Sri Lanka ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Waste and their Disposal in 1992 and we have taken many steps to fulfill the
objectives of the Basel Convention since then. Efficient and effective implementation of the
Basel Convention requires Parties to Control Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes as well as to manage hazardous waste in the country in an environmentally sound
manner.
At the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP6),
electrical and electronic wastes (e-waste) has been recognized as a priority issue which
needs urgent attention especially in the Asia Pacific Region. The rapid advances of etechnology
creates a rapid pace of electrical and electronic products becoming obsolete and
at present countries are faced with problems related to the disposal of these items once it
became waste.
While recognizing the importance of promoting e-technology and e-literacy that brings far
away places together in the world, it is necessary to take precautions to prevent harmful
impacts due to improper management of out-dated e-products. Most of the Electronic items
contain hazardous material and haphazard disposal of these items poses high risk to the
human health and to the environment. It is evident that e-waste is growing faster than that
of other waste streams and it needs a priority attention for its environmentally sound
management.
In this context I am happy to note the initiative taken by the Secretariat of the Basel
Convention (SBC) in collaboration with the Government of Japan to develop a project
proposal on environmentally sound management of e-waste to assist selected countries in
the Asia and Pacific region. Sri Lanka is one of these countries selected.
The project proposal made by Sri Lanka encompasses six phases with a time span of four
years. At present, Sri Lanka received financial assistance from the SBC with the donor
funding from...