sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

140
With regard to the safe recovery and recycling of hazardous wastes, reports from the region’s
countries to the Basel Convention in <strong>20</strong>05 showed that ten countries had policies in effect, seven were
formulating such policies, and four still lacked any such policy. Only one country reported that it had
adequate facilities to treat waste oil. The vast majority of countries in the region lack facilities to treat,
dispose of, or recycle these substances (OAS, <strong>20</strong>09).
In 1992, a group of six Central American countries signed and ratified a Regional Agreement on
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, based on the Basel Convention, banning the import and
transit of waste considered as hazardous from countries that are parties to the agreement to Central
America. For the purposes of technical assistance, technology transfer and capacity-building, Argentina,
El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay are all hosting Basel Convention Regional Centres, which
require the countries’ reinforcement and support.
(b)
Prior informed consent (Rotterdam Convention)
The Rotterdam Convention, in force since <strong>20</strong>04, establishes a prior informed consent (PIC)
procedure for imports of hazardous chemicals. The challenges facing the convention include: poor
administrative capacity to enforce obligations; weak structures for promoting harmonization and fostering
synergy between international agreements; and poor intersectoral coordination. This makes the
Convention ineffective as an economic and regulatory instrument.
Some of the proposed ways forward to resolving these problems are: training in toxicology and
risk assessment; information dissemination; the establishment of mechanisms to ensure the participation
and commitment of all the parties required to implement the convention; involving customs more
actively; securing the commitment of industry; and encouraging information-sharing and collaboration
among designated national authorities (Montreal, <strong>20</strong>07).
(c)
Persistent organic pollutants (Stockholm Convention)
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) has been adopted by
30 countries in the region, 22 of which have submitted national implementation plans. 17 The region is
progressing with banning the 12 substances covered by the Stockholm Convention at the outset and now
faces the challenge of banning the additional 9 substances incorporated in <strong>20</strong>09. At the fifth meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP5) held in <strong>20</strong>11 it was also agreed to ban
endosulfan, used in such applications as coffee and soybean plantations. The worst lags in implementing
the provisions of the Convention include deficiencies in monitoring and research capacity, final disposal,
information dissemination and strengthening the legislative and institutional framework (Secretariat of the
Stockholm Convention, <strong>20</strong>09; UNEP, <strong>20</strong>08a). Another major challenge is managing stocks of obsolete
products. The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee (POPRC) is also assessing a number of
products, including short-chain chlorinated paraffins, used in the metal-processing industry, and
hexabromocyclododecane, used in a variety of applications as a fire retardant, with a view to banning
them under the Convention.
While major progress has been made in terms of information, including inventories of dioxins,
furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the lack or inadequacy of data is another major barrier to
implementing the Stockholm Convention in the region (UNEP, <strong>20</strong>08a). There are a number of projects
17
The national implementation plans (NIP) contain detailed information on measures taken to implement the
Stockholm Convention [date of reference: December <strong>20</strong>11].