Dear Readers,

Welcome to this special COP8 edition of the BaselConvention Bulletin. And welcome to Nairobi onthe occasion of the eighth meeting of the Conferenceof the Parties to the Basel Convention, which is hos-ted by the Government of Kenya.

I am pleased to announce the theme of COP8,“Creating innovative solutions through the BaselConvention for the environmentally sound manage-ment of electronic wastes”, which was endorsed by theExpanded Bureau. In this context, electronic wastesinclude, in particular, end-of-life computers, inclu-ding printers and accessories and television sets. Thetheme was suggested because individuals and corpora-tions, in many parts of the world, are buying greatquantities of computers and television sets, which areoften replaced after a short lifespan with new modelsas technology advances. On the one hand, the pro-blem is how to deal with large new waste streamscontaining lead, cadmium, mercury and other hazar-dous materials. On the other, the issue offers animportant and focused opportunity for raising aware-ness about waste reduction and resource recoverythrough the environmentally sound management ofwastes and the integrated life-cycle approach.

For Parties, end-of-life computer equipment offersa timely opportunity for demonstrating theConvention’s existing toolkit, from technical guide-lines and best practices to contributions of BaselConvention Regional and Coordinating Centres(BCRCs) and partnerships with industry and civilsociety, while exploring further the potential forimproving the management of e-wastes globally.Relevant issues include the definition of goods vs.wastes and the classification of specific waste compo-nents as hazardous or not; changing patterns in inter-national flows of materials, including the growth in

North-South, South-South and intra-regional trade;and the need to expand international cooperation onrecycling and materials recovery.

As part of the high-level segment of COP8, we areconvening a World Forum on E-waste on 30thNovember with the participation of Prof. WangariMaathai, Founder of the Green Belt Movement andNobel Peace Laureate, Ministers of the Environmentfrom the five UN regions, supported by a panel ofeminent persons, to discuss matters relating to thetheme. The panel is composed of high-level represen-tatives from Government, Inter-GovernmentalOrganisations, civil society and industry and will bechaired by Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director ofUNEP. The discussion will be interactive and open toquestions and comments from other delegates andstakeholders present. The outcome of the discussionscould be the adoption of a global strategy to address e-wastes, set in the broader context of the environmen-tally sound management of end-of-life equipment,and the Millennium Development Goals. Pleaseconsult the special information leaflet produced aboutthe World Forum on E-waste.

Many other key issues of immediate concern will bediscussed at the COP, such as the budget, the status ofthe Technical Cooperation Trust Fund to implementthe Strategic Plan and sustainable and predictablefinancial mechanisms mentioned in Article 14 of theConvention, the adoption of the budget for the pro-gramme of work for 2007–2008, and the BaselConvention Partnership Programme. The role andactivities of Basel Convention Regional andCoordinating Centres (BCRCs) as the BaselConvention Operational Network (BCON) in theimplementation of the Convention and related agree-ments, and in the environmentally sound manage-ment of priority waste streams will also be on theagenda. Further, issues of synergies between the che-

Editorial-Basel Convention Bulletin COP8

INSIDE:

l Editorial 1/2l Texts of National Legislation on the

Convention website 1l World Forum on E-Waste 2l NGO Awareness Raising Workshop

about the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions at COP8 of the Basel Convention 3

l Fellowship Programme on International and Comparative Environmental Law by UNITAR 3

l Africa Regional Meeting on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) 3

l Background Analysis for Development and Establishment of a Lubricating Oil Management System 4

l Update on the Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative 4

l E-waste Project Activities Kick-off in Asia Pacific 5

l Hazardous Waste Management by Small and Medium Enterprises in Jordan 6

l Preparation of a Set of Tools for the Selection, Design and Operation of Hazardous Waste Landfills in `Hyper-dry Areas 6

l Awareness Raising Project with the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement 6

l Call for submissions of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements enteredinto by Parties concerning transboundary movements of hazardous waste 7

l Preparation of National Inventories and National Action Plans for the Environmentally Sound Management of PCB in Central America 7/8

l Finalization of the Regional Strategy For The Environmentally Sound Managementof Used Lead Acid Batteries in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island States 8

l Production of Vital Waste Graphics II 8l Regional Workshop to Promote the

Ratification of the Basel Convention Protocol on Liability and Compensation in Indonesia 9

l New Ship Dismantling Section on Basel Convention Website 9

l Regional Workshop on Illegal traffic for Central and Eastern Europe 10

l Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS V)10/11

l Third Regional Latin American and Caribbean Training Programme on Environmental Law and Policy 11/12

COP8

Following the recommendation of the Committee for Administering the Mechanism for Promoting theImplementation and Compliance of the Basel Convention (the Compliance Committee) the Secretariatof the Basel Convention has further improved the accessibility of the web page containing the nationallegislation by adding a special entry point for selecting the national legislation by language, as some ofthe texts are available only in the national language of the country concerned. The Secretariat hopes thatthis new organization will facilitate the use of the database as a resource tool for Parties and invites youto visit this web page at:

http://www.basel.int/legalmatters/natleg/byparties/frsetmain.html

Texts of National Legislation on the Convention website

One World, Don’t Waste It www.basel.int

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention par-ticipated in the Fellowship Programme onInternational and Comparative EnvironmentalLaw from 17 July to 4 August 2006 as a presen-ter. The workshop was organized by The UN’sInstitute for Training and Research. The overallobjective of the Programme was to provideintensive theoretical and practical knowledge ofinternational and comparative environmentallaw to the participants. The Programme wasalso aimed at providing in-depth knowledge ofmajor environmental conventions; stimulatingthe discussion and comparative analysis of envi-ronmental issues; enhancing negotiations skills;and promoting knowledge sharing and exchan-ge of experience.

