BASEL

CONVENTION ON
TRANS-BOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF
HAZARDOUS WASTES, 1989

ANEESHA BAJESARIA
5055
B.COM(H), SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements
of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted on 22 March
1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, in
response to a public outcry following the discovery, in the 1980s, in
Africa and other parts of the developing world of deposits of toxic
wastes imported from abroad.
HISTORY
With the tightening of environmental laws (for example, RCRA) in developed
nations in the 1970s, disposal costs for hazardous waste rose dramatically. At
the same time, globalization of shipping made transboundary movement of
waste more accessible, and many LDCs were desperate for foreign currency.
Consequently, the trade in hazardous waste, particularly to LDCs, grew
rapidly.
One of the incidents which led to the creation of the Basel Convention was
the Khian Sea waste disposal incident, in which a ship carrying incinerator ash
from the city of Philadelphia in the United States dumped half of its load on a
beach in Haiti before being forced away. It sailed for many months, changing
its name several times. Unable to unload the cargo in any port, the crew was
believed to have dumped much of it at sea. Another is the 1988 Koko case in
which five ships transported 8,000 barrels of hazardous waste from Italy to
the small town of Koko in Nigeria in exchange for $100 monthly rent which
was paid to a Nigerian for the use of his farmland.
These practices have been deemed "Toxic Colonialism" by many developing
countries.
OBJECTIVES
The Convention’s overall goal is to protect human health and the
environment against the ill-effects of generating and handling
hazardous and other wastes, and from moving them across
boundaries. Other objectives include:
 Reducing trans-boundary movements of wastes to the minimum,
consistent with managing them in environmentally sound and
efficient ways, and controlling those permitted under the terms of
the Convention.
 Minimizing the amount of hazardous wastes that are generated,
and ensuring that they are managed in environmentally sound ways.
 Helping developing countries with the environmentally sound
management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.
DEFINITION OF
“HAZARDOUS” WASTE
A waste falls under the scope of the Convention if it is within the category
of wastes listed in Annex I of the Convention and it exhibits one of the
hazardous characteristics contained in Annex III. In other words, it must
both be listed and possess a characteristic such as being explosive,
flammable, toxic, or corrosive. The other way that a waste may fall under
the scope of the Convention is if it is defined as or considered to be a
hazardous waste under the laws of either the exporting country, the
importing country, or any of the countries of transit.
Alternatively, to fall under the scope of the Convention, it is sufficient for
waste to be included in Annex II, which lists other wastes, such as
household wastes and residue that comes from incinerating household
waste.
Radioactive waste that is covered under other international control
systems and wastes from the normal operation of ships are not covered.
PARTICIPATION IN
BASEL CONVENTION
WASTE COVERED BY BASEL
Classification by characteristics :
 Toxicity
 Corrosivity
 Ignitability
 Reactivity
 Eco- toxicity

REACTIVE CORROSIVE FLAMMABLE TOXIC

AIMS AND PROVISIONS
The first aim is addressed through a number of general provisions requiring
States to observe the fundamental principles of environmentally sound waste
management (article 4). A number of prohibitions are designed to attain the
second aim: hazardous wastes may not be exported to Antarctica, to a State
not party to the Basel Convention, or to a party having banned the import of
hazardous wastes (article 4). Parties may, however, enter into bilateral or
multilateral agreements on hazardous waste management with other parties
or with non-parties, provided that such agreements are “no less
environmentally sound” than the Basel Convention (article 11).
The Convention also provides for the establishment of regional or sub-
regional centres for training and technology transfers regarding the
management of hazardous wastes and other wastes and the minimization of
their generation to cater to the specific needs of different regions and sub
regions (article 14). Fourteen such centres have been established. They carry
out training and capacity building activities in the regions.
IMPLEMENTATION OF
BASEL CONVENTION

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
CONFERENCE OF PARTIES
The Conference of the Parties (COP) was established pursuant to
article 15 of the Convention. It is the governing body of the Basel
Convention and is composed of governments of countries that have
accepted, ratified or acceded to it. The implementation of the
Convention is advanced through the decisions it takes at its
meetings.

BASIL CONVENTION 2019

THE END