Basel Convention
Also called: Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes · Topic: Geographical Issues: Pollution, Urban Waste, Slums and Land Degradation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Basel Convention is an international treaty that controls how countries send hazardous waste across their borders. Hazardous waste is waste that is toxic, can catch fire, or can harm people and nature. The treaty was adopted in 1989 at Basel, Switzerland. It came about because rich countries were dumping toxic waste in poorer ones. Under its prior informed consent rule, the exporting country must tell the importing country about a shipment in advance, and the importing country must agree in writing before the waste can move. The treaty also asks countries to produce less hazardous waste and to dispose of it close to where it was made, in a way that is safe for the environment. India is a party to the treaty.
Example
Lithium-ion battery black mass is a powder made by shredding used batteries. It contains lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese, and it is hazardous. When black mass is shipped from India to another country, it counts as hazardous waste crossing a border. That is the kind of trade the Basel Convention regulates.
Don't confuse with
- Rotterdam Convention: it covers trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides that are still in use, not wastes. It also uses prior informed consent.
- Stockholm Convention: it aims to phase out or reduce persistent organic pollutants (POPs, poisons that stay in nature for a long time). It does not control waste shipments.