Awakening environmental awareness and a corresponding tightening of environmental regulations in the industrialized world in the 1970s and 1980s led to increasing public resistance to the dumping of hazardous wastes – and to an escalation of disposal costs. This in turn led some operators to seek cheap disposal options for hazardous wastes in the developing world. It was against this background that the Basel Convention was negotiated in the late 1980s, and entered into force in 1992.
This course will introduces you to the history of the Basel Convention and how it works to regulate the movement and disposal of hazardous and other wastes across international boundaries.
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the importance of regulating international trade of hazardous wastes and their disposal
- Identify the core components and mechanism established by the Basel Convention
- Outline the synergies process undertaken by the Stockholm, Rotterdam and Basel Conventions
- Describe the main obligation under several regional instruments on hazardous wastes