Participants included civil servants, NGOstaff, academics, lawyers, private sector profes-sionals, and advanced students in the field ofenvironmental law, international relations andinternational politics. An in-depth presentationabout the Basel Convention was given and par-ticipants analysed a case study related to itsimplementation.

For more information, please contact: Ms. Donata Rugarabamu, Senior Legal Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 (0) 22 917 82 19, Email: Donata.Rugarabamu@unep.ch

The directors of the Basel ConventionRegional and Coordinating Centres in Egypt,Senegal, South Africa and Nigeria participatedin the Africa Regional Meeting on the StrategicApproach to International ChemicalsManagement held in Cairo, Egypt, on 11-14September 2006. This first regional meetingwas organized by the SAICM Secretariat in col-laboration with the Egyptian EnvironmentAffairs Agency, Ministry of State for theEnvironment, Egypt.

The aims were to facilitate the transitionfrom negotiation to implementation, to cataly-ze regional and national planning for SAICMimplementation and to maintain the politicalmomentum that was generated by theSeptember 2005 World Summit, the successfuladoption of SAICM at the first session of theICCM and endorsements by the governingbodies of International during 2006.

For more information, please contact sbc@unep.ch

Africa Regional Meeting on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals

Management (SAICM)

Fellowship Programme on International and Comparative

Environmental Law by UNITAR

micals and waste clusters of Multilateral Environmental Agreements willbe discussed. Ships destined for dismantling or recycling, including theon-going work in the International Maritime Organization to develop anew international convention to regulate ship recycling, will be reviewed.

Finally, the COP will also review and possibly adopt amendments to thegeneral technical guidelines for the environmentally sound managementof wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with persistent orga-nic pollutants (POPs), the guidelines for the environmentally soundmanagement of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated withpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs) orpolybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and the possible adoption of the tech-nical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of (i) wastesconsisting of, containing or contaminated with the pesticides aldrin,chlordane, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), mirexor toxaphene or with HCB as an industrial chemical, (ii) wastes consistingof, containing or contaminated with 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis- (4-chloro-phenyl)ethane (DDT), and (iii) wastes containing or contaminated withunintentionally produced polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs),polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) orpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (“unintentionally produced POPs”).

Again, welcome to Nairobi and I wish you a successful andfruitful meeting.

Sachiko Kuwabara-YamamotoExecutive SecretaryBasel Convention

For any information related to COP8, please go to http://cop8.basel.int/ orsend an email to BaselCOP8@unep.ch.

Dr. Sachiko Kuwabara-Yamamoto

Creating Innovative Solutions Through the Basel Convention for the Environmentally soundManagement of Electronic Wastes - World Forum on E-Waste 30 November 2006

Programme

The World Forum on E-waste will take place during the high-level segment of the eighth meeting of the Conference of theParties. It is an open forum meant to promote an interactive dis-cussion among Parties and other stakeholders on the theme of theConference, focusing on the challenges and solutions for the envi-ronmentally sound management of electronic and electricalwastes with particular emphasis on used or end-of-life personalcomputers and their accessories, and television sets.

Morning10.00 hrs Opening of the high-level segment of the Conference by

the designated President, H. E. Prof. Kivutha Kibwana,Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya.

10.10 hrs Opening of the World Forum on E-wastes by Mr. AchimSteiner, Executive Director of UNEP, and Chair the Forum

10.20 hrs Keynote address by Prof. Wangari Maathai, NobelLaureate

10:40 hrs Address by the following Ministers on the challengesposed by E-wastes and their perspective on the issue:

• H.E. Chief Helen V. Esuene, Minister, Federal Ministry ofEnvironment, Nigeria

• H.E. Mr. Mariano Arana, Minister, Ministry of Housing, LandPlanning and Environment, Uruguay

• H.E. Mr. Rachmat Witoelar, State Minister for the Environment,Indonesia

11.10 hrs Contributions by the Panel of Eminent Persons. The Panellists are:

• Dr. Helge Wendenburg, Head of Department of Water Supply andDistribution, Waste Management, Soil Conservation, Federal Ministryfor Environment, Nature and Nuclear Safety, Germany

• Mr. Timo Mäkelä, Director, Directorate on Sustainable Developmentand Integration, Environment DG, European Commission

• Mr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DOWAHoldings Co., Ltd., Chairman, Japan Mining Industry Association

• Mr. Kirsi Sormunen, Vice President and Head of EnvironmentalAffairs, NOKIA

• Mr. Klaus Hieronymi, Director of Environmental BusinessManagement at Hewlett Packard for Europe, the Middle East andAfrica

• Professor Adil Najam, Professor of International Negotiation andDiplomacy, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Canada

11.50 hrs Floor opened for discussion on the challenges13.00 hrs Presentations by a number of Panellists on their activities

(English only)13.45 hrs Adjournment

Afternoon15.00 hrs Opening of the session by the Chair of the Forum and sum

up of the morning session

NGO Awareness Raising Workshop about the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions at COP8 of the Basel Convention

Status of Ratifications

1. Afghanistan2. Angola3. Congo (Republic of the -)4. Democratic People's Republic of Korea5. Fiji6. Gabon7. Grenada8. Haïti9. Iraq10. Lao People's Democratic Republic11. Myanmar12. Palau13. San Marino

14. Sao Tomé & Principe15. Sierra Leone16. Solomon Islands17. Somalia18. Suriname19. Tajikistan20. Timor-Leste21. Tonga22. Tuvalu23. United States24. Vanuatu25. Zimbabwe

The Basel Convention has 168 Parties. The number of ratificiations to the BanAmendment is of 62. The number of Contracting Parties to the Protocol on Liability andCompensation is of 7.

