Basel Convention

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Template:Use dmy dates Template:Refimprove Template:Infobox Treaty The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs). It does not, however, address the movement of radioactive waste. The Convention is also intended to minimize the amount and toxicity of wastes generated, to ensure their environmentally sound management as closely as possible to the source of generation, and to assist LDCs in environmentally sound management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.

The Convention was opened for signature on 22 March 1989, and entered into force on 5 May 1992. As of November 2016, 184 states and the European Union are parties to the Convention. Haiti and the United States have signed the Convention but not ratified it.[1][2]

History

With the tightening of environmental laws (for example, RCRA) in developed nations in the 1970s, disposal costs for hazardous waste rose dramatically. At the same time, globalization of shipping made transboundary movement of waste more accessible, and many LDCs were desperate for foreign currency. Consequently, the trade in hazardous waste, particularly to LDCs, grew rapidly.

One of the incidents which led to the creation of the Basel Convention was the Khian Sea waste disposal incident, in which a ship carrying incinerator ash from the city of Philadelphia in the United States dumped half of its load on a beach in Haiti before being forced away. It sailed for many months, changing its name several times. Unable to unload the cargo in any port, the crew was believed to have dumped much of it at sea.

Another is the 1988 Koko case in which five ships transported 8,000 barrels of hazardous waste from Italy to the small town of Koko in Nigeria in exchange for $100 monthly rent which was paid to a Nigerian for the use of his farmland.

These practices have been deemed "Toxic Colonialism" by many developing countries.

At its most recent meeting, 27 November to 1 December 2006, the Conference of the parties of the Basel Agreement focused on issues of electronic waste and the dismantling of ships.

According to Maureen Walsh, only around 4% of hazardous wastes that come from OECD countries are actually shipped across international borders.[3] These wastes include, among others, chemical waste, radioactive waste, municipal solid waste, asbestos, incinerator ash, and old tires. Of internationally shipped waste that comes from developed countries, more than half is shipped for recovery and the remainder for final disposal.

Increased trade in recyclable materials has led to an increase in a market for used products such as computers. This market is valued in billions of dollars. At issue is the distinction when used computers stop being a "commodity" and become a "waste".

As of November 2016, there are 185 parties to the treaty, which includes 182 UN member states, the Cook Islands, the European Union, and the State of Palestine. The 11 UN member states that are not party to the treaty are Angola, East Timor, Fiji, Grenada, Haiti, San Marino, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Tuvalu, United States, and Vanuatu.[1]

Definition of hazardous waste

A waste falls under the scope of the Convention if it is within the category of wastes listed in Annex I of the Convention and it exhibits one of the hazardous characteristics contained in Annex III.[4] In other words, it must both be listed and possess a characteristic such as being explosive, flammable, toxic, or corrosive. The other way that a waste may fall under the scope of the Convention is if it is defined as or considered to be a hazardous waste under the laws of either the exporting country, the importing country, or any of the countries of transit.[5]

The definition of the term disposal is made in Article 2 al 4 and just refers to annex IV, which gives a list of operations which are understood as disposal or recovery. The examples of disposal are broad and include also recovery, recycling.

Alternatively, to fall under the scope of the Convention, it is sufficient for waste to be included in Annex II, which lists other wastes, such as household wastes and residue that comes from incinerating household waste.[6]

Radioactive waste that is covered under other international control systems and wastes from the normal operation of ships are not covered.

Annex IX attempts to define "commodities" which are not considered wastes and which would be excluded.

Obligations

In addition to conditions on the import and export of the above wastes, there are stringent requirements for notice, consent and tracking for movement of wastes across national boundaries. It is of note that the Convention places a general prohibition on the exportation or importation of wastes between Parties and non-Parties. The exception to this rule is where the waste is subject to another treaty that does not take away from the Basel Convention. The United States is a notable non-Party to the Convention and has a number of such agreements for allowing the shipping of hazardous wastes to Basel Party countries.

