Unep/Chw/Cli Ewg.6/2

UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/2

UNITED
NATIONS / / BC
UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/2
/ Distr.: General
27 February 2017
English only

Expert Working Group on Environmentally Sound Management

Sixth meeting

Mechelen, Belgium, 1719 January 2017

Report of the Expert Working Group on Environmentally Sound Management on the work of its sixth meeting[1]

1.The sixth meeting of the expert working group on environmentally sound management (ESM) of wastes of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal was held in Mechelen, Belgium, from 17to 19 January 2017. The meeting was hosted by the Public Waste Agency ofFlanders (OVAM), Belgium, with financial support fromGermany and Japan.

I.Opening of the meeting

2.Mr. Andreas Jaron (Germany), co-chair of the expert working group, opened the meeting, and invited Mr. Danny Wille, the representative of OVAM to make introductory remarks as the host of the meeting.

3.Mr. Willewelcomed all participants to Mechelen, the centre of waste management in Flanders. He presented the successes of OVAM towards preventing waste generation and said that close cooperation with all stakeholders, as well as civil society engagement, were key to these. He noted that the strength of the expert working group was the development of good quality guidance and the implementation of pilot projects to show in practice how to ensure the ESM of wastes. He expressed the hope that the library of tools developed by the Group would soon be enriched by guidance on prevention.

4.Thanking the host, Mr. Jaron informed the Group that its task during the meeting was to finalize the draft guidance on prevention and minimization, the practical manuals on extended producer responsibility and financing, and the factsheets on specific waste streams, as well as to review progress on the implementation of pilot projects. In addition, the Group would need to think about its future.

5.Mr. Adel Shafei (Egypt), co-chair of the expert working group, also welcomed the participants and expressed his appreciation to all those that had made comments on the various toolsunder development by the Group.

6.The representative of theSecretariat expressed its appreciation to the Governments of Germany and Japan for providing financial support for the meeting. She then updated the Group on the status of implementation of its work programme, as well as on the status of preparation of meeting documents for the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (24 April5 May 2017, Geneva).

7.The meeting was attended by the following members of the expert working group:

African States

Mr. Adel Shafei Mohamed Osman (Egypt)

Mr. Sam Adu-Kumi (Ghana)

Mr. Henry O. Williams (Liberia)

Mr.Jean-ClaudeSalama (Madagascar)

Mr.Samwel VictorManyele (United republic of Tanzania)

Asian and Pacific States

Ms. Yushuang Li (China)

Mr. Michikazu Kojima (Japan)

Mr. Ali Abdullah Al-Dobhani (Yemen)

Mr. Mohammed Oglah Hussein Khashashneh (Jordan)

Ms.NanaZhao (BCRC-China)

Central and Eastern European States

Mr. Peter Wessman (European Union)

Ms. Dana Lapešová (BCRC-Slovakia)

Ms. Justina Grigaraviciene (Lithuania)

Latin American and Caribbean States

Mr. Juan Ignacio Simonelli (Argentina)

Ms. Leila Devia (BCRC-Argentina)

Ms. SabrinaGimenes de Andrade (Brazil)

Mr. Thiago Campi (Brazil)

Mr. Joost Meijer (Chile)

Mr. Miguel Eduardo Araujo Padilla (BCRC-CAM, El Salvador)

Western European and other States

Mr. Andreas Jaron (Germany)

Mr. Christoffer Vestli (Norway),on behalf of Ms. Silje Johannessen

Mr. Marco Buletti (Switzerland)

Mr. Yorg Aerts (Belgium)

8.The following organizations and countries were represented at the meeting as observers: Bureau of International Recycling (BIR); Eco Com 05; International Solid Waste Association (ISWA); Sims Recycling Solutions andSwitzerland.

9.A full list of participants is available on the Basel Convention website.[2]

II.Organizational matters

A.Adoption of the agenda

10.The expert working group adopted the agenda for the meeting as follows, on the basis of document UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/1:[3]

1. Opening of the meeting.
2. Organizational matters:

(a)Adoption of the agenda;

(b)Organization of work.