The following United Nations Members are not yet a Party to the Basel Convention:

15.15 hrs Address by the followingMinisters on the solutions forthe environmentally soundmanagement of electronic andelectrical wastes and their pers-pective on the issue

• H. E. Ms. Sulfina Barbu, Minister for theEnvironment, Romania (to be confirmed)

• Mr. Stefan Wallin, Secretary of State,Finland

15.45 hrs Contributions by the members ofthe Panel

16.15 hrs Floor opened for discussion onthe solutions and possible actionsby the Conference of the Parties

17.45 hrs The Chair sums up the afternoondiscussion, report on progressmade in the making of decisionsfor action and proceed to the clo-sure of the Forum.

18.00 hrs Closure of the Forum.

A week-long awareness raising workshop fornon-governmental organizations is taking placeduring COP8 of the Basel Convention from 27November to 1 December 2006. With fundingfrom Norway, the project is being implementedby UNEP/Division of Environmental Law andConventions and the Basel Convention RegionalCentre in Pretoria with support from theSecretariat of the Basel Convention.

Participants from well-established environmen-tal, health and community organizations, selectedfollowing the recommendations of key organisa-tions in the waste and chemicals managementfields, are learning about the three conventionsand discussing how these agreements could beuseful for their work. As the workshop is taking

place during COP8 of the Basel Convention, par-ticipants are benefitting additionally from a directexperience with relevant UN negotiations. AllNGO participants are accredited to the COP asobservers.

For more information, please contact Ms. Nicole Dawe, Information Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 82 20, Email: Nicole.Dawe@unep.ch

or Michael Williams, Information Officer,In format ion Uni t for Convent ions -UNEP/DELC, Tel. +41 22 917 82 42, Email: Michael.Williams@unep.ch

32

In July 2006, the Basel ConventionRegional Centre in Slovakia, in co-opera-tion with the Ministry of PhysicalPlanning and Environment in Bosniaand Herzegovina, the Secretariat of theBasel Convention (SBC) andUNEP/Mediterranean Action Plan(UNEP/MAP) finalized a project entitled“Background Analysis for Developmentand Establishment of a Lubricating OilManagement System”. The project wascarried out with the financial support ofUNEP/MAP and professional supportfrom SBC.

Lubricating oils, in particular used oils,represent one of the most hazardous catego-ries of environmental pollutants. Theirshort and long-term impact on the environ-ment is dangerous if they are not disposedof in an environmentally sound manner.Their natural degradation can take severalyears. In addition, the open air burning ofused oils, which is a widely spread practicein Bosnia and Herzegovina, leads to emis-sions of air pollutants. Currently there is nomanagement system for used oils in Bosniaand Herzegovina. All the aspects of such amanagement system, including the legalframework as well as reporting and monito-ring mechanisms, are yet to be developedand implemented. The level of public awa-reness regarding the environmental impactsof used lubricating oils is very low andfigures on used oils are not up to date. Theproject was composed of the analysis of thecurrent situation and the assessment of cur-rent environmental impacts and risks.

Questionnaires were distributed to 1),manufacturers, importers, distributors andexporters of lubricants, 2), institutions kee-ping records of some basic lubricantstreams, 3), major users of lubricants oilssuch as industry, the mining, transport,forestry and agricultural sectors, workshopsfor cars and vehicles, 4) public sector usersof lubricants oils such as the state Ministriesof Defence or Internal Affairs, the Police,EUFOR, the European Union ArmedForces based in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The project findings confirmed that sour-ce separation of used oils does not exist in

most of the cases and a vast majority of usedoils is burned improperly as a cheap alterna-tive fuel. Burning used oils in cement kilnsseems to be a probable alternative whilelocal regeneration revival is not likely.

A database was developed within this pro-ject and handed over to the FederalMinistry of Physical Planning andEnvironment. A regulation based on wastemanagement permits and the obligatoryannual reporting on compliance with theconditions set by the waste managementpermit is in the pipeline.