The OECD Council also has its own control system that governs the trans-boundary movement of hazardous materials between OECD member countries. This allows, among other things, the OECD countries to continue trading in wastes with countries like the United States that have not ratified the Basel Convention.

Parties to the Convention must honor import bans of other Parties.

Article 4 of the Basel Convention calls for an overall reduction of waste generation. By encouraging countries to keep wastes within their boundaries and as close as possible to its source of generation, the internal pressures should provide incentives for waste reduction and pollution prevention. Parties are generally prohibited from exporting covered wastes to, or import covered waste from, non-parties to the convention.

The Convention states that illegal hazardous waste traffic is criminal but contains no enforcement provisions.

According to Article 12, Parties are directed to adopt a protocol that establishes liability rules and procedures that are appropriate for damage that comes from the movement of hazardous waste across borders.

Current consensus is that as space is not classed as a "country" under the specific definition, export of e-waste to non terrestrial locations would not be covered. This has been suggested (somewhat laughably) as a way to deal with the "Fridge Mountain" and related deposits of waste in the UK and elsewhere in the event of a way to cheaply access space such as an orbital tether being built.

Basel Ban Amendment

After the initial adoption of the Convention, some least developed countries and environmental organizations argued that it did not go far enough. Many nations and NGOs argued for a total ban on shipment of all hazardous waste to LDCs. In particular, the original Convention did not prohibit waste exports to any location except Antarctica but merely required a notification and consent system known as "prior informed consent" or PIC. Further, many waste traders sought to exploit the good name of recycling and begin to justify all exports as moving to recycling destinations. Many believed a full ban was needed including exports for recycling. These concerns led to several regional waste trade bans, including the Bamako Convention.

Lobbying at the 1995 Basel conference by LDCs, Greenpeace and several European countries such as Denmark, led to the adoption of an amendment to the convention in 1995 termed the Basel Ban Amendment to the Basel Convention. The amendment has been accepted by 86 countries[7] and the European Union, but has not entered into force (as that requires ratification by 3/4 of the member states to the Convention). The Amendment prohibits the export of hazardous waste from a list of developed (mostly OECD) countries to developing countries. The Basel Ban applies to export for any reason, including recycling. An area of special concern for advocates of the Amendment was the sale of ships for salvage, shipbreaking. The Ban Amendment was strenuously opposed by a number of industry groups as well as nations including Australia and Canada. The number of ratification for the entry-into force of the Ban Amendment is under debate: Amendments to the convention enter into force after ratification of "three-fourths of the Parties who accepted them" [Art. 17.5]; so far, the Parties of the Basel Convention could not yet agree whether this would be three fourth of the Parties that were Party to the Basel Convention when the Ban was adopted, or three fourth of the current Parties of the Convention[see Report of COP 9 of the Basel Convention]. The status of the amendment ratifications can be found on the Basel Secretariat's web page. The European Union fully implemented the Basel Ban in its Waste Shipment Regulation (EWSR), making it legally binding in all EU member states. Norway and Switzerland have similarly fully implemented the Basel Ban in their legislation.

In the light of the blockage concerning the entry into force of the Ban amendment, Switzerland and Indonesia have launched a “Country-led Initiative” (CLI) to discuss in an informal manner a way forward to ensure that the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, especially to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, do not lead to an unsound management of hazardous wastes. This discussion aims at identifying and finding solutions to the reasons why hazardous wastes are still brought to countries that are not able to treat them in a safe manner. It is hoped that the CLI will contribute to the realization of the objectives of the Ban Amendment. The Basel Convention's website informs about the progress of this initiative [1]

See also

References

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Further reading

  • Toxic Exports, Jennifer Clapp, Cornell University Press, 2001.
  • Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry, Ted Smith, David A. Sonnenfeld, and David Naguib Pellow, eds., Temple University Press link, ISBN 1-59213-330-4.
  • "Toxic Trade: International Knowledge Networks & the Development of the Basel Convention," Jason Lloyd, International Public Policy Review, UCL [2].

External links

Organisations

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