in terms of waste streams and in our ways of working. In the next few years we must turn our attention to delivery ■

EVERTON VIEIRA VARGAS argues that mobilizing resources for implementing the Basel Convention should take precedence over urgent debates on its effectiveness and on broadening its scope he Basel Convention has now reached ‘adolescence’ – 12 years since entering into force in May 1992. Its Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) will no doubt be influenced by the growing debate concerning its achievements and what many see as the impending necessity to broaden its scope, transforming it into a ‘global waste’ convention. Although the time is clearly favourable for a wideranging discussion on whether the Convention is actually performing as envisaged – and on whether it needs to be updated – one underlying issue should clearly precede this. All Parties, regardless of region and development stage, will need to focus on resource mobilization at COP7. The primary goals of the Convention are reducing the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and ‘other wastes’; preventing and minimizing the quantity and toxicity of wastes generated; the environmentally sound management of such wastes, preferably near their source; and actively promoting the transfer and use of cleaner technologies. Although these long-standing aims have been clearly reaffirmed by the Basel Declaration on the Environmentally Sound Management of Wastes adopted at COP5 in 1999, it is arguable whether the Convention has been successful in attaining them. From the developing countries’ point of view, promoting the transfer of technologies which are cleaner, or that promote recycling, has certainly been the weakest point. The Convention originated from

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international mobilization on a problem that threatened to grow exponentially at the end of the 20th century – the indiscriminate and unregulated export of hazardous wastes from developed economies to countries absolutely unequipped to deal with them. Primarily, therefore, it has a double purpose: to reduce the generation of wastes and to help developing countries deal with hazardous wastes produced in their development process. It has had a very positive impact on unregulated hazardous waste exports – beginning with the institution of a prior informed consent procedure – even though the problem is far from being resolved, especially in parts of Africa and in Asia. Branching out The Convention has branched out over the years, adopting far-ranging technical guidelines, negotiating the so-called ‘Ban Amendment’ (to ban exports of hazardous wastes from countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to other countries, but still to enter into force) and its mechanism for promoting and enforcing compliance (the Protocol on Liability and Compensation adopted in 1999, also still to enter into force). Thus, the discussion of global waste management – as opposed to hazardous waste management – reaches centre stage when many of the core issues under its scope remain partly unresolved. The debate on global waste management is both necessary and urgent, since the definition of non-hazardous waste is

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Elliot Morley is Environment Minister, United Kingdom.

Adolescence and MONEY PROBLEMS

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rapidly changing. Nevertheless, the Parties must carefully evaluate whether this new challenge can be met by the Convention in its present stage and form, or whether it will demand new efforts in policy making and – above all – in funding. Another overriding concern is whether this debate will eventually supersede other issues before the Convention, and some of the core basic goals.

The Convention is open to interpretation on whether it can, or should, regulate movements of non-hazardous wastes (‘other wastes’, as mentioned in Article 1 of the Convention text). Two points support this new direction. The Convention, although primarily oriented to hazardous wastes, does not necessarily preclude the regulation of ‘other wastes’. Meanwhile there is growing concern worldwide that the concept of non-hazardous waste is rapidly changing because of lifestyle changes, with considerable effects on the perils now associated with household waste. The definition of household waste is indeed changing rapidly, with the increasing input of hazardous substances from mobile phones, batteries, computers, paints and solvents, lamps and other items that frequently are not separated for recycling or environmentally sound management – especially in developing countries and economies in transition. Resource mobilization becomes a major priority in the particular context of a new and complex goal to be pursued, not just for the Convention – the limitations of the Trust Fund are widely known – but for all multilateral agreements on chemical safety. On one hand, it is certainly not desirable to limit enlarging the Convention’s scope, and its potential for growth, for lack of proper funding. On the other, it seems illogical to burden the Parties – particularly developing countries – with higher financial obligations at a time when rationalizing governance has become a paramount issue in environmental negotiations. If the Convention – and other multilateral environmental agreements, for that matter – are to maintain their relevance and venture into new areas they must secure innovative ways to mobilize resources that will not put an additional burden on developing countries’ tight budgets. Chemical safety is no doubt a growing concern among stakeholders. The multilateral system has recently acted accordingly, successfully promoting the negotiation and implementation of internationally binding legal instruments designed to address it. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade have recently entered into force. The Rotterdam Convention held its first Conference of the Parties in September 2004, while the Stockholm Convention will kick off in May 2005. Combining these with the work already performed by the Basel Convention – and taking into consideration the ongoing debate centred around a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (holding its second Prepcom in October) – chemical safety issues are undeniably on the international environmental agenda, and their discussion is evolving rapidly. Unfortunately, these multilateral environmental agreements will involve an increasingly complex and intense negotiations agenda. They will be competing amongst themselves, at least at