Follow-up activities to the project wouldbe as follows:

1.development and implementation of rele-vant legislation (implementing regula-tions)

2.preparation and distribution of guidelineson ESM in used oils

3.establishment of efficient reporting,monitoring and inspection system

4.organisation and provision of necessarytraining of key personnel

5.public awareness programmes

For more information, please contact Mr. Nelson Sabogal, Senior Programme Officer, Tel. +41 22 917 82 18, Fax + 41 22 979 34 54, Email: Nelson.Sabogal @unep.ch

Background Analysis for Development and Establishment of a Lubricating Oil Management System

One World, Don’t Waste It www.basel.int

COUNTRY/ TITLE OF PROJECT SCOPE AMOUNT TIME TABLEBCRC (US $)

China Feasibility Analysis Regional 65,000 March-April 2006to Develop a Centre of Excellence of Information on the ESM of E-waste in BCRCin Beijing, China5 April 2006

SPREP, Pilot inventory of Regional 50,000 Aug 2006-April Samoa e-Waste in 10 2007

Pacific Countries

BCRC SEA, Development of Guideline Regional 30,000 Aug – Dec 2006Jakarta Documents on Methodology

on Inventory of E-waste and Environmentally SoundRecycling, Reuse, Repair,Refurbishment/Disposal of E-waste

BCRC SEA, Training Workshop on Regional 55,000 Early 2007Jakarta ESM of E-waste

Sri Lanka Development of national National 50,000 Aug – Dec 2006implementation plan for e-waste management

Indian NGO Facilitating partnerships for National 90,000 Aug – Dec 2006ESM of E-waste in India (NGO project): Phase I

Indonesia Preliminary inventory National 25,000 Aug – Dec 2006of e-waste

TOTAL 365,000

Funding E-waste Projects in Asia and Pacific

Update on the Mobile Phone Partnership InitiativeMobile Phone Working Group has finalized the overall Guidance Document on environmentally sound management of end-of-life mobile phones andsubmitted it to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties for adoption, as per decision VII/4.

The Project group dealing with collection and transboundary movement of used and end-of-life mobile phones finalized recommendation on trans-boundary movement which have been incorporated in the overall Guidance Document.

Next steps under MPPI will be to disseminate the information via workshops and Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres and to initia-te two pilot projects on collection used mobile phones in selected developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

For more information, please contact :Ms. Claudia Fénérol, Senior Programme Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 87 67 Fax +41 22 797 34 54

Email: Claudia.Fenerol@unep.ch

4

E-waste Project Activities Kick-off in Asia Pacific

The regional programme of action for theenvironmentally sound management (ESM)of electronic and electrical wastes (e-wastes)which was launched on 25 November 2005in Tokyo, Japan (see related report on Dec.05 – Jan. 06 issue of the Basel Bulletin) kic-ked off with its first initial activities inMarch 2006. Utilising the initial contribu-tions of CD$ 75,000 (approx. US$65,000)and US$500,000 from the governments ofCanada and Japan, respectively, theSecretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC)and countries participating in this regionalproject agreed on the pilot activities to beimplemented in 2006 and 2007 (see table).Activities involving detailed inventories of e-waste in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand andVietnam will also be carried out followingthe finalization of consultations between the

SBC and the Government of Japan regardingthe distribution of funds to these countries.

The goal of the programme is to enhancethe capacity of countries in the Asia andPacific region to manage e-waste in the envi-ronmentally sound manner through thebuilding of public private partnerships andto prevent the illegal traffic of hazardous e-waste.

For more information, please contact. Mr. Ibrahim Shafii, Programme Officer (Technical) Tel. 41 22 9178636, Fax. 41 22 7973454, Email: ibrahim.shafii@unep.ch

5

Latest Publications andInformation Material

from the BaselConvention Secretariat

- Vital Waste Graphics II- Information leaflet on Illegal Traffic under

the Basel Convention- Information leaflet on the Basel

Convention Partnership Programme- Brochure on the Basel Convention

Regional and Coordinating Centres- Brochure on the Compliance Mechanism

of the Basel Convention- CD-Rom with Basel Convention

Publications- Basel Convention document folder- Basel Convention 2007 calender- Basel Convention portable exhibition

structure- Basel Convention posters

One World, Don’t Waste It www.basel.int

The project “Hazardous Waste Managementin Industry with the Context of Integrated LifeCycle of Materials” was carried out by theMinistry of Planning and InternationalCooperation in cooperation with the Ministryof Environment of Jordan, the Royal ScientificSociety (RSS), Sustainable Business Associates(SBA) and the United Nations Institute forTraining and Research. It was funded underthe Strategic Plan of the Basel Conventionwith additional financial support from theSwiss Agency for Development (SDC).

The project addressed the problem of hazardouswaste management in small and medium enter-prises (SMEs) in Jordan. The majority of the SMEsare concerned with the production of hazardouswastes as part of their operating procedures. Aguide was produced based on on-site tests in selec-ted companies.The guide, with its case studies, willbe used as a tool by SMEs to effectively managehazardous materials and wastes by supportingidentification processes among others. The guide isavailable in Arabic, English and French and on thewebsites of the participating organizations.

More information is available on:http://www.basel.int/centers/projects.html Please also contact Mr. Nelson Sabogal, Senior Programme Officer, Tel. +41 22 917 82 18, Fax + 41 22 979 34 54, Email: Nelson.Sabogal @unep.ch

Hazardous Waste Management by Small and Medium Enterprises in Jordan

Preparation of a Set of Tools for the Selection, Design and Operation of Hazardous Waste Landfills

in Hyper-dry Areas

With the objectives to meet the needs ofArab States to plan, construct and operatehazardous waste landfills in an environ-mental sound manner, and with the finan-cial and technical support from theSecretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC),the BCRC-Egypt completed a hithertorelated project in November 2005.

