Waste Management

The Bamako Convention on the ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes within Africa was adopted in Bamako, Mali, on 30 January 1991. The Bamako Convention came into force on 10 March 1999.

Objectives

The objectives of the Bamako Convention are to protect human health and the environment from dangers posed by hazardous wastes by reducing their generation to a minimum in terms of quantity and/or hazard potential.

Scope

Only States which are members of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) can become a party to the Bamako Convention.

Key provisions

All Parties are obliged to prohibit the import of all hazardous wastes, for any reason, into Africa from non-Contracting Parties (article 4.1). The categories of wastes listed in Annex I to the Bamako Convention, a waste possessing any of the characteristics listed in Annex II to the Bamako Convention, as well as any waste considered to be hazardous by the domestic laws of either the state of import, export, or transit are considered hazardous wastes for the purposes of the Bamako Convention.

Under the Bamako Convention the dumping of hazardous wastes is prohibited as follows (article 4.2):

Parties in conformity with related international conventions and instruments shall, in the exercise of their jurisdiction within their internal waters, territorial seas, exclusive economic zones and continental shelf, adopt legal, administrative and other appropriate measures to control all carriers from non-Parties, and prohibit the dumping at sea of hazardous wastes, including their incineration at sea and their disposal in the seabed and the sub-seabed; any dumping of hazardous wastes at sea, including incineration at sea as well as seabed and sub-seabed disposal, by Contracting Parties, whether in internal waters, territorial seas, exclusive economic zones or high seas shall be deemed to be illegal.

It follows from this provision in combination with Annex I to the Bamako Convention that the dumping of radioactive wastes, industrial wastes, sewage and sewage sludge is prohibited. The Bamako Convention places the duty on the Parties to monitor their respective waterways to ensure that no dumping occurs. Each State Party must report annually to the Secretariat all the hazardous wastes generated each year.

An introduction to the convention is provided on the Basel Convention website:

Origins of the Convention

In the late 1980s, a tightening of environmental regulations in industrialized countries led to a dramatic rise in the cost of hazardous waste disposal. Searching for cheaper ways to get rid of the wastes, “toxic traders” began shipping hazardous waste to developing countries and to Eastern Europe. When this activity was revealed, international outrage led to the drafting and adoption of the Basel Convention.

During its first Decade (1989-1999), the Convention was principally devoted to setting up a framework for controlling the “transboundary” movements of hazardous wastes, that is, the movement of hazardous wastes across international frontiers. It also developed the criteria for “environmentally sound management”. A Control System, based on prior written notification, was also put into place.

About the Present Decade

During The Present Decade (2000-2010), the Convention will build on this framework by emphasizing full implementation and enforcement of treaty commitments. The other area of focus will be the minimization of hazardous waste generation. Recognizing that the long-term solution to the stockpiling of hazardous wastes is a reduction in the generation of those wastes – both in terms of quantity and hazardousness – Ministers meeting in December of 1999 set out guidelines for the Convention’s activities during the Next Decade, including:

active promotion and use of cleaner technologies and production methods;

further reduction of the movement of hazardous and other wastes;

the prevention and monitoring of illegal traffic;

improvement of institutional and technical capabilities -through technology when appropriate – especially for developing countries and countries with economies in transition;

further development of regional and subregional centres for training and technology transfer.

More information ….