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.