The project’s main objective was to prepa-re and disseminate technical knowledge inthe form of guidelines on setting up andmanaging, in a environmentally sound man-ner, hazardous waste landfills in hyper-dryareas of the Arab region. Three expert groupmeetings convened during the project’simplementation with experts from 14 Arabstates. The following guidelines were prepa-red and published:

a.‘Guidelines for hazardous waste landfillsite selection and EIA in hyper-dry areas’;b.‘Guidelines for hazardous waste landfillsite design in hyper-dry areas’;c.‘Guidelines for hazardous waste landfillsite operation, monitoring and aftercarein hyper-dry areas’.

These guidelines are comprehensive andcan be considered as a reference for environ-mental planners and technicians.In addition,

BCRC-Egypt prepared (in Arabic) a referen-ce guide to be used by field officers as relatedto the selection of landfill sites, the designand management as well as the monitoringaspects of the landfill facilities throughouttheir lifetime.

The BCRC-Egypt also produced a glossa-ry for the technical terms that were used inthe guidelines to assist junior technicians.

A training programme on hazardous wastemanagement in landfills was held in Bahrainat the end of the project, using the guidelinesand the experience gained by the BCRC-Egypt from the project. Fifteen participantsfrom 8 Arab states and from Bahrain atten-ded the training programme.

The total cost of the project was US$135,541 from the Trust Fund of the BaselConvention in addition to about US$ 30,000provided by the participating countries.

For more information, please contact Mr. Nelson Sabogal, Senior Programme Officer, Tel. +41 22 917 82 18, Fax + 41 22 979 34 54, Email: Nelson.Sabogal @unep.ch

Preparation of National Inventories and NationalAction Plans for the Environmentally sound

management of PCB in Central America.

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention(SBC) is about to finalize one of its largestregional projects on the preparation of natio-nal inventories and national action plans forthe environmentally sound management(ESM) of PCBs and PCB containing equip-ment in Central America with a total budgetof US$ 650,000.

The governments of the USA and Finlandand the Parties to the Basel Convention (BDFund) financed the project. All CentralAmerican countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador,Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama)participated in the project aiming at pavingthe ground for regional disposal activities forPCBs in Central America.

The project is one of a series of projects success-fully implemented by UNEP/Division ofTechnology, Industry and Economics, UNEP’sChemicals Branch and the SBC to supportParties in the implementation of the Basel andStockholm Conventions in a coordinatedmanner at the national and regional level.

At the fourth and final workshop, whichtook place from 12 to 14 July 2006 in San

Salvador, El Salvador, all participating coun-tries presented their national inventories andnational actions plans, as related to the ESMof PCBs and PCB containing equipment, aswell as the assessment of hitherto relatednational legislation in Central Americancountries with regard to chemicals and wastemanagement, as linked to the Basel,Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.Based on the results of the national invento-ries, action plans and legislative assessments,participants also contributed to and com-mented on an overarching regional strategyaround six modules aimed at building thenecessary capacity and carrying out activitiesfor ESM of PCBs: legislation and enforce-ment, administration and strengthening ofnational entities, infrastructure and techno-logy, protection of human health, control ofillegal traffic and transboundary movement,programme for follow-up and control of theimplementation of the regional strategy.

The external evaluation of the project isunderway and follow up projects, based onthe above-mentioned modules, are beingformulated for funding requests. Of particu-lar interest, in the work related to the pro-

Awareness Raising Project with the International Networkfor Environmental Compliance and EnforcementThe Secretariat of the Basel Convention and the International Network for EnvironmentalCompliance and Enforcement (INECE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to start a pro-ject aimed at enhancing public awareness about the Basel Convention. An over-arching aim of theproject is to increase civil society interactions with the Basel Convention for a two-way purpose;spreading knowledge about the Convention and obtaining information from them about expecta-tions related to the Basel Convention. Another aim is to reach as many stakeholders as possible,across all sectors, including the general public, while engaging, promoting and enhancing theimage and role of the Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres in the process.

A first draft project paper has been produced and is currently under discussion. The next steps willbe the formulation and implementation of activities, preceded by joint fundraising efforts.

For more information, please contact Ms. Nicole Dawe, Information Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 82 20, Fax +41 22 797 34 54, Email: Nicole.Dawe@unep.ch

76

Call for submissions of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements entered into by Parties concerning transboundary movements of hazardous waste

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention maintains a collec-tion of Bilateral, Multilateral and Regional Agreements andArrangements which Parties have entered into with otherParties or non-Parties regarding transboundary movements ofhazardous wastes or other wastes. These can be found on theBasel Convention website at the following URL: http://www.basel.int/article11/index.html. (Some texts are onlyavailable in the national language of the country concerned).

Such information is a valuable source of information for businesses andother entities engaged in the shipment of hazardous and other wastes bet-ween States, and the provision of relevant information to the Secretariatcan help to ensure that the rules of each State, as well as Basel Conventionrules, are complied with. This is particularly important concerning ship-ments between Parties and non-Parties to the Convention, as there mustbe an Article 11 agreement between the States concerned for such ship-ments to be in compliance with the Convention.

Furthermore, the notification of such agreements and arrangements to

the Secretariat is a requirement under Article 11, paragraph 2, of the BaselConvention. Noting this requirement, Decision VII/36 adopted at theseventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties in October 2004, remin-ded Parties to transmit relevant agreements to the Secretariat.

