Information Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized modern living, international business, global governance, communication, entertainment, transport, education, and health care. This has been driven by unprecedented high volumes of production and usage of consumer electronic products, in particular, personal computers, mobile phones, and television sets. Access to ICT has been identified as an indicator of a country’s economic and social development. The difference in access to ICT between developed and developing countries is commonly referred to as the “digital divide”. Africa has been undergoing rapid ICT transformation in recent years, attempting to bridge this divide by importing second-hand or used computers, mobile phones, and TV sets from developed countries. The countries of the region, however, lack the infrastructure and resources for the environmentally sound management (ESM) of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) arising when such imports  reach their end-of-life.

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The growing e-waste volumes generated worldwide together with the lack or even absence of well-organized collection and management systems in Africa, where a disproportionate amount of this waste ends up, threatens Africa’s environment, its national economies and the health of local communities. In many African countries e-waste is routinely disposed on uncontrolled dumpsites, where waste volumes are periodically reduced by setting them on fire, causing a range of toxic substances to be released, heavily contaminating air, soil and water resources. Even unburned, in tropical climate, many e-waste fractions will soon release major pollutants, damaging human and environmental health. The serious consequences of this mounting environmental problem are now starting to attract the widespread public attention.

The Secretariat of the Basel Convention is pleased to announce the Pan-African Forum on E-waste to be held from 14 to 16 March 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.

This two and a half day forum is being organized with the support of Hewlett-Packard and Dell. The forum aims to bring together relevant stakeholders from the governments of Africa, international organizations, academia and the private sector. The forum seeks to identify possible options for a sustainable solution to e-waste in Africa by developing a clear perspective on an environmentally sound e-waste management framework applicable in the African context. Forum participants will discuss the need for regulatory frameworks and ways of establishing or strengthening national, regional and international collaboration.

Join us in Nairobi and be part of a new initiative to address the e-waste problem facing Africa!

Agenda

E-waste Africa Project page