Baselavtalen

Baselavtalen, officially the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, is an international treaty that entered into force in 1992. It was adopted in Basel, Switzerland, on March 22, 1989, and its primary aim is to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of hazardous wastes. The convention controls the movement of hazardous wastes between nations and ensures that such wastes are managed and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.

The Basel Convention requires countries to minimize the generation of hazardous wastes, to manage them as close to the source of generation as possible, and to ensure that transboundary movements of hazardous wastes are conducted only when environmentally sound management cannot be achieved in the exporting or importing country. It establishes a prior informed consent (PIC) procedure, meaning that the exporting country must inform the importing country of the proposed shipment of hazardous waste, and the importing country must consent to it before the movement can take place.

Furthermore, the convention classifies hazardous wastes and requires them to be labeled, packaged, and transported in conformity with international standards. It also addresses the issue of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes, which is considered a criminal offense. The Basel Convention has been ratified by a large number of countries and has been instrumental in regulating the international trade and disposal of hazardous materials. Amendments to the convention have further strengthened its provisions, including a ban on the export of hazardous wastes from developed to developing countries for disposal.