At the beginning of June 2006 the Secretariat sent a request to allFocal Points and Competent Authorities, asking every Party to transmittexts of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements. However, todate, few Parties have responded to this appeal.

Please send texts of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements orarrangements to:Sophie SchlingemannLegal Consultant to the Secretariat of the Basel ConventionInternational Environment HouseChemin des Anémones 151219 Chatelaine – Geneva - SwitzerlandEmail: sophie.schlingemann@unep.chTel. + 41 22 917 83 41

One World, Don’t Waste It www.basel.intject, was the successful public-private part-nerships, namely between the countries andthe energy-providing companies, whichhave formed a basis for further cooperationin the ESM of PCBs and PCB containingequipment.

For more information, please contact Mr. Andreas Arlt, programme officer, technical unit, SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 8364,Fax +41 22 797 35 54, Email: Andreas.Arlt@unep.ch, www.basel.int

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention andUNEP-Grid Arendal, with the financial supportof UNEP’s Division of EnvironmentalConventions, are preparing the publication“Vital Waste Graphics II”, to be released inNovember 2006 at COP8 of the BaselConvention. This publication follows the pro-duction and distribution of “Vital WasteGraphics” in 2004, which was well received andis now out of print.

The objective of the publication is to compi-le a synthesis of global waste issues, showing glo-bal trends in and impacts of global waste gene-ration and management in a user-friendly for-mat of graphics, maps and texts.

The target audiences for the publication areGovernments, policy makers, the waste manage-ment community (private sector and civil socie-ty), the media and donor community and thegeneral public.

The publication is expected to fill a need forcomprehensive data on waste issues globally andon the impacts and trends of global waste gene-ration and management.

For more information, please contact Ms. Nicole Dawe, Information Officer, Secretariat of the Basel Convention, Tel. +41 22 917 82 20, Fax +41 22 797 34 54, Email: Nicole.Dawe@unep.ch

Production of Vital Waste Graphics II for COP8

Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries inCentral America, Colombia, Venezuela and the

Caribbean Island States

The Caribbean Island States, the States ofCentral America, Columbia and Venezuela(“The Wider Caribbean Region”) haveagreed on a harmonized strategy for theenvironmentally sound management (ESM)of used-lead acid batteries in their region.The strategy was finalized during a regionalmeeting in Trinidad and Tobago on 27-28September 2006, organized by the BaselConvention Regional Centre in Trinidadand Tobago. The strategy is the pioneeringresult of an intensive assessment and discus-sion process over a 5-year period, driven bythe collaboration between governmental,industrial, academic and international orga-nizations in the region. The goal of the stra-tegy is to achieve the environmentally soundmanagement of ULAB in the long term.

The project was financed by the BaselConvention Cooperation Trust Fund,Environment Canada (in-kind support), theUNEP Regional Seas Programme, theSecretariat of the Cartagena Convention(CAR/RCU), United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland, the UnitedStates of America, and Venezuela.

The Regional Strategy addresses bothregional and national needs and is based onthe following nine strategic goals:

1. secure commitment from relevant stake-holders to promote ESM for ULAB;

2. assess the degree to which the ESM ofULAB is supported;

3. ensure national laws and compliance pro-grams are sufficient to ensure ESM ofULAB;

4. implement national programs (in a regio-nal context) to recover ULAB for ESM;

5. implement financial mechanisms to sup-port the delivery and effectiveness ofnational ULAB recovery and recyclingprograms;

6. support the transition of workers frominformal ULAB facilities and operationsto the formal ULAB recovery and recy-cling sector;

7. raise public awareness; 8. identify contaminated sites;9. promote technical assistance, including

capacity building and technology transferto enhance the ESM of ULAB in theregion.

In addition, the representatives from 15countries adopted a declaration of intent toimplement the regional strategy in CentralAmerica, Colombia, Venezuela and theCaribbean Island States (“Declaration ofChaguaramas”).

For more information, please contact Mr. Andreas Arlt,Programme Officer, (technical), SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 83 64, Fax: +41 22 797 35 54, www.basel.int Email: Andreas.Arlt@unep.ch

A Regional Workshop aimed at Promotingthe ratification of the Basel ConventionProtocol on Liability and Compensation forDamage resulting from TransboundaryMovements of Hazardous Wastes and theirDisposal took place in Yogyakarta,Indonesia, on 16-18 May 2006. The work-shop was jointly organized by the Secretariatof the Basel Convention (SBC), the BaselConvention Regional Centre for South-EastAsia and the Ministry of Environment of theRepublic of Indonesia, and was supported bythe Federal Office of the Environment ofSwitzerland.

The workshop was attended by 36 partici-pants from Parties to the Basel Convention,other States and institutions from the region.So far none of the countries in the South-East Asia region have ratified the LiabilityProtocol and the delegates were invited toidentify the difficulties they faced in this res-pect, in order to make recommendations forthe eighth meeting of the Conference of theParties to the Basel Convention.

Some of the difficulties as described bydelegates were the following:

-uncertainty or lack of clarity of institutionalcapacity regarding the rights and obligations

under the Protocol; lack of legislation toimplement the Protocol or other legal andadministrative measures to meet the require-ments of the Protocol; -difficulties in achieving the insurance orfinancial guarantee requirements;-lack of technical capacity to assess and resto-re the damage to the environment accordingto the provisions of the Protocol.

