Outcomes of the Nairobi Conference on the Basel Convention
The international community is stepping up its efforts to enforce the ban on exports of hazardous e-waste from developed countries to developing countries and promote clean technology and green design for e-products worldwide. At their meeting in Nairobi, the parties to the Basel Convention agreed that electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) worldwide should be separated from household or municipal waste and disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner, with disposal capacities being specifically developed for this purpose. Manufacturers' take-back schemes for end-of-life equipment should also be expanded worldwide.
This was the main message sent out by the Nairobi ministerial declaration on the environmentally sound management of e-waste, issued at the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention. The Convention, which was adopted in 1989, regulates the transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous waste worldwide. 169 countries have now acceded to the Convention.
A total of 20–50 million tonnes of e-waste is generated annually worldwide, including end-of-life computers, mobile phones and televisions, and this figure is increasing by 3-5 percent a year in Europe alone. Many electronic devices contain hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, and flame retardants containing bromium. In developing countries, e-waste is often not being disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner, so efforts will now be intensified to develop appropriate disposal capacities. Delegates attending the Conference paid tribute to the positive role being played by public-private partnerships and the global initiative to improve the environmentally sound management of end-of-life mobile phones.
The Conference also focussed intensively on the environmental disaster in Côte d'Ivoire. In August 2006, a shipment of toxic waste was illegally dumped at sites around the port of Abidjan. At least ten people have died and close to 70,000 people have fallen ill as a result. The parties to the Convention were urged to provide technical and financial assistance – without absolving the polluters of their responsibilities. Executive Director Achim Steiner of the United Nations Environment Programme was requested to support this process.