Programme Priorities of the Basel Convention Secretariat

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Programme Priorities of the Basel Convention
Secretariat Basel Convention Resource
Mobilization Workshop Nairobi, 3 7 December
2006 Andreas ArltSecretariat of the Basel
Convention
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Content

• Framework Strategic Plan and Priority Waste
  Streams
• Implementing Global and Regional Priorities
• Programme activities
• Expected future trends and activities

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Basel Conventions Framework

• 1999 Basel Declaration on the Environmentally
  Sound Management of Hazardous Waste
• The 2002 Strategic Plan for the Implementation of
  the Basel Convention to 2010 (COP6, 2002)
• The 2004 Ministerial Statement on Partnership for
  Meeting the Global Waste Challenge (COP7, 2004)
• The 2006 Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on the
  environmentally sound management of electronic
  and electrical waste (COP8, 2006)
• These instruments help to enforce the goals set
  forth in the Basel Convention, to enhance its
  role, to deliver benefits for the people and the
  environment, such as 
• (a) Reduction of the negative impacts on human
  health, in particular on the poor
• (b) Lower risk of diseases, injuries and
  work-related accidents
• (c) Positive impact on reducing toxic releases
  to land, air, water bodies.

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1999 Basel Declaration

• Basel Declaration on the environmentally sound
  management of hazardous waste was adopted on the
  occacion of the 10th anniversary of the adoption
  of the Basel Convention.
• Parties
• Expressed the vision that ESM is accessible to
  all Parties, emphasizing the minimization of HW
  and the strengthening of capacity-building
• Recognized the need to to focus activities until
  2010 on specific actions to promote the
  implementation of the BC
• Agreed to enhance and strengthen efforts and
  cooperation to achieve ESM in the following
  fields (in total 9 fields of work)
• Prevention, minimization, recycling, recovery,
  and disposal of HW (ESM)
• Active promotion and use of cleaner technologies
  and production
• Reduction of transboundary movement
• Improvement and promotion of institutional and
  technical capacity-building
• Prevention and monitoring of illegal traffic
• Further development of regional and subreginal
  centres

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2002 Strategic Plan

• The Strategic Plan of the Basel Convention,
  contained in document UNEP/CHW.6/3, was adopted
  by decision VI,1 in 2002
• The text makes reference to the relevant fields
  of the Basel Declaration on Environmentally Sound
  Management presented in common clusters and gives
  a list of activities to be undertaken within a
  specific time frame
• Strategic Plan defines for all 9 fields of the
  Basel Declaration concrete activities for the
  period 2003-2004 and 2005-2010
• Strategic Plan Document (Strategic Plan UNEP
  CHW_6_3.doc)

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Ministerial Statement 2004

• Parties and other States agreed to take the
  following course of action
• To endeavour to reduce the generation of
  hazardous waste
• To consider setting their own targets for waste
  minimization
• To adopt a partnership approach when dealing with
  priority waste streams
• To encourage North-South cooperation, and
  South-South and private-public coalition
• To review waste streams of concern in their
  countries and regions and identify priority waste
  streams for reduction initiatives

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Ministerial Statement 2004 (2)

• Parties and others States agreed to devote more
  efforts to
• Building sustainable partnerships
• Networking among Parties and Basel Convention
  regional centres
• Strengthening and promoting the active
  involvement of the Basel Convention regional
  centres
• Strengthening national capacities to segregate
  hazardous from non-hazardous wastes
• Identifying cleaner production methods
• Promoting the development of environmentally
  sound technologies and their transfer to
  developing countries
• Mobilizing new and additional financial resources.

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Ministerial Statement 2004 (3)

• The Ministerial Statement acknowledged the
  importance of focusing on four policy directions,
  namely
• Hazardous waste minimization,
• Life-cycle approach,
• Integrated waste management and
• Regional approach.

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Ministerial Statement 2004 (4)

• The Ministerial Statement identified the
  following priority waste streams
• E-wastes (electrical and electronic wastes)
• Used lead acid batteries
• Used oils
• Persistent organic pollutants wastes including
  obsolete stocks of pesticides, PCBs,
  dioxins/furans
• Biomedical and healthcare wastes
• Household wastes mixed with hazardous wastes
• By-products from the dismantling of ships

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Nairobi Ministerial Declaration 2006

• Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on the ESM of
  e-waste by Ministers and heads of delegation
• Confirm the the BC provides an effective
  framework for developing strategic partnerships
  on ESM of e-waste
• Recognize the importance of encouraging green
  design and extended producer responsibility in
  the life cycle of e-products
• Declare that
• The Basel Convention is the main global
  instrument for guiding ESM of e-waste.

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Nairobi Ministerial Declaration 2006 (2)

• Declare that Parties shall
• Encourage national, regional, global actions for
  the ESM of e-waste through shared
  responsibilities
• Promote integrated waste management
• Improve waste management controls
• Combat illegal traffic
• Encourage and support strategic partnerships
• Develop cooperation, programmes, initiatives to
  support the implementation of activities aimed at
  the ESM of e-waste
• Promote information exchange and technology
  transfer
• Promote clean technologies, green design,
  phase-out of hazardous substances in e-products,
  product stewardship, extended producers
  responsibility.

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BC Operational Network (BCON)

• The Secretariat of the Basel Convention and the
  14 Regional and Coordinating Centres constitute
  the Basel Convention operational network (BCON)
• To assist Parties to implement the Basel
  Convention
• To facilitate access to environmentally sound
  management capacity for hazardous and other
  wastes.
• BCRCs become hubs for information collection and
  dissemination in areas recognized of importance
  for the effective implementation of the Basel
  Convention.

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Basel Convention Regional Centres

• Main functions Training, Technology Transfer,
  Information Exchange, Consulting,
  Awareness-raising
• Important role in the implementation of the Basel
  Convention at the regional level Entrusted with
  the implementation of priority activities of the
  Strategic Plan
• Business Plans of the Centres include Priority
  setting, workplan, project descriptions
  (workshops, seminars, technical projects)
  prepared in consultation with countries they
  serve.
• Projects within the framework of the Strategic
  Plan.
• Framework Agreements Eight have been signed for
  SPREP, BCCC-Uruguay, BCRCs-Egypt, Indonesia,
  Trinidad Tobago, Senegal, Argentina and Iran.

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Basel Convention Regional Centres

• At present 14 Regional Centres in operation
• Latin America and the Caribbean Argentina, El
  Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay
• Africa Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria
• Asia and Pacific China, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic
  Republic of), SPREP
• Central and Eastern Europe Russian Federation,
  Slovakia

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Africa and West Asia 1 Basel Convention
Regional Centre for the Arab States in Egypt 2
Basel Convention Regional Co-ordinating Centre in
Nigeria 3 Basel Convention Regional Centre in
Senegal 4 Basel Convention Regional Centre in
South Africa 5 Basel Convention Regional Centre
in Tehran
Central and Eastern Europe 9 Basel Convention
Regional Centre in the Russian
Federation 10 Basel Convention Regional Centre in
Slovakia
Latin America and the Caribbean 11 Basel
Convention Regional Centre in Argentina 12 Basel
Convention Regional Centre in El Salvador 13
Basel Convention Regional Centre in Trinidad
and Tobago 14 Basel Convention Coordinating
Centre for Training and Technology Transfer
for Latin America and Caribbean region in
Uruguay
Asia and Pacific Region 6 Basel Convention
Regional Centre in China 7 Basel Convention
Regional Centre in Indonesia 8 Pacific Regional
Centre for Training and Technology Transfer
for the Joint Implementation of the Basel and
Waigani Conventions in the South Pacific region
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Priorities against Programme Activities
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Future Trends and Activities

• In addition to existing activities related to
  priority waste streams
• Global programme and regional projects on the ESM
  of e-waste
• Continuation of the Mobile Phone Partnership
• Mercury containing waste(partnerships, pilot
  projects on sound disposal and remediation)
• Asbestos wastes Technical guidelines and
  training materials, pilot activities)

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Contact
Dr Andreas Arlt United Nations Environment
Programme Secretariat of the Basel Convention
(SBC) 15, Chemin des Anémones CH-1219
Châtelaine Genève, Switzerland Tel. [phone]
8364 Fax [phone] email
Andreas.Arlt_at_unep.ch