The Basel Convention is an international treaty designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs). The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste was adopted on 22 March 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentaries in Basel, Switzerland, in response to a public outcry following the discovery of deposits of toxic wastes imported to Africa and other parts of the developing world.
The convention aims to minimize generation of toxic waste, ensure the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of hazardous materials. Under the convention, parties may enter into agreements with other parties (bilateral or multilateral), authorizing transboundary movement of hazardous wastes into their respective jurisdiction with condition that agreements or arrangements do not violate the ESM of hazardous wastes under the Convention.
Under the Conventions, there is a protocol on liablity and compensation for damage resulting from transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous wastes. Further details on the protocol may be accessed here.
Under Article 15. parties are required to submit a report on the previous calendar year containing information on transboundary movement of hazardous wastes in their area, measures adopted by parties in the implementationof the convention, activities realted to bilateral / multilateral agreements and arrangements and other pertinent information.
The Philippines is currently engaged in a Bilateral agreement with the United States of America reagrding the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes from the Philippines to United States.
The Latest national report (2016) was submitted to the convention in December 2017. It contains ongoing national strategies/policies, legislation, current regulations and guidelines issued to realize the reduction or elimination of the generation of hazardous waste and other wastes and the reduction of the amount of hazardous wastes and other wastes subject to transboundary movement.
f. Republic Act 9275: Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.
c. Implementation of projects / programs on insutrial waste management.
c. Demonstration of the "Viability and Removal of Barriers that Impede Adoption and Successful Implementationof Available Non-CombustionTechnologies for Destroying Persistent Organic Pollutants", a UNIDO / GEF - supported project that will introduce and apply a non-combustion technologyto destroy significant obsolete polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes. The project objective is to deploy a commercially availabel, proven non-combustion technology to address 1,500 tons of PCB - containing euipment and wastes in the Philippines.
The PEPP, pursuant to DENR Administrative Order 2003-14, is a partnership program with industries, in cooperation with the other environment-related agencies, aimed to support industry self-regulation towards improved environmetal performance. The PEPP seeks to provide a package of inventives and reward mechanisms to industries in effective voluntary self-regulation and improved environmental performance.