The Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres At A Glance…

BASEL CONVENTIONthe world environmental

agreement on wastes UNEP

The Basel ConventionTheBaselConventionontheControlofTransboundaryMovementsofHazardousWastesandtheirDisposalisthe most comprehensive global environmental treatyonhazardousandotherwastes.

TheConventionhas170members (Parties) andaimstoprotecthumanhealthandtheenvironmentagainstthe adverse effects resulting from the generation,management,transboundarymovementsanddisposalofhazardousandotherwastes.

TheBaselConventionhastwopillars.First,itregulatesthe transboundary movements of hazardous andother wastes applying the “Prior Informed Consent”procedure (shipments made without consent areillegal).

Second, the Convention obliges its Parties to ensurethat hazardous and other wastes are managed anddisposed of in an environmentally sound manner(ESM). To this end, Parties are expected tominimizethequantitiesthataremovedacrossborders,totreatand dispose of wastes as close as possible to theirplace of generation, and to prevent or minimize thegenerationofwastesatsource.

Examples of wastes regulated by the Basel Convention…Biomedicalandhealthcarewastes,usedoils,usedlead

acid batteries, Persistent Organic Pollutant wastes

(POPswastes), chemicalsandpesticides thatpersist

for many years in the environment, Polychlorinated

Biphenyls (PCBs), compounds used in industry as

heat exchange fluids, in electric transformers and

capacitors,andasadditivesinpaint,carbonlesscopy

paper, sealants and plastics, thousands of chemical

wastesgeneratedbyindustriesandotherconsumers,

electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) such as

mobile phones or computers, ships destined for

dismantlingandmercuryandasbestoswaste.

The Basel Convention Regional and Coordinating Centres The Basel Convention benefits from a network offourteen Regional and Coordinating Centres forCapacity Building and Technology Transfer (BCRCs).TheBaselConventionisuniqueinsettinguparegionalnetwork of autonomous institutions which operatesundertheauthorityoftheConferenceoftheParties,thedecision-makingorganoftheConvention,composedofallthecountriespartytotheConvention.

The BCRCs are established under two types ofagreement: bybeinghosted in an inter-governmentalinstitution or by vesting a national institution with aregional role to support countries within a region intheirimplementationoftheConvention.

Why were the BCRCs created? The BCRCs were established in accordance withArticle14of theBaselConvention. InArticle14, thePartiestotheConventionagreedtoestablishregionalor sub-regional Centres for training and technologytransferregardingthemanagementofhazardousandotherwastesandtheminimizationoftheirgeneration.The BCRCs were created to address specific regionalorsub-regionalneeds.

What do the BCRCs do?The BCRCs deliver training, dissemination ofinformation, consulting, awareness raising activitiesand technology transfer on matters relevant to theimplementation of the Basel Convention and to theenvironmentally sound management of hazardousand other wastes in the countries they serve. Thespecific activities are training workshops, seminars,pilot projects on the management of priority wastestreams, the production of information material andguidelines.

How are the BCRCs administered?Each Centre has a Steering Committee which iscomposed of members of the Centre’s host countryand of the countries served by the Centre. ThedirectoroftheCentre,aswellasrepresentativesfromtheSecretariatoftheBaselConvention,areexofficiomembers of each Steering Committee. The workprogrammeofeachBCRCisdevelopedbytheSteeringCommittee in accordance with the priority needsof the countries and region served by the Centre,and based upon the priority areas identified by theConferenceoftheParties.

Where are the BCRCs located?TheCentresarelocatedinArgentina,China,Egypt,ElSalvador, Indonesia, IslamicRepublicof Iran,Nigeria,Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovak Republic, SouthPacific Regional Environment Programme (Samoa),South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.EachCentreservicesseveralcountriesinitsrespectiveregion.

How are the BCRCs funded? The Centres are funded by their host countries,throughproject-relatedfundingandthroughvoluntarycontributions.

BASEL CONVENTIONthe world environmental

agreement on wastes UNEP

Examples of activities organized by the BCRCs:– Trainingworkshopsonreportingandinventories

ofhazardouswastes

– Reviewsofexistingnationalandinternationallegislationonmonitoringandcontroloftransboundarymovementsofhazardouswastesandtheirenvironmentallysoundmanagement

– Nationalworkshopsonthemonitoringandcontrolofhazardouswaste

– Regionalworkshopsonthepreventionandmonitoringofillegaltrafficofhazardousandotherwastes

– Pilotprojectsoninventoriesofhazardouswastes

– Trainingseminarsforportenforcementofficers

– ProjectsontheassessmentandrecyclingofusedoilsinAfrica

– Regionalprojectsontheenvironmentallysoundmanagementofusedlead-acidbatteries

– Developmentofregionaltechnicalguidelinesandtools(suchase-wasteinventories)

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Africa and West Asia1. BaselConventionRegionalCentrefortheArabStates(Cairo)

2. BaselConventionRegionalCo-ordinatingCentrefortheAfricanRegion(Ibadan)

3. BaselConventionRegionalCentreforFrench-speakingcountriesinAfrica(Dakar)

4. BaselConventionRegionalCentreforEnglish-speakingcountriesinAfrica(Pretoria)

Asia and Pacific Region5. BaselConventionRegionalCentrefortheAsiaandPacificRegioninChina(Beijing)

6. BaselConventionRegionalCentreforSoutheastAsia(Jakarta)

7. BaselConventionRegionalCentreinTehran

8. PacificRegionalCentreforTrainingandTechnologyTransferfortheJoint

ImplementationoftheBaselandWaiganiConventionsintheSouthPacific

Region(Apia)

Central and Eastern Europe9. BaselConventionRegionalCentreforCountriesintheCommonwealth

ofIndependentStates(Moscow)

10. BaselConventionRegionalCentreforCentralEurope(Bratislava)

Latin America and the Caribbean11. BaselConventionCentrefortheSouthAmericanRegion(BuenosAires)

12. BaselConventionRegionalCentreforCentralAmericaandMexico(SanSalvador)

13. BaselConventionRegionalCentrefortheCaribbeanRegion(PortofSpain)

14. BaselConventionCoordinatingCentreforLatinAmericaandCaribbeanRegion

(Montevideo)

The Basel Convention At A Glance …FormoreinformationabouttheBaselConventionRegionalandCoordinatingCentres,

pleasegoto:

http://www.basel.int/centers/centers.html

orcontact:

SecretariatoftheBaselConvention

InternationalEnvironmentHouse

UNEP/SBC

13-15chemindesAnémones

1219Châtelaine(Geneva)

Switzerland

Tel.+41229178218

Fax+41229173454

Email:sbc@unep.ch

www.basel.int

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Otherpictures:©UNEP/SBC