The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is built on two fundamental pillars:
- The control of the transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes; and
- The environmentally sound management (ESM) of hazardous and other wastes.
In order to minimise, manage or dispose of hazardous and other wastes in an environmentally sound manner, national and regional waste management capability and capacity is essential.
As outlined in the case study on “The Basel Convention Regional Centres” (following Guideline 49(d)
), the Parties to the Basel Convention have established Basel Convention Regional Centres (BCRCs) for Training and Technology Transfer in 14 States, including two regional coordinating centres.
These Centres assist States served by the respective centres (as well as interested organisations, private companies, industry associations, and other stakeholders) to implement and enforce the Basel Convention, its amendments and protocols. In this capacity, the Regional Centres provide guidance on technical and technological issues, encourage the introduction of cleaner production technologies, and promote the use of environmentally sound waste management practices.
The following three examples provide illustrations of how these Regional Centres facilitate technology transfer in the context of the Basel Convention:
- a) In cooperation with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and national Focal Points of the Basel Convention in the region, the Cairo BCRC is implementing a project to prepare a set of tools for the selection, design and operation of hazardous waste landfills in hyper-dry areas. This project seeks to develop standards and codes for landfills for hazardous wastes and other wastes in hyper-dry areas. It is expected that this project will significantly contribute to the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies that are appropriate to the specific climatic conditions of the region. The project is meant to promote and facilitate technology transfer and technology development to improve the environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes within the broader context of implementing the Basel Convention in the region.
- b) The BCRC in Trinidad and Tobago is implementing a project to assess the environmentally sound management of used oil in the Caribbean. This project seeks to assess existing management measures for used oil in the Caribbean – including legislation, financial and economic incentives, and technological options – in order to facilitate the development of national programmes for environmentally sound and economically viable collection and recycling/recovery systems for used oil in the region.
- c) The El Salvador BCRC is coordinating a project a g[public-private partnership] Technology Transfer Activities through Basel Convention Regional Centres that seeks to define and agree on a regional mechanism for the environmentally sound management of used lead acid batteries in Central American countries, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean Island States. This project addresses environmental and health-related risks associated with lead exposure. It highlights the urgent need to share all available information with the decision-makers in the concerned countries to identify ways to reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of lead released into the environment. Legal, technical, and economic aspects are expected to be taken into consideration in the development of a comprehensive regional mechanism for the environmentally sound management of used lead acid batteries in those countries. The project contributes to the minimization of hazardous wastes, fosters cleaner production through technology transfer, and will serve as a pilot project for other regions.
For more information, see http://www.basel.int or contact the Secretariat of the Basel Convention sbc@unep.ch