Objectives of BCRC-Egypt

Long-term objectives

The long-term objective of the Centre is to improve hazardous waste management and waste minimisation in Arab speaking countries, enabling these countries to implement effectively the provisions of the Basel Convention.

Elements of this objective include:

• Information on hazardous waste generation and shipments in all countries of the region;
• Legislative framework for management of hazardous wastes;
• Administrative structures for implementing of legislation;
• Enforcement mechanisms;
• Verification procedures (notification, consignment notes, laboratory analysis, waste transfer contracts, etc.);
• Information dissemination, public awareness;
• Promotion of public awareness campaigns in cooperation with industry and local authorities;
• Training of enforcement (e.g. custom) officials and waste managers;