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Gilles Saussier/UNEP/Topham

Growing concern

some level, for attention (government involvement, personnel dedication and capacity-building initiatives) – and, invariably, for funding. This specially concerns developing countries, and least developed countries in particular. Their need to participate fully

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The concept of non-hazardous waste is rapidly changing because of lifestyle changes, with considerable effects on the perils now associated with household waste

points – bringing the private sector into direct involvement with the Parties in discussing guidelines and creative solutions for growing hazardous waste management; and providing for direct channelling of much-needed financial resources specifically aimed at addressing concrete environmentally sound management problems. Direct participation

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The private sector – most importantly, industries – must be engaged in the debate and in funding specific initiatives directed to concrete goals in waste management and reduction. This is particularly important in product areas where the difference between hazardous and household waste is rapidly disappearing. The recent initiative on mobile phones is most welcome. The pilot programme’s area selection could not be more relevant, and the work done so far has shown how much can be achieved with the direct participation of governments and industry focused on one specific area of waste prevention and management. Although there are points to be smoothed out – most importantly the involvement of funding by the Parties, especially for secretarial tasks, in a programme which should finance itself – the outlook is definitely positive. The debate centred around the Convention’s scope – mainly its possible evolution into a global waste convention – must be taken seriously in view of the rapidly changing concept of household waste. But the Convention cannot evolve towards this new goal if it cannot achieve its old ones. The growing consensus is that Basel – like other chemical safety multilateral environmental agreements – must adopt new financing solutions just to meet its present objectives of addressing hazardous waste. The Partnership Programme is an inventive and positive way to address resource mobilization, while stimulating the private sector’s greater involvement – both financial and technical – with the Convention’s work. With lack of adequate funding – and increasing competition from the other chemical conventions – the Basel Convention will have to rely increasingly on alternative funding mechanisms if it is to keep up with the challenges ahead, including the pressing discussion on global waste ■ Everton Vieira Vargas is Director of the Department of the Environment and Special Issues of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations.

and actively is hindered by their relative scarcity of means, both human and financial. The Convention’s Partnership Programme is a good example of an innovative approach to resource mobilization. It has two strong

The author thanks Raphael Azeredo for his valuable contribution in the preparation of this text. The views expressed in this article reflect solely the author’s opinion.

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COMPLETE the job ‘I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that… I’ve always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly underpolluted.’ Lawrence Summers, 1991 ‘… Perfectly logical but totally insane… a concrete example of the... social ruthlessness and arrogant ignorance of many conventional “economists” concerning the world we live in…’. Such was the Brazilian environment secretary’s retort to Mr Summers’ infamous statement, made when he was the World Bank’s chief economist. Mr Summers’ words may not have started the global trade in hazardous waste, but they did express the forces behind it. From its inception, the Basel Convention has had to contend with the insane logic of conventional economics and the social ruthlessness of the

RICHARD GUTIERREZ argues that the Basel Convention has not yet vanquished insanity and ruthlessness in the toxic waste trade and calls for true partnerships to forge sustainable solutions

waste trade. Any assessment of Basel’s accomplishments must be gauged on how the Parties have prevailed over these forces. The 1980s were a decade of liberal markets and increased globalization – a breeding ground for waste traders to dump poisons in developing countries. ‘Jolly Rosso’, ‘Khian Sea’ and ‘Koko Beach’ epitomized the toxic waste trade anarchy of the decade. The Basel Convention was born of this chaos in 1989. Toxic trade At first the Convention teetered and almost collapsed, as it failed adequately to prevail over the toxic trade and to prohibit exports from rich to poorer countries. The African group – which initiated the Convention – was disappointed with the resulting text and refused to sign. It saw Basel as a failed instrument that legitimized

waste trade through notification, instead of criminalizing it. Its sentiment was shared by other developing nations, a few European countries, and by non-governmental environment organizations. But these diverse groups did not give up. Led by developing countries, they collaborated and established regional bans: by 1992, when the Basel Convention entered into force, more than 88 countries banned the import of hazardous wastes. The partnership’s efforts created the momentum for progressive European countries to join in and push for what most thought Basel needed at the outset – a global trade barrier against exploiting weaker economies with toxic waste. Thus, in 1994, the Parties decided by consensus to adopt the proposal by the G-77 and China (Decision II/12) to ban the export of all hazardous wastes (including for recycling) from countries belonging to