Among the many actions recommendedby the workshop were the following:

-capacity building should be undertaken bythe State concerned to understand the textand the rights and obligations under theProtocol for government officials, judiciary,insurance industry and waste generators; -SBC, BCRC, donor countries and Partiesshould organize further workshops and semi-nars to clarify the rights and obligationsunder the Protocol; -interested Parties together with SBC, BCRCand donor countries should facilitate sessionswith those countries which have alreadyacceded to the Protocol to provide an oppor-tunity to share experiences and informationas well as the procedures and requirementsdeveloped by them; -the provision of post-incident/accidentexpertise in dealing with the effects of an

incident/accident by SBC and other relevantinternational and regional organizations.

For more information, please contact: Ms. Donata Rugarabamu, Senior Legal Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 82 19, Fax: +41 22 797 34 54,Email: Donata.Rugarabamu@unep.ch

Regional Workshop to Promote the Ratification of the Basel Convention Protocol on Liability and Compensation in Indonesia

New Ship Dismantling Section on Basel Convention WebsiteFurther to decision OEWG-V/8, the Secretariat of the Basel Convention has created a special section on the issue of ship dismantling on the BaselConvention website. It serves as a reference tool for stakeholders, grouping relevant activities of the Basel Convention, initiatives for co-operation bet-ween international organizations, relevant case law and a compilation of practical information from a wide range of sources.

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention invites submissions for this website, pursuant to paragraph 6 of decision OEWG-V/8, of relevant practical infor-mation and documents on the environmentally sound management of ships recycling.

Please see: http://www.basel.int/ships/index.html.

98

One World, Don’t Waste It www.basel.intAsia 3R Conference in Tokyo, Japan

The Secretariat of the Basel ConventionSecretariat participated in the Asia 3RConference was held in Tokyo, Japan on 30October and 1 November 2006 and washosted by the Japanese Ministry ofEnvironment. Twenty Asian countries andsix G-8 countries participated in the mee-ting, including eight international organi-zations and networks. The Asia 3RConference was a follow-up to theMinisterial Conference on 3R Initiativeheld in Tokyo in April 2005, which for-mally launched the 3R Initiative agreedupon by the G8 leaders at the Sea IslandSummit (please see previous BaselConvention Bulletins).

The meeting heard presentations by coun-tries and international organizations on theprogress, problems encountered and activi-ties undertaken to implement 3R in the res-pective countries and organizations.Working in four Working Groups, theConference considered the following issues:

• Partnership and international cooperationfor the promotion of 3Rs

• Medical waste management• Municipal organic waste management• Electronic and electrical waste manage-

ment

In its presentation, the Secretariat of theBasel Convention emphasized that the envi-ronmentally sound management of wasteshould be applied to all wastes, whetherhazardous or non-hazardous, in particularwhen it involves north-south trade althoughsouth-south trade is also becoming more

important. It highlighted that there is a gro-wing concern over the increasing generationof hazardous waste and end-of-life productsin developing countries. In order to addressthis issue, the Basel Convention promotespublic-private partnerships to develop guide-lines, including end-of-life products such ase-wastes and mobile phones, and thematicprojects for the environmentally soundmanagement of used lead batteries, medicalwaste, e-wastes and used oils.

At the Working Group on E-wasteManagement, the progress of the Asia PacificE-waste Project was presented by theSecretariat and the Basel ConventionRegional Centre for SEA in Jakarta.

The Conference facilitated the exchange ofinformation and experiences for the promo-tion of 3R and recognized the different levelsin development and needs of countries in theimplementation of the concept. The dele-gates supported the continuation of the pro-cess while international organizationsannounced various activities to jointly pro-mote 3R, including sub-regional policy dia-logues, the creation of knowledge hubs on3R and the support of several countries inAsia to develop national 3R strategies.

For more information on 3R Initiatives:http://www.3rinitiative.jp and at the SBC:Mr Ibrahim Shafii, Programme Officer (Technical) at ibrahim.shafii@unep.ch

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention participated in theFifth Session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety(IFCS Forum V), Budapest,Hungary, on 23-30 september 2006.

A key issue was the discussion of the future role of the IFCS andscope of activities in view of the adoption of SAICM. In the finalresolution on the future of IFCS, the preambularlanguage notes theunique role that the Forum has played as a flexible,open and trans-parent brainstorming and bridge-building forum for governments,

IGOs and NGOs, and recognizes the desirability of continuing

Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS V)

such a Forum. The preamble also notes the need to use human andfinancial resources efficiently and to avoid duplication of functionsand work areas in order to enhance the implementation of SAICM.

On the topic of electronic waste, the Secretariat of the BaselConvention and other countries (US, Germany and Switzerland)highlighted that work has begun under the Basel Convention on thistopic and underlined that the theme of COP8 of Basel Conventionis on e-waste. Therefore, countries suggested that the Forum takesnote of these developments. It was also highlighted that the topic hassome similar elements to the discussion in IFCS on heavy metals e.g.lead, cadmium and mercury.The discussion on heavy metals and the

push by some countries to negotiate new legally binding instru-ment(s) is also an issue that should be of concern to BaselConvention Parties.

One of the outcomes of Forum V was the adoption of the TheBudapest Statement on Mercury, Lead and Cadmium.

