BASEL CONVENTION

A. HISTORY
• Adopted in March 22, 1989
• Entered into force in May 5, 1992
• Khian Sea Waste Disposal Incident
• Koko Case
  The Basel Negotiation Process (1987-1989)
• In June 1987, the Governing Council of UNEP approved the Cairo
Guidelines
• Based on a joint proposal by Switzerland and Hungary, the Governing
Council of UNEP mandated the Executive Director to convene a
working group with the task of elaborating a global convention on the
control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, drawing
on the Cairo Guidelines and the relevant national, regional and
international bodies.
Conference of Plenipotentiaries
• Convened from 20 to 22 March 1989 in Basel
• 116 States participated
• 105 States and the European Economic Community
(EEC) signed the Final Act of the Basel Conference.
• 53 States and the EEC had signed it.
 “Hazardous Waste” Definition
• ​Waste that belongs to any category contained in Annex 1 of the
Convention (i.e.: medical waste, waste from wood preserving
chemicals, waste from inks, dyes, pigments, and paints, residues from
industrial waste disposal, etc), unless they do not possess any of the
characteristics contained in Annex III (i.e.: explosive, flammable,
unstable, poisonous, etc.).
• Wastes defined as hazardous under the laws of either the exporting
country, the importing country, of any of the countries of transit.
• The Convention regularly updates the list of wastes included in the
Convention.
 B. POLICY OBJECTIVES
• Reduction of hazardous waste generation and the promotion
of environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes,
wherever the place of disposal;
• Restriction of transboundary movements of hazardous
wastes except where it is perceived to be in accordance with
the principles of environmentally sound management; and
• To establish a regulatory system that will apply in cases
where transboundary movements are permissible.
 C. KEY PROVISIONS
• 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 regulatory system is the cornerstone of the Basel
Convention as originally adopted. Based on the concept of
prior informed consent, it requires that, before an export
may take place, the authorities of the State of export notify
the authorities of the prospective States of import and
transit, providing them with detailed information on the
intended movement. The movement may only proceed if
and when all States concerned have given their written
consent (Articles 6 and 7).
• In the event of a transboundary movement of hazardous
wastes having been carried out illegally, i.e. in contravention of
the provisions of articles 6 and 7, or cannot be completed as
foreseen, the Convention attributes responsibility to one or
more of the States involved, and imposes the duty to ensure
safe disposal, either by re-import into the State of generation
or otherwise (Articles 8 and 9)
• 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 subregions (Article
14)
• The Secretariat is required to facilitate and support this
cooperation, acting as a clearing-house (article 16)
• The Basel Convention also provides for cooperation between
parties, ranging from exchange of information on issues
relevant to the implementation of the Convention to
technical assistance, particularly to developing countries
(articles 10 and 13)
D.IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGMENTS
• The objective of the mechanism is to assist Parties to
comply with their obligations under the Convention and to
facilitate, promote, monitor and aim to secure the
implementation of and compliance with the obligations
under the Convention.
• The mechanism shall be non-confrontational, transparent,
cost-effective and preventive in nature, simple, flexible, non-
binding and oriented in the direction of helping parties to
implement the provisions of the Basel Convention.
 Submissions may be made to the Committee by:
(a) A Party that concludes that, despite its best efforts, it is or will be
unable to fully implement or comply with its obligations under the
Convention;
(b) A Party that has concerns or is affected by a failure to comply with
and/or implement the Convention’s obligations by another Party with whom
it is directly involved under the Convention. A Party intending to make a
submission under this subparagraph shall inform the Party whose
compliance is in question, and both Parties should then try to resolve the
matter through consultations;
(c) The Secretariat, if, while acting pursuant to its functions under
articles 13 and 16, it becomes aware of possible difficulties of any party in
complying with its obligations under paragraph 1 of Article 3, paragraph 1(a)
of Article 4, Article 5 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 13 of the Convention,
provided that the matter has not been resolved within three months by
consultation with the Party concerned.
• Where a submission is made, the secretariat shall forward the
submission, within two weeks of its receiving the submission, to the
Committee for consideration at its next meeting.
• The Party whose compliance is in question may present responses
and/or comments at every step of the proceedings described in this
decision.
• In cases of a submission other than by a Party with respect to its own
compliance, the secretariat shall send, within two weeks of its
receiving the submission, a copy to the Party whose compliance with
the Convention is in question and to the Committee for consideration
at its next meeting.
 Facilitation Procedure
(a) Establishing and/or strengthening its domestic/regional
regulatory regimes;
(b) Facilitation of assistance in particular to developing countries
and countries with economies in transition, including on how to access
financial and technical support, including technology transfer and
capacity-building;
(c) Elaborating, as appropriate and with the cooperation of the
Party or Parties faced with the compliance problems, voluntary
compliance action plans, and review their implementation. A voluntary
compliance action plan may include benchmarks, objectives and
indicators of the plan, as well as an indicative timeline for its
implementation;
(d) Any follow-up arrangements for progress reporting to the
Committee, including through the national reporting procedure under
article 13.

• Advice, non-binding recommendations and information other than

those listed in subparagraphs (a) to (d) above should be provided in
agreement with that Party.
General review
(a) Ensuring the environmentally sound management and disposal of
hazardous and other wastes;
(b) Training customs and other personnel;
(c) Accessing technical and financial support, particularly for
developing countries, including technology transfer and capacity-building;
(d) Establishing and developing means of detecting and eradicating
illegal traffic, including investigating, sampling and testing;
(e) Monitoring, assessing and facilitating reporting under article 13 of
the Convention; and
(f) The implementation of, and compliance with, specified obligations
under the Convention.
 E. PHILIPPINE IMPLEMENTATION
• Focal Office: Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)
• a. Presidential Decree 984: Pollution Control Law of 1976;
b. Presidential Decree 1586: Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
System;
c. Republic Act 6969: Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear
Wastes Control Act of 1990;
d. Republic Act 8749: Clean Air Act of 1999;
e. Republic Act 9003: Solid Waste Management Act of 2000; and
f. Republic Act 9275: Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.