Abogado

Cartagena Draft Declaration

on the prevention, minimization and recovery of hazardous wastes and other wastes

(for consideration 28/09/11)



We, the Parties to the Basel Convention,Having met in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from 17 October to 21 October 2011, on the occasion of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control ofTransboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;

Reaffirming the fundamental aims of the Basel Convention, namely, the reduction of transboundary movements of hazardous and other wastes, theprevention and minimization of their generation, the environmentally sound management of such wastes, and the promotion, use and transfer of cleaner technologies;

Recalling the third preambularparagraph to the Basel Convention, which affirms that the most effective way of protecting human health and the environment from the dangers posed by such wastes is the reduction of their generation to aminimum in terms of quantity and/or hazard potential;

Recalling further Decision VII/2 on Hazardous Waste Minimization, and Decision VIII/23 on implementing Decision VII/2;

Recognizing thatdespite efforts taken and the progress achieved in the first 20 years of the Basel Convention, the volume of hazardous and other wastes continues to increase, and that the transboundary movement ofhazardous and other wastes has not diminished,



Taking into consideration that the hazardous waste challenge we face is a threat to human health and the environment, and is best addressed through theavoidance of the use of hazardous substances in products and processes as well as through production methods that avoid and prevent waste generation;


Noting that Decision III/1 to amend theBasel Convention provides incentives to internalize costs and to minimize waste generation at source as one way of meeting that challenge;


Noting further that measures to avoid and minimize...