The new Basel Convention Regional Centre for Central America and Mexico will boost technical assistance and capacity-building activities in the region, including on efforts to combat plastic waste.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Read the BRS Press Release summarising the outcomes of the 16th meeting of the Stockholm Convention’s POPs Review Committee, 11-16 January 2021.

[Read the rest of this article...]

International efforts to control unwanted imports of waste continue to strengthen, with Nicaragua the latest Party to ratify this key change to the convention.

[Read the rest of this article...]

An electronic questionnaire has been sent to Parties and stakeholders regarding actions taken to implement the amendments and challenges encountered, as part of activities undertaken under the Plastic Waste Partnership, with a deadline of 31 January 2021.

[Read the rest of this article...]

On the agenda is the proposal to list UV-328, and draft risk profiles for Dechlorane Plus and Methoxychlor. All the documents are publically available, online.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The Basel Convention’s Plastic Waste Amendments become effective on 1 January 2021, changing the way plastic waste is traded, to better protect human health and the environment.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The Basel Convention’s Plastic Waste Amendments become effective on New Year’s Day 2021, giving new impetus to the protection of mountains and other regions from plastic waste pollution.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Offered as either stand-alone, or as part of the popular MOOC, these sessions address growing trends in e-waste generation, and impacts on human health & the environment.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Organised by GEN with the BRS Secretariat and a host of other partners, the first of the series focuses on plastic waste.

[Read the rest of this article...]

BRS looks forward to deepening cooperation with WCO and with customs administrations, to better prevent and combat illegal traffic of hazardous waste.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Focal points are invited to complete and submit the national report through the electronic reporting system, by 31 December 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Learn about the 7 projects selected for funding from the first call for proposals, by joining this webinar on 12 November at 1400 .

[Read the rest of this article...]

Originally scheduled to be staged back-to-back with the 5th UN Environment Assembly, OEWG-12 is now postponed until further notice. The meeting report of the online segment is now available.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The Theme for the next meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, and the associated High-Level Segment, from 19 to 31 July 2021, is “Global Agreements for a Healthy Planet; Sound Management of Chemicals & Waste”.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The BRS Secretariat is proud to support and publicise this day, organised by the WEEE Forum, which aims to draw attention to the growing environmental & health challenges posed by electrical and electronic waste.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Efforts towards building a circular economy might be compromised by chemical additives in certain plastics, a study by the Stockholm Convention’s Regional Centre for the Mediterranean, IPEN, UNEP and the BRS Secretariat finds.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The Second Round of funding of the Basel Convention’s Small Grants Programme, generously funded by the Norwegian NORAD agency, is now open.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The English advance version of the report of the twelfth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (online segment), held on 1-3 September 2020, is now available.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Representatives from the Barcelona Convention, CITES, Climate Change Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Minamata Convention, Montreal Protocol, and the Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, join the Basel Convention’s Implementation and Compliance Committee online to discuss ways to better prevent and combat illegal traffic.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Back to school, back to university, back to the office? Snap the plastic waste you encounter and you could win the Plastic Waste Partnership’s photo contest, deadline 30 September.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Tuvalu has deposited its instrument of accession with the UN, entering into force on 19 November 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The OEWG-12 online segment takes place on 1 and 3 September 2020. For more details, including working documents in the 6 UN languages, see the tentative schedule of work.

[Read the rest of this article...]

A consultant is sought, with a deadline of 26 August 2020, to work with the Secretariat’s Scientific and Technical Assistance Branch on chemicals and waste management during public health emergencies, conflicts and disasters.

[Read the rest of this article...]

A series of information sessions will introduce participants to the Plastic Waste Amendments adopted at the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention that will become effective on 1 January 2021.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The new text includes the plastic waste amendments made at the 2019 Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-14).

[Read the rest of this article...]

The new call for proposals will be presented and discussed during these Basel Convention online meetings.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The information sessions will introduce participants to the work of the Plastic Waste Partnership and the call for proposals for pilot projects that was issued under the Partnership on 24 July.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Click here for COVID-19 medical waste news and guidance, along with other developments related to the sound management of chemicals and waste.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Applications are invited from Basel and Stockholm convention Regional Centres until 15 July 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Preparations for the 2021 Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP-15) are discussed by the Basel Convention’s COP Bureau, during their online meeting on 25-26 June 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The 14th meeting of the Basel Convention’s Implementation and Compliance Committee, online from 29 June to 3 July, will initiate its work with the consideration of 8 specific submissions from Parties.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Following feedback from regions, the OEWG meeting will not be held on 22 to 25 June 2020. Further consultations to take place on options for rescheduling.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s review “State of Global Environmental Governance 2019” published recently by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Questionnaires have been distributed to Parties in order to gauge technical assistance needs and gather offers of technology transfer, to assist implementation of the three conventions.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Adopted by Parties one year ago in May 2019, the Amendments become effective on 1 January 2021. Learn all you need to know by consulting the Secretariat’s FAQ, newly online.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The UNEP/TED-ed initiative has attracted millions of children worldwide since launching in April. Join the Plastics Quest, live from Monday 18 May, brought into your home by the BRS Secretariat and partners.

[Read the rest of this article...]

BRS Executive Secretary joins UNEP, WHO, UNEP and others in a webinar on 19 May to discuss necessary responses to increased medical waste in light of the COVID-19 emergency.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Download the Basel Convention’s guidance document on how to manage medical waste in the most sustainable manner.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Working documents in all 6 official UN languages, an overview of working modalities, and useful FAQs are all online in advance of OEQG-12, which takes place online from 22 to 25 June 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The BRS Secretariat is pleased to announce, thanks to generous funding from Norway, the opening of the new Small Grant Programme on Plastic Waste, open to applications from Basel and Stockholm Convention regional centres until 15 July 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Now available online: Overview of concept notes for voluntary contributions for implementing the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm conventions, as approved by COPs in 2019.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The Basel Convention’s COP-15, the Rotterdam Convention’s COP-10 and the Stockholm Convention’s COP-10 will be held back-to-back in Geneva, Switzerland, from 19 to 30 July 2021.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The UNEP Special Programme, which funds projects implementing the three chemicals and waste conventions, has extended its deadline for applications to 4 September 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The UN Massive Open Online Course on E-waste is open to all: join the webinar to find out if its for you.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The ground-breaking decision by Parties to clarify which types of plastic waste are included in the Convention’s legally-binding regulatory system entered into force on 24 March 2020.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The new Technical Series from the BRS Secretariat opens with four key publications on national reporting, national reporting best practices, legal frameworks, and illegal traffic.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The 12th meeting of the Basel Convention’s Open-Ended Working Group will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 22 to 25 June 2020, back-to-back with the 14th meeting of the Implementation and Compliance Committee and the meeting of the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention.

[Read the rest of this article...]

BRS information platforms expanded to include new portal sharing publications, events and contacts from the network of regional centres, starting with the Basel and Stockholm Regional Centre for Francophone Africa in Dakar, Senegal, as the first new information source and publisher.

[Read the rest of this article...]

BRS Executive Secretary meets Director General, Kunio Mikuriya, after giving keynote address at the WCO Enforcement Committee meeting, in Brussels.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council addresses children’s rights to a healthy environment, as UN report shows that 25% of infant deaths are from preventable, environmental hazards.

[Read the rest of this article...]