1. Consideration and further development of work undertaken during the intersessional period:

(a)Draft guidance on prevention and minimization;

(b)Draft practical manuals on extended producer responsibility and financing;

(c)Draft factsheets on specific waste streams;

(d)Implementation and selection of pilot projects.

1. Preparations for the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties: consideration of the work programme of the Group.
2. Closure of the meeting.

B.Organization of work

11.The expert working group agreed to consider in plenary agenda items 3 (d), 4 and 5; and to consider in contact groups items 3(a), 3(b) and 3 (c).The contact group on the draft guidance on prevention and minimization was co-chaired by Mr. Aerts and Ms. Devia. The contact group on the draft practical manuals on extended producer responsibility and financing was co-chaired by Mr. Meijer and Mr. Jaron. The contact group on the factsheets was also chaired by Mr. Jaron. On the afternoon of Wednesday 18 January, the Group made a field trip to De Kringwinkel, a second-hand shop showcasing waste prevention practices.

III.Consideration and further development of work undertaken during the intersessional period

1. Draft guidance on prevention and minimization

12.The contact group reviewed the comments received from Australia, Canada, China, the European Union and its member States, India, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and IndustriAllon the draft guidance on prevention and minimization[4]and how best to address them, with a view to presenting a final draft to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. Many members emphasized the importance of ensuring that the final draft would be such that the Conference of the Parties could, if it so wished, adopt it at that meeting.The contact group addressed seven main issues emerging from the comments received from Parties and others on the guidance including its scope, common terminology, the provision of examples in the text and the means of implementation. Insofar as possible, the group incorporated the comments received. On the matter of technical and financial assistance that may be needed to implement the guidance, for instance technology transfer, the group agreed that the guidance should acknowledge such needs, but that information on how to access this assistance would fall outside the scope of the guidance and should be addressed elsewhere.

13.The Group finalized the draft guidance on prevention and minimization for its submission to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

B.Draft practical manuals on extended producer responsibility and financing

14.The contact group reviewed the comments received fromCanada, European Union and its member States, Republic of Moldova andEuropean Automobile Manufacturers Association on the draft practical manuals on extended producer responsibility and on financing[5]and how best to address them, with a view to presenting final drafts to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

15.The Group finalized the draft manuals on extended producer responsibility and financing for their submission to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

C.Draft factsheets on specific waste streams

16.The Group reviewed the comments received from Canada, European Union and its Member States, Switzerland and European Automobile Manufacturers Association on the draft factsheets on specific waste streams[6] and how best to address them, with a view to presenting revised drafts to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

17.The Group finalized the revised draft factsheets for their submission to the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

1. Implementation and selection of pilot projects

18.The representative of the Secretariat provided a summary of the status of development and implementation of seven pilot projects:

(a)Promoting the environmentally sound co-processing of hazardous wastes in industry kilns for selected countries in Asia, submitted by BCRC China: the project is expected to be completed by April 2018;

(b)Completing an inventory, developing a national strategy and organizing training to establish, enhance and promote ESM in e-waste management in Liberia, submitted by Liberia: the implementation plan is under discussion and the project is expected to be completed by April 2018;

(c)Pilot project identifying feasible strategies for the environmentally sound management of spent lighting products in Chile,submitted by Chile: the project is expected to start in March 2017 and to be completed by March 2018;

(d)Assessing if guarantees in transboundary movements of hazardous wastes represent environmentally sound management, submitted by Argentina: the project is expected to start in April 2017 and be implemented over the course of 12 months;

(e)Assessing the environmentally sound management status of used lead-acid battery recycling and to identify priority actions in selected countries in Asia, submitted by China: the project is expected to commence in March 2017 and be completed by September 2018;

(f)Testing the Manual on General Policies and Legislation and Fact sheet on E-waste,submitted by BCRC-Slovakia: the project is expected to start in April 2017 and to be completed by the end of 2017;

(g)Testing the Manual for Permits, Licenses or Authorizations, Fact Sheet on Waste Lead Acid Batteries and Fact Sheet on Waste Oils, submitted by BCRC-China: the project is expected to be completed by February 2018.

