World ministers to meet in Bali to discuss environmental hazards
Ministers, officials and activists from more than 100 countries meet Indonesia's resort island of Bali this week to discuss the management of hazardous waste, pollution and other environmental issues. The event, organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was to be the largest global environmental meeting since the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, officials said
EarthTimes | 22 Feb 2010
The series of meetings began Monday as officials discussed ways to better manage waste and chemicals and strengthen ties between the world's leading treaties governing the management of such materials - the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions.
At the meeting, delegates from countries bound by the three conventions plan to consider adopting a sweeping set of decisions that would link their efforts together.
World environment ministers are scheduled to meet from Wednesday through Friday to discuss ways to promote a green economy and protect biodiversity and ecosystems.
"This extraordinary conference is the first of its kind in that it provides an historical opportunity for us to work together on matters relating to the effective management of chemicals and wastes," Indonesian Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said.
According to reports received by the Basel Convention secretariat, at least 8.5 million tons of hazardous waste move from country to country each year, but these could be only the tip of the iceberg.
Of the 8.5 million tons, much is received as a welcome source of business by those who are paid to dispose of it, the reports said.
The UNEP estimates that the world produces 50 million tons of electrical and electronic equipment waste - or e-waste - every year.
Developing countries such as China, India and Indonesia are popular destinations for old electronic goods from developed countries, even though such trade is deemed illegal by the Basel Convention, which came into force in 1992.
Experts said exposure to chemicals from e-waste - including lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and polybrominated biphennyls - could damage the brain and nervous system, affect the kidneys and liver, and cause birth defects.
"By working in sync, the conventions are strengthening the international effort to manage chemicals and waste safely," Donald Cooper, UNEP co-executive secretary of the Rotterdam Convention and executive secretary of the Stockholm Convention, said in a statement.
Hatta said Indonesia as a vast archipelagic nation was vulnerable to illegal trafficking of hazardous substances and wastes, estimating that 2,000 locations in the country were potential entry points for such materials.
Industrial emissions also include persistent organic pollutants or POPs, chemical substances that persist in the environment, accumulate through the food chain, and pose a risk to health and the environment, he said.
"We therefore believe that international cooperation and agreements, at both global and regional level, are crucial in tackling these challenges," he said.
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