International Management of Hazardous Wastes: The Basel Convention and Related Legal Rules

Uncontrolled transboundary transfer of hazardous wastes was recognized as a major environmental problem in the mid-1980s. The international community responded by elaborating pertinent international agreements. Treaties are now in place at the global and regional levels, and additional ones are being negotiated. Despite their common aim of protecting the environment against the ill-effects of hazardous wastes, they often differ in stringency as well as scope and membership. The book analyses the key treaties and other international legal rules on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. It identifies inconsistencies, gaps, and overlaps, and proposes ways to build a comprehensive global regulatory system for the management of hazardous wastes by harmonizing relevant international legal rules.