19.The representative of the Secretariatconfirmed that funding was still available for two furtherpilot projects aimed at testing the practical manuals and factsheets, and that a call for project proposals would be issued after the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. The Group took note of the information provided.

IV. Preparations for the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties: consideration of the work programme of the Group

20.The representative of the Secretariat introduced a table showing the status of the various activities that have been undertaken to develop the ESM toolkit that includes practical tools in furtherance to the Group’s work programme, as adopted by decision BC-12/1[7] and identifying activities yet to be undertaken.In answer to a question, a representative of the Secretariat confirmed that the new section of the Convention’s website dedicated to the tools developed by the Group would be ready in time for the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

21.As many of the tools within the ESM toolkit were yet to be finalized and fully utilized by Parties and other stakeholders, it was determined by the Group that an extensive evaluation of the toolkit might, at this time, be premature.

22.Members exchanged views on the remaining activities of their work programme and which ones to carry forward in their proposed work programme for 20182019.

23.Mr. Jaron noted that some of the pilot projects would continue into the next biennium. He said that the outcome of the pilot projects would possibly lead to a revision of some of the Groups’ tools. With respect to the development of a manual on liability and insurance, clarification was sought on the link between this work, the pilot project in Argentina and the work of the Implementation and Compliance Committee towards the development of guidance on insurance, bond and guarantee. Several members supported that the Group finalize the development of the manual. Mr. Simonelli said that the pilot project to be implemented in Argentina would provide valuable lessons both for the development of the guidance and that the development of the manual could take place in the context of the Group’s 20182019 work programme, building on both the outcome of the project and the draft guidance. The Group agreed to include the finalization of the manual in its proposed 20182019 work programme.

24.Members exchanged views on the remaining areas of the work programme and concluded that those items not yet completed should be carried forward into the proposed 20182019 work programme.

25.The Group highlighted the importance of disseminating the various tools it had developed so that they may have concrete impact. One member suggested that the meetings of the Group could serve the purpose of disseminating the toolsin the region where the meeting was held, while others felt that this activity did not fit well within the Group’s mandate. The Group expressed the hope that all regional centres would play an important role in disseminating the Group’s tools. The Group agreed that the regional preparatory meetings for the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties provided a good opportunity for members to draw attention of Parties to these tools. The Group also agreed on the value of presenting the ESM toolkit to the Conference of the Parties in plenary as well as during a side event. Members Mr. Araujo, Ms. Devia and Ms.Zhao agreed to coordinate the preparation of a side event on behalf of the Group during which the work of the Group as well as its various toolswould be presented. Finally, the Group agreed to include in its proposed work programme for 20182019 the dissemination of its tools, for instance through the translation of the guidance, manuals and factsheets it had developed in additional languages.

26.Members exchanged views on possible new activities and agreed on the value of linking its work to the implementation of the Convention’s control regime for transboundary movements. The Groupagreed to include in its proposed work programme for 20182019 the development of a practical manual for stakeholders to ensure that notifications of transboundary movements meet ESM requirements.

27.The Secretariat was requested to reflect these conclusions in theGroup’s proposed work programme for the 20182019 biennium.

V.Closure of the meeting

28.Following the customary exchange of courtesies, the meeting was declared closed at 5.00 p.m. on Thursday,19 January 2017.

______

1

[1] This report has not been formally edited.

[2] Document UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/INF/6.

[3] This and other meeting documents for the sixth meeting are available on the Basel Convention website:

[4]Document UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/INF/1.

[5]Documents UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/INF/2 and UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/INF/3.

[6]Document UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/INF/4.

[7]Document UNEP/CHW/CLI_EWG.6/INF/5.