Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

 

Article 10
International Co-operation

1. The Parties shall co-operate with each other in order to improve and
achieve environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other
wastes.

2. To this end, the Parties shall:

(a) Upon request, make available information, whether on a bilateral or
multilateral basis, with a view to promoting the environmentally sound
management of hazardous wastes and other wastes, including harmonization of
technical standards and practices for the adequate management of hazardous
wastes and other wastes;

(b) Co-operate in monitoring the effects of the management of hazardous
wastes on human health and the environment;

(c) Co-operate, subject to their national laws, regulations and policies,
in the development and implementation of new environmentally sound
low-waste technologies and the improvement of existing technologies with a
view to eliminating, as far as practicable, the generation of hazardous
wastes and other wastes and achieving more effective and efficient methods
of ensuring their management in an environmentally sound manner, including
the study of the economic, social and environmental effects of the adoption
of such new or improved technologies;

(d) Co-operate actively, subject to their national laws, regulations and
policies, in the transfer of technology and management systems related to
the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes.
They shall also co-operate in developing the technical capacity among
Parties, especially those which may need and request technical assistance
in this field;

(e) Co-operate in developing appropriate technical guidelines and/or
codes of practice.

3. The Parties shall employ appropriate means to cooperate in order to
assist developing countries in the implementation of subparagraphs a, b, c
and d of paragraph 2 of Article 4.

4. Taking into account the needs of developing countries, co-operation
between Parties and the competent International Organizations is encouraged
to promote, inter alia, public awareness, the development of sound
management of hazardous wastes and other wastes and the adoption of new
low-waste technologies.

Article 11
Bilateral, Multilateral and Regional Agreements

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 4 paragraph 5, Parties may
enter into bilateral, multilateral, or regional agreements or arrangements
regarding transboundary movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes with
Parties or non-Parties provided that such agreements or arrangements do not
derogate from the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and
other wastes as required by this Convention. These agreements or
arrangements shall stipulate provisions which are not less environmentally
sound than those provided for by this Convention in particular taking into
account the interests of developing countries.

2. Parties shall notify the Secretariat of any bilateral, multilateral or
regional agreements or arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 and those
which they have entered into prior to the entry into force of this
Convention for them, for the purpose of controlling transboundary movements
of hazardous wastes and other wastes which take place entirely among the
Parties to such agreements. The provisions of this Convention shall not
affect transboundary movements which take place pursuant to such agreements
provided that such agreements are compatible with the environmentally sound
management of hazardous wastes and other wastes as required by this
Convention.

Article 12
Consultations on Liability

The Parties shall co-operate with a view to adopting, as soon as
practicable, a protocol setting out appropriate rules and procedures in the
field of liability and compensation for damage resulting from the
transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous wastes and other wastes.

Article 13
Transmission of Information

1. The Parties shall, whenever it comes to their knowledge, ensure that, in
the case of an accident occurring during the transboundary movement of
hazardous wastes or other wastes or their disposal, which are likely to
present risks to human health and the environment in other States, those
states are immediately informed.

2. The Parties shall inform each other, through the Secretariat, of:

(a) Changes regarding the designation of competent authorities and/or
focal points, pursuant to Article 5;

(b) Changes in their national definition of hazardous wastes, pursuant to
Article 3; and, as soon as possible,

(c) Decisions made by them not to consent totally or partially to the
import of hazardous wastes or other wastes for disposal within the area
under their national jurisdiction;

(d) Decisions taken by them to limit or ban the export of hazardous
wastes or other wastes;

(e) Any other information required pursuant to paragraph 4 of this
Article.

3. The Parties, consistent with national laws and regulations, shall
transmit, through the Secretariat, to the Conference of the Parties
established under Article 15, before the end of each calendar year, a
report on the previous calendar year, containing the following information:

(a) Competent authorities and focal points that have been designated by
them pursuant to Article 5;

(b) Information regarding transboundary movements of hazardous wastes or
other wastes in which they have been involved, including:

(i) The amount of hazardous wastes and other wastes exported, their
category, characteristics, destination, any transit country and
disposal method as stated on the response to notification;

(ii) The amount of hazardous wastes and other wastes imported, their
category, characteristics, origin, and disposal methods;

(iii) Disposals which did not proceed as intended;

(iv) Efforts to achieve a reduction of the amount of hazardous wastes
or other wastes subject to transboundary movement;

(c) Information on the measures adopted by them in implementation of this
Convention;

(d) Information on available qualified statistics which have been
compiled by them on the effects on human health and the environment of the
generation, transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes or other
wastes;

(e) Information concerning bilateral, multilateral and regional
agreements and arrangements entered into pursuant to Article 11 of this
Convention;

(f) Information on accidents occurring during the transboundary movement
and disposal of hazardous wastes and other wastes and on the measures
undertaken to deal with them;

(g) Information on disposal options operated within the area of their
national jurisdiction;

(h) Information on measures undertaken for development of technologies
for the reduction and/or elimination of production of hazardous wastes and
other wastes; and

(i) Such other matters as the Conference of the Parties shall deem
relevant.

4. The Parties, consistent with national laws and regulations, shall ensure
that copies of each notification concerning any given transboundary
movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes, and the response to it, are
sent to the Secretariat when a Party considers that its environment may be
affected by that transboundary movement has requested that this should be
done.

Article 14
Financial Aspects

1. The Parties agree that, according to the specific needs of different
regions and subregions, 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 should be established. The
Parties shall decide on the establishment of appropriate funding mechanisms
of a voluntary nature.

2. The Parties shall consider the establishment of a revolving fund to
assist on an interim basis in case of emergency situations to minimize
damage from accidents arising from transboundary movements of hazardous
wastes and other wastes or during the disposal of those wastes.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

International Organizations, country.