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III. MANAGEMENT OF WASTES:

The special vulnerability of SIDS to waste management problems was highlighted, particularly in view of limited land surface in these countries. In paragraph 23 (transboundary movement of wastes), there was disagreement on who should bear the burden of the impact of passage of ships transporting toxic and radioactive wastes through oceans and seas. Agreement was not reached until the last day. The sentence in question now reads: "The passage of ships carrying toxic and hazardous wastes, chemicals and radioactive materials is of international concern and of priority concern to small island developing States."

Agreement was also reached on the new paragraph 24.A(viii), which reads: "In conformity with the Basel Convention and relevant decisions taken by the Parties to that Convention, the small island developing States should formulate and enforce national laws and/or regulations that ban the importation from OECD countries of hazardous wastes and other wastes subject to the Basel Convention, including hazardous wastes and other wastes destined for recycling and recovery operations."

Other recommended actions in this chapter include: use of products with low waste or degradable waste content; development and implementation of emission discharge and pollution standards; ratification and implementation of relevant conventions; formulation and implementation of public awareness and education campaigns; introduction of clean technologies; development of regional pollution prevention programmes; establishment of regional mechanisms to protect the oceans, seas and coastal areas from ship-generated oil spills; and the provision of improved access to financial and technical resources to assist SIDS in establishing regional centers for training and transfer of clean production technologies and management of hazardous wastes. [Return to start of article]