Triumvirate of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Developing Countries

Abstract

For decades, poorer countries have been used as dumping sites for unwanted wastes, particularly those classified as 'hazardous,’ by the developed industrialist countries. As a result, developing world has to tackle a myriad of issues arising out of solid waste dumping while ensuring the safety of the environment and the human lives. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal sought to address this crucial issue but the burden of wastes generated in the developed world is still, to a greater extent born by the developing world which stands in clear violation of the well-recognized principles of international environmental justice. This research therefore seeks to address the problem, how the developing world is still being a graveyard of wastes which generates negative impacts on the environment and human lives notwithstanding the legal instruments and principles that seek to regulate transboundary waste dumping and their impacts on human lives and the environment?. The objectives of the research are to analyse the role and application of ‘Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal’ in the movement of wastes into the poorer countries by the developed world, to determine whether it contributes towards the establishment of environmental justice and to find out the factors that hinder the effective use and implementation of the Basel Convention. The research was carried out using the black letter approach to research based on primary sources viz. legislations, judicial decisions and international treaties and secondary sources viz. books, journal articles, previous research studies and online sources. Gathered data will be interpreted in light of the theory of environmental justice. The study concludes that the proper implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is necessary to protect the environment and to meet sustainable development goals.