Creating S Y N E R G Y SUZANNE ARUP VELTZÉ describes a fruitful partnership where three major players in international waste management have joined forces for development ith members in more than 70 countries, the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) disseminates information to promote sustainable waste management worldwide. ISWA and UNEP have been cooperating on waste management matters for some years, mainly through ISWA Working Groups and UNEP’s Division for Technology, Industry and Economics. This partnership has developed in the last couple of years and now includes the Secretariat of the Basel Convention. The three

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bodies have joined forces and share the same approach to development. Two years ago the cooperation launched the training resource pack (TRP), providing a unique set of training materials on all aspects of hazardous waste management in developing economies. The TRP is the result of the work of the ISWA Working Group on Hazardous Wastes, UNEP and the Basel Convention. It received the ISWA Publication Award and was specially recognized by the UK Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. It

is being translated into Spanish and Chinese with the help of local ISWA national members. Freely available The TRP is designed to help ‘train the trainers’, providing them with slides on a CD-ROM, which can also be downloaded free of charge from both the ISWA and UNEP websites. Indeed, all the material is provided free in order to be available as widely as possible in developing countries. ISWA has

Testament to success By the end of the 1990s, the toxic waste barges and drums had grown fewer – a testament to the success of the export prohibitions, increased regulation and awareness brought about by the Convention and its decisions. Yet now – as the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) deals with ‘Partnership for meeting the global waste challenge’, and as the Convention embarks on limited partnerships with industry – the waste trade has been increasing again, exporting, for example, disused ships and post-consumer wastes, like electronics, to developing countries. A staggering amount of toxics is being transferred. These wastes, like their

changed its policy so as to make publications free to download for all members. ISWA, UNEP and the Basel Convention have used the TRP in training courses in Turkey, Australia and China, and are holding a regional workshop on 8-10 November 2004 in Split, Croatia. They will also carry out training courses in Argentina, covering various waste issues, as part of ISWA’s partnership with the Argentine Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development on a national waste strategy for the country. The courses will include a hazardous waste training course based on the TRP. ISWA and UNEP have also published a short booklet on waste management planning for local government in developing countries, which was first launched at a local government session

predecessors, victimize some of the poorest, most desperate peoples; they receive the disproportionate burden of the poisonous effluent of the affluent. Two important uncompleted tasks must be finished. First, the Basel Decisions are in great jeopardy of becoming paper tigers, since the number of ratifications needed for them to enter into force has not yet been attained. The Parties must clear up the uncertainty that hangs over this by expressing an unequivocal decision upholding the traditionally understood interpretation on the required number of ratifications. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora recently took a similar step. Second, the amount of hazardous wastes being generated around the world must be capped and then steadily reduced. The Convention must address the outrageous fact that – 15 years after its adoption – this amount has continued to increase. If this continues, Basel will be left fruitlessly pursuing end-of-pipe solutions. The task ahead is not easy. Once again, a broad and committed partnership involving all civil society is needed. As the Convention works with industry on electronic wastes, it must not

at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. A joint workshop with UNEP and the ISWA Scientific and Technical Committee has identified further steps for joint action. This decided, among many proposals, that ISWA should initiate reporting guidelines for the waste sector within the UN-approved Global Reporting Initiative. New cooperation ISWA will also join forces with the 23 UNEP National Centres for Clean Production around the world, which should help to spread its knowledge base more efficiently in developing countries. To kick-start this new cooperation, ISWA will take part in a high-level seminar on sustainable consumption and production on 15-16

These wastes victimize some of the poorest, most desperate peoples abandon its old partners – the developing countries and non-governmental organizations – but draw them in and give them active roles in arriving at a solution. Reforging such past partnerships is essential if truly sustainable solutions are to be found. The leadership and intimate involvement of developing countries in the Basel Decisions were vital to its past success. The same is needed if new partnerships are to prevail over the waste trade’s same crazy logic and social ruthlessness. Protecting the vulnerable The Basel Convention brought together all nations and civil society to protect the most vulnerable – the poor and the environment. Now, more than ever, we – all the stakeholders of the world – need to face up to this fact and fulfil the promise of the Basel Convention for generations to come ■

Richard Gutierrez is the Toxics Policy Analyst of the Basel Action Network.

November in Mexico, where it will present examples of sustainable resource use. In the cooperation between these three major players in international aspects of waste management, the Basel Convention provides the legal framework, UNEP provides a more formalized network and ISWA provides links between industry, public authorities and research institutions. This creates a special synergy from which all benefit. This cooperation will soon increase because ISWA at its Annual Congress in Rome will sign a cooperation agreement with the World Bank, adding a fourth important player ■

Suzanne Arup Veltzé is the Managing Director of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA). 11

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the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to non-OECD ones; the following year, they instated the ban as an amendment to the Convention (Decision III/1). This was a titanic achievement. Industrialized countries, such as the United States, Japan and Canada, fought hard to prevent the global ban, but the multi-stakeholder partnership persevered, establishing the global exemplar of environmental justice.

New challenges PHILIPPE ROCH outlines issues facing the Basel Convention and calls for commitment to develop it further ew challenges face the Basel Convention and its Parties. The Convention was developed in the 1980s to put an end to

Nuncontrolled transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, mainly from industrialized countries to developing ones. The

Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) additionally decided to ban exports of hazardous wastes from countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to non-OECD ones. The situation has now clearly improved, even though the Decision on the ban has not yet been ratified by enough Parties for it to become a legally binding part of the Convention. Nevertheless, further commitment of the Parties is still needed. In this context, I believe that the Basel Convention must look for appropriate solutions to two major concerns. The first is transboundary movements of huge amounts of waste electrical and electronic equipment, with the considerable risk that they will not be recycled in an environmentally sound way. The second is the uncontrolled dismantling of ships. The use of natural resources, the consumption of products and goods – and the concomitant production of waste – are still increasing worldwide. Huge amounts of municipal waste are a burden on large, rapidly expanding metropolitan areas. The resulting adverse effects on human health and on the environment show that inappropriate waste management is a very serious problem. It has become evident that establishing a system to control transboundary movements of hazardous and household wastes is not enough. The Convention must work hard to prevent and minimize the production of hazardous and other wastes and to dispose of them in an environmentally sound way. At COP5 environment ministers reacted and produced a Ministerial Declaration on the Environmentally Sound Management of Wastes. However, we are still far from reaching this goal. Nevertheless, there are solutions to the waste problem. Cleaner production processes and environmentally sound waste management technologies are available. They significantly reduce resource consumption and negative environmental impacts.

Cleaner production processes in the production chain must become incentives and advantages in the market. Uncontrolled landfill sites must be closed down and remedied; state-of-the-art recycling plants, landfill sites and waste incinerators must be built; and thought must be given to using incineration capacity in upgraded state-of-the-art cement kilns. ■ Waste disposal projects must be developed and supported to help countries or regions, as in the Africa Stockpile Project for used pesticides. State-of-the-art waste management is not excessively expensive. In my experience, it is cheaper than paying the future costs associated with not taking action. Obstacles to action – such as economic constraints, political and social factors, and lack of awareness, information and know-how – must be overcome. The Parties could give thought to exploring possible development of the Basel Convention towards a comprehensive regulatory global waste convention, using its existing but broadly formulated content on waste management as a starting point. Work that has already begun with real projects, and with technical and legal tasks, should be continued, but should be streamlined and brought back to the original context – supporting all Parties in implementing the Basel Convention. These two possibilities are not mutually exclusive; pragmatic approaches could be the key to success. COP7’s theme is ‘Partnership for meeting the global waste challenge’. It is my conviction that real partnerships under the Basel Convention are a key instrument for environmentally sound management of wastes. The participation of all stakeholders is an important factor in ensuring the success of the further development of the Convention and its ongoing work. The mobile phone partnership initiative – which I started together with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention – is the first work done by the Secretariat on a new partnership with the computing industry, and other partnership programmes are important as initial exemplary actions. It is important to exploit synergies with other chemicals conventions such as the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and to include this in the partnerships’ thinking. I call upon all stakeholders to increase their cooperation at all levels. The Basel Convention cannot do everything on its own, but must be an active player. I therefore encourage Parties, signatories and non-governmental organizations to support these partnerships, to make full use of synergies and cooperation, and to make available to the Secretariat the human and financial resources needed to tackle these challenges effectively and to create a modern, integrated approach to waste management for the future ■ Philippe Roch is State Secretary and Director of the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape and was President of COP5 of the Basel Convention.

F. Ardito/UNEP/Still Pictures

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