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Basel Convention: challenges to move forward

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal was adopted in 1989, aiming at protecting human life and the environment from the adverse effects resulted from the disposal, management and the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. Implementing a system in which these movements would be minimized and controlled by emphasizing environmentally sound management of wastes and requesting a prior informed consent, the Convention, 20 years later, has not succeeded in protecting entirely developing nations from environmental injustices and catastrophes. The growing illegal exports of electronic wastes and ships for breaking to poor countries in Asia and Africa, the accident at the Ivory Coast in 2006 and the recent case of toxic wastes exports to Brazilian enterprises make clear the lack of commitment of some industrialized countries and the inefficacy of core instruments of the Convention. The Basel Ban Amendment, proposed in 1994 as an embodiment of the principles of environmental justice, would ban all exports of hazardous wastes from OECD and EC countries to other countries, but has failed to garner enough support to enter into force. This paper first analyzes the key barriers that have prevented the Basel Convention from achieving an environmentally just system for hazardous waste control and treatment. Then, it provides a critical analysis of the negotiating positions of Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand and United States, which are actively working to undermine the Basel Convention's Ban Amendment and the development of the treaty. Ultimately, it addresses the Convention’s weaknesses, aiming at identifying “better practices” of public policies, principles and compromises to face the hazardous wastes related problems, in the light of the Ecological Economics thinking.
Key-words: Environmental Justice, Ecological Economics, Basel Convention, Hazardous