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The Basel Convention is
a global environmental treaty adopted in 1989 and came into force in 1992. The intention of the Convention is to regulate and control trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal at international and national
levels. The convention therefore represent the way in which the international
community is collectively solving the global of hazardous wastes
management. A regulatory system for the monitoring and control of hazardous
waste has been set and is display in the full text of the
convention.
The main
objectives of the Basel Convention are:
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to reduce trans-boundary movement of
hazardous waste and other wastes to a minimum consistent with their environmental sound management
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to treat and dispose
hazardous waste and other wastes as close as possible to their source of generation in an environmentally sound
manner
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to minimize the generation of
hazardous waste and other waste, in terms of both quantity and potential
hazard
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to ensure strict control over the movement of
hazardous waste across borders as well as prevention of illegal
traffic
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to prohibit
shipment of hazardous waste to countries lacking legal,
administrative and technical capacity to manage and dispose of them in an environmentally sound
manner
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to assist developing countries and countries
with economies in transition in environmentally sound management of hazardous
waste they generate.
THE BASEL CONVENTION AND REGIONAL CENTRES
Decision
11/19 of the Conference of Parties (COP2) in 1994 endorsed the
establishment of Regional Centres. The
establishment of Basel Convention Regional Centres in developing countries and
countries with economies in transition in
Africa, Eastern/Central Europe, Latin America/Caribbean and
Asia is meant to assist the countries in these regions develop
capacity to cope with the technical, legal and institutional
requirements needed for the effective implementation of the
provisions of the Basel Convention. For further information on
mandate of the BCRCs, click
here>>.
Network of
Regional Centres:
A network of 11 BCRCs has been established between 1985
and 2000 in developing countries and countries with economies in transition,
operating regional capacity building. projects and programmes.
Nigeria coordinates the BCRCs in the African continent (
Egypt, Senegal and South
Africa) while Uruguay has the same responsibly
for the BCRCs in Caribbean and Latin America the world. A new BCRC
India for some Asian Countries is under development. See figure
1.
ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF REGIONAL
CENTRES.
The conference of the parties (COP6) of the BASEL
Convention held in Geneva in December 2002, decided on the following
five major areas
as mandate for BCRCs which are:
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Training
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Technology
Transfer
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Information
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Consulting
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Awareness
The
mandate of the Regional Centres is amplified under Mandate
Section.
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