RI seeks effective ban on toxic exports

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 05/08/2008 11:03 AM  |  National

As the host of June's United Nations hazardous waste conference, Indonesia is ambitiously creating a road map to ensure the ban on poisonous waste exports is effectively enforced.

The State Ministry of Environment said the ban imposed under the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes was the toughest issue to be addressed in international talks as many wealthy nations still wanted to dump waste in developing countries.

"Negotiations over this issue have so far ended without results," said Emma Rachmawaty, the assistant deputy environment minister for the management of hazardous substances, at a press conference here Wednesday.

Indonesia will host the ninth meeting for the Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in Bali from June 23-27.

State Minister of Environment Rachmat Witoelar will become president of the convention.

"With his international conference experience, Minister Rachmat Witoelar will hopefully be able to manage the conference and yield a road map," Emma said.

"The road map will set a clear target for when the parties are to stop exporting hazardous wastes."

The convention, the world's most prominent meeting on hazardous waste issues, is aimed to protect health and the environment against adverse effects from the generation, disposal, transboundary movements and poor management of waste.

Some 170 countries have ratified the Basel convention and hold a meeting in every two years.

The United States, Iraq, Pakistan, Myanmar and Haiti are among the countries that did not ratify the convention.

The convention, which took effect in 1992, three years after it was established in Basel, Switzerland, obliges signatories to ensure hazardous waste is managed and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

It requires member countries to provide adequate disposal facilities for their toxic, poisonous, explosive, corrosive, flammable and infectious waste.

Indonesia, which ratified the convention in 1993, is allowed to reject the influx of toxic waste in the country.

Rasio Ridho Sani, chairman of a national committee for the Bali convention, said the meeting is crucial for Indonesia as the country was targeted as a dumping ground for hazardous waste from other countries.

"Indonesia has over 2,000 entry points along coastal areas that could be used for illegal dumping," he said.

"We also receive many requests from other countries wanting to export their hazardous waste. They also put pressure on us in international forums to allow them to dump their waste in Indonesia," he said.

Data from the Environment Ministry shows Japan was the biggest exporter of hazardous materials to Indonesia, reaching 31 tons in 2006.

Indonesia itself produces about seven million tons of hazardous waste per year.

However, the lack of treatment facilities has left 25 percent of toxic waste in the country untreated.

The country only has one facility for hazardous waste treatment, PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industry (PT PPLi), in Bogor, West Java, with a capacity of 100,000 tons.

Rasio said ship dismantling, electronic waste and the reuse, recycle and recovery method would be discussed at the Bali conference.

"There will also be a world forum for waste management on the sidelines of the Basel conference," he said.

He said the forum would bring together dozens of experts, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderon and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

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