For more information, please contact. Mr. Ibrahim Shafii, Programme Officer (Technical) Tel. +41 22 917 86 36, Fax: +41 22 797 34 54, Email: ibrahim.shafii@unep.ch

On 1 November 2006, during the Asia 3R Conference whichwas held in Tokyo, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) forthe implementation of the Pilot Project on TransboundaryMovement of End-of-Life Mobile Phones in South East AsianCountries was signed between the Secretariat of the BaselConvention (SBC), the Basel Convention Regional Centre forSouth East Asia (SEA) based in Jakarta and the Dowa Eco-SystemCo., Ltd. Japan.

Under this Pilot Project, Dowa Eco-System Co. Ltd. will contri-bute 10 million Japanese Yen of seed money to cover the costs ofactivities for the first stage of the project during the 2006 financialyear which finishes on 31 March 2007. The whole project will beimplemented from 1 November 2006 until 31 March 2008.

The objective of the Pilot Project which would involve initiallyMalaysia, Thailand and Singapore, is to establish a scheme for thecollection and environmentally sound management of end-of-lifemobile phones from these three countries. As a first step, an inves-tigation of the current status of end-of-life mobile phones will beconducted and at the second stage a pilot collection scheme for

collection and control transboundary movement of end-of-lifemobile phones to Japan for recovery of precious metals will be car-ried out in an environmentally sound manner.

Ms. Sachiko Kuwabara-Yamamoto, Executive Secretary of SBCsaid “the Pilot Project is a significant and ground breaking initiati-ve between SBC, the BCRC SEA and a well-established Japaneseprecious metal smelting company towards ensuring proper mana-gement and resource recovery of materials from e-wastes”. TheProject will also provide an opportunity for the practical imple-mentation of the technical guidelines for the environmentallysound management of mobile phones developed under the BaselConvention Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative. Dowa Eco-System Co., Ltd. said that if successful, the project would beexpanded and implemented in other Asian countries and wouldinclude e-wastes such as personal computers and accessories.

For more information, contact: Mr. Ibrahim Shafii, Programme Officer (Technical) at ibrahim.shafii@unep.ch

MOU on Pilot Project on Transboundary Movement of End-of-Life Mobile Phones in SEA Countries Signed

1110

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention participated in theThird Regional Latin American and Caribbean TrainingProgramme on Environmental Law and Policy in Buenos Aires,Argentina, on 20-30 June 2006 as a presenter. The workshopwas organized by UNEP's Regional Office for Latin Americaand the Caribbean and is part of the Bali Strategic Plan forTechnology Support and Capacity Building. It was organizedfor the Spanish speaking countries of the Latin American andCaribbean region, including Brazil and financed by Spain.

The workshop was designed to build the capacity of the participants inenvironmental law and policy development and application, and to pro-mote interest in the compliance with and enforcement of multilateralenvironmental agreements (MEAs) such as the Basel Convention. Theparticipants, who came from all related sectors, represented the followingcountries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, aswell as the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).

Third Regional Latin American and Caribbean Training Programme on Environmental Law and Policy

A regional workshop on Illegal Traffic forCentral and Eastern Europe took place inBratislava, Slovak Republic, from 3-5 October2006. It was aimed at strengthening the capacity ofcustom and enforcement officers at the nationallevel to prevent, identify, monitor and manage ille-gal traffic of hazardous and other wastes. Theworkshop was jointly organized by the Secretariatof the Basel Convention (SBC), the BaselConvention Regional Centre in Bratislava and theTechnical Assistance Information ExchangeInstrument of the European Commission(TAIEX). At the workshop, the “Training Manualfor the Enforcement of Laws Implementing theBasel Convention: Guidance for Safe and EffectiveDetection, Investigation and Prosecution of IllegalTraffic in Hazardous and other Wastes” was intro-duced. The manual, which was adopted at the fifthsession of the Open-Ended Working Group of theBasel Convention in April 2006, is intended toform a basis for training of law enforcement agen-cies and custom officers on all aspects of illegal traf-fic of hazardous wastes. The participants recogni-zed the importance of international cooperationand the timely exchange of information in dealingwith illegal traffic of wastes. Furthermore, the needwas stressed to improve cooperation and coordina-tion between the various agencies involved, espe-cially with a view to the changing nature of bordercontrols within the enlarged European Union.

For more information, please contact: Ms. Donata Rugarabamu, Senior Legal Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 22 917 82 19, Fax: +41 22 797 34 54, Email: Donata.Rugarabamu@unep.ch

Regional Workshop on Illegal trafficfor Central and Eastern Europe

Basel Convention BulletinSecretariat of the Basel Convention13-15 chemin des Anémones1219 Geneva - Switzerland

© Copyright 2006 UNEP

Contact: Nicole DaweInformation OfficerTel. +41(0) 22-917-82 20Fax +41(0) 22-797-34 54Email: Nicole.Dawe@unep.chwww.basel.int

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Basel Convention Bulletin

One World, Don’t Waste It A detailed presentation about the Basel Convention was given and rela-

ted issues of relevance to the region were addressed. As a follow up to thetraining workshop, a special website was set up to allow participants tofurther interact on the development and implementation of environmen-tal law in Latin America and the Caribbean (please checkwww.unep.org/DPDL).

For more information, please contact: Ms. Donata Rugarabamu, Senior Legal Officer, SBC, Tel. +41 (0) 22 917 82 19, Email: Donata.Rugarabamu@unep.ch