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Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (COP10)

17-21 October 2011 | Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Summary Highlights of the Meeting
Basel COP10
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A view of San Felipe Castle.
On Monday, 17 October 2011, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal began.

COP10 began with a forum on COP10's theme "Prevention, Minimization and Recovery of Wastes." Delegates were addressed by Bakary Kante, UNEP, on behalf of UNEP Executive Secretary Achim Steiner, and Jim Willis, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions. Presentations on the theme were then made by: Lijun Zhang, Vice Minister of Environment, China; Soledad Blanco, European Commission; Oladele Osibanjo, Basel Convention Regional Coordinating Centre, Nigeria; and Frank Pearl, Minister of Environment, Colombia.

In the late morning, delegates considered financial matters and established a contact group on budget co-chaired by Kerstin Stendahl (Finland) and Osvaldo Álvarez (Chile).

In the afternoon, delegates turned their attention to strategic issues, including: the new strategic framework; the Indonesian-Swiss country-led initiative (CLI); and BCRCs. It was agreed that two contact groups would meet on the strategic framework and on the CLI, but would use the same co-chairs.

During the evening participants attended a cultural reception hosted by the Government of Colombia.

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Visit the web coverage for Monday, 17 October 2011.
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Barry Reville, Australia
Jim Willis, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions
Frank Pearl, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia
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A slide from Lijun Zhang's presentation
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Lijun Zhang, Vice Minister of Environment, China

Local dancers performed for delegates at the end of the meeting.
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Reception hosted by the Government of Colombia
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Jimena Neto (center) surrounded by the eager Colombian support team.

On Tuesday, 18 October 2011, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal convened for its second day.

During the morning, delegates discussed BCRCs and scientific and technical matters, and agreed to establish a Contact Group on technical matters, which met during the afternoon.

In the afternoon, delegates turned their attention to consideration of legal, compliance and governance matters, and agreed to establish a contact group on ship dismantling.

The Contact Group on the country-led initiative (CLI) and the strategic framework met throughout the day.

During the evening, participants attended a reception hosted by the Governments of Indonesia and Switzerland, intended to provide the opportunity for informal exchange on the CLI.

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Visit the web coverage for Tuesday, 18 October 2011.
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Plenary
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The dais during the plenary session.
Edyta Kozłowska-Kurek, European Union (EU)
Olufunke O. Babade, Nigeria
Pauline Davies, Uruguay
Nelson Sabogal, Secretariat
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A bird’s eye view of plenary
Marco Buletti, Switzerland
Miguel Araujo, Centro Regional del Convenio de Basilea para Centroamérica y México
Emile Lindemulder, ICPO (International Criminal Police Organization) – INTERPOL
Contact Groups
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Co-Chairs of the Contact Group on technical guidelines. L-R: Michael Ernst, Germany, and Mohammed Khashashneh, Jordan.
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Chair of the Contact Group on CLI, Osvaldo Álvarez, Chile (right)

On Wednesday, 19 October 2011, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal convened for its third day.

During the morning, delegates discussed the Partnership Programme and legal, compliance and governance matters.

In the afternoon delegates considered the work programme for the Open-Ended Working Group work programme, and scientific and technical matters. Contact Groups on technical matters, the country-led initiative (CLI) and ship dismantling met throughout the day.

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Visit the web coverage for Wednesday, 19 October 2011.
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The dais during the plenary session.
Enrique Moret Hernández, Cuba
Khalid Margaa, Morocco
Magda Gosk, European Union (EU)
Matthias Kern, Secretariat

Contact Group on CLI
Jimena Nieto, Colombia
Barry Reville, Australia
Aisha Usman Mahmood, Nigeria
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L-R: Kees Wielenga and Franz Perrez, Switzerland
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L-R: Chair of the Contact Group on CLI, Osvaldo Álvarez, Chile, and Jacob Duer, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Contact Group on technical matters
Joost Meijer, Chile
Discussion text
Richard Gutierrez, Ban Toxics!

Contact Group on ship dismantling
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Delegates during the Contact Group
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Chair of the Contact Group Claude Wohrer, France

Around the venue
Wet feet (and ankles and knees) in Cartagena de Indias.
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A participant checking the latest ENB.

On Thursday, 20 October 2011, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal convened for its fourth day.

During the morning, delegates discussed capacity building, scientific and technical matters, financial matters, and legal, compliance and governance matters.

In the afternoon, delegates were introduced to the Basel Waste Solutions Circle, and also considered strategic issues.

The Contact Group on ship dismantling completed its work in the morning. The Contact Groups on technical matters and on the country-led initiative (CLI) met throughout the day.

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Visit the web coverage for Thursday, 20 October 2011.
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Plenary
Xia Yingxian, China
Romina Bocache, Argentina
Julie Croteau, Canada

Contact Group on CLI
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Delegates during the Contact Group.
Ibrahim Shafii, Basel Secretariat
Sverre Thomas Jahre, Norway
Ciro Marques Russo, Brazil

Contact Group on ship dismantling
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Delegates during informal consultations.
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Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network (BAN)
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Chair of the Contact Group Claude Wohrer (center), France

Contact Group on technical matters
Andy Howarth, United Kingdom
Discussion text
Gilberto Werneck de Capistrano Filho, Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Resources (IBAMA)

On Friday, 21 October 2011, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal convened for its final day.

During the morning, delegates heard addresses from UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Frank Pearl, on the theme of the meeting "Prevention, minimization and recovery of wastes."

Turning their attention to the adoption of decisions, delegates adopted decisions on the new strategic framework and the country-led initiative to improve the effectiveness of the Basel Convention. The latter decision means an additional 17 ratifications of the 1995 Ban Amendment are required for the Amendment to enter into force. COP10 also adopted decisions on the budget, and on technical matters.

Delegates then elected bureau members for COP11. Franz Perrez (Switzerland) was elected as COP11 President, along with Yocasta Valenzuela (Dominican Republic), James Mulolo (Zambia), Abdul Mohsin Al-Mahmood (Bahrain), and Andrzej Jagusiewicz (Poland) as Vice-Presidents.

After adopting the report of the meeting, delegates made closing statements, focusing on the success of COP10. Many remarked on the "miracle of Cartagena," which succeeded in breaking the 15 year old stalemate over the Ban Amendment.

President Caballero gaveled the meeting to a close at 1:59pm.

*Visit the web coverage for Friday, 21 October 2011.
*Download the IISD RS summary and analysis of the meeting in HTML or PDF format.

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The dais applauding at the end of the meeting.
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Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
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Frank Pearl, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia
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Gabi Eigenmann, Switzerland, gave COP10 President her hat.
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Franz Perrez, Switzerland
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Franz Perrez, Switzerland, being congratulated for his election as COP11 President.
Osvaldo Álvarez, Chile
Jimena Nieto, Colombia
Soledad Blanco, European Commission
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Practicing power
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The dais at the end of the meeting.
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L-R: Diego Noguera, ENB Digital Editor; Nelson Sabogal, Basel Secretariat; Ibrahim Shafii, Basel Secretariat; Liz Willetts, ENB Writer; Paula Barrios, ENB Writer; Asheline Appleton, ENB Writer; Jimena Nieto, Colombia; Stefan Renckens, ENB Writer; and Melanie Ashton, ENB Team Leader
Daily web coverage (click on the following links to see our daily web pages)
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Related Links
Basel Convention resources
*Meeting website
*Meeting documents
*Scenario note
*Annotated agenda
*Tentative schedule
*Pre-meetings schedule
*Briefing to the Permanent Missions, 14 September 2011, Geneva, Switzerland
*Basel Convention Bulletin - September 2011 issue
*Convention background
*Origins of the Convention

IISD RS resources
*IISD RS coverage of the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 23-27 June 2008, Bali, Indonesia
IISD RS coverage of the Simultaneous Extraordinary Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (ExCOPs), and Eleventh Special Session of the UNEP Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GCSS-11/GMEF), 22-26 February 2010, Bali, Indonesia
*IISD RS coverage of the Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 27 November - 1 December 2006, Nairobi, Kenya
*IISD RS archive of Basel Convention, and backgrounder
*Chemicals-L - A news and announcement list on chemicals news and policy developments
*Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of International Activities Preparing for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development
*SIDS Policy and Practice - A Knowledgebase on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
*Biodiversity Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing International Biodiversity Policy
*Climate Change Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing Global Climate Change Policy
*Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news
*African Regional Coverage
*Latin America and Caribbean Regional Coverage
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