4 March 2003
First Session of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG 1) of the Basel Convention
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The first session of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG 1) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 28 April to 2 May 2003.

The Open-ended Working Group was established at the sixth Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention […]

The first session of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG 1) of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 28 April to 2 May 2003.

The Open-ended Working Group was established at the sixth Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention with the mandate to assist the COP in developing and keeping under continuous review the implementation of the Convention’s work plan. The meeting considered a range of issues relating, inter alia, to: the Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Basel Convention; the mechanism for promoting implementation and compliance of the Convention; the preparation of technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of persistent organic pollutants as waste; the sustainable partnership on the environmentally sound management of end-of-life mobile telephones; proposed areas for cooperation with environmental non-governmental organizations and with industry and the business sector; and follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. At the meeting, more than 100 Parties agreed to fund a first batch of 15 projects designed as the first step in the implementation of the new 10-year Strategic Plan of the Basel Convention. A total of US$880,000 will be allocated to five projects in Africa, five in Latin America, three in Asia and two in Europe. The projects focus on various issues including: detecting and preventing illegal shipments of hazardous wastes; the provision of training; improving the design and operation of waste landfills; developing inventories and databases; and assessing management options for priority waste streams such as used oil. More information is available online at: http://www.basel.int/


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