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Waste Management

Document type
Decision
Reference number
Decision 25/8:
Date
Nov 1, 2016
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Status
Active
Meeting
The 25th session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF)
Website
www.informea.org
Abstract
The Governing Council, Recalling its decisions 24/5 of 9 February 2007 and SS.X/1 of 22 February 2008 on waste management, Recalling also the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development26 and internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, Conscious that the increased amount of wastes and the associated hazards that they pose are having a severe impact on the environment at the global, regional and local levels, on natural resources, on public health, on local economies and on living conditions, and thus threatening the attainment of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, Reaffirming that waste management is a significant issue, especially for developing countries, and that international organizations should undertake more focused and coordinated actions to fill current gaps in the support given to developing countries’ efforts, Welcoming the Bali Declaration on Waste Management for Human Health and Livelihood adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal at its ninth meeting, held in Bali in June 2008, which recognized that waste, if not managed in a safe and environmentally sound manner, may trigger serious consequences for the environment, human health and sustainable livelihood, and therefore reaffirmed the commitment to preventing the illegal transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, to minimizing the generation of hazardous wastes and to promoting the safe environmentally sound management of waste within each country, Acknowledging with appreciation the report of the Executive Director on waste management27 and the need for further implementation of its recommendations, and also the role of the International Environment Technology Centre, Recognizing that stronger efforts and support for means of implementation are needed to assist Governments in developing national policy frameworks to encourage a shift from an end-of-pipe approach in waste management to an integrated waste management approach, 1. Requests the Executive Director to provide further assistance to developing countries in their efforts to strengthen national implementation of an integrated waste management approach through the programme of work and budget; 2. Also requests the Executive Director to support the implementation of the actions envisaged in the Bali Declaration on Waste Management for Human Health and Livelihood within the mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme, and within available resources as reflected in the programme of work and budget; 3. Invites international organizations and Governments and members of the industry and business sector to provide resources and technical assistance to developing countries, including creating a conducive environment for facilitating investment in waste management, to enable them to pursue actively integrated waste management; 4. Requests the Executive Director to strengthen support for capacity-building and technology support in the field of waste management, in line with the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-building, and further to undertake demonstration and pilot projects on waste management, in cooperation with relevant actors, including among others the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Development Programme, and within available resources as reflected in the programme of work and budget; 5. Recommends to the Executive Director that he propose integrated waste management as a key priority area for the United Nations “Delivering as one” initiative; 6. Calls upon Governments and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen public-private partnership in waste management to provide additional means for assisting developing countries to implement the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, including for the construction of the necessary facilities and infrastructure in waste management; 7. Recognizes the need for more intensive awareness-raising designed to change the attitude of waste generators, particularly industrial and municipal waste generators, consumers and the informal sector with regard to the “3Rs” concept (reduce, reuse and recycle), environmentally sound waste management and, where appropriate, the need for final disposal of wastes in the States in which they were generated; 8. Invites Governments and relevant organizations to provide extrabudgetary resources for the implementation of the present decision in supporting the United Nations Environment Programme and other entities including the Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in its programmes and activities; 9. Invites the conferences of the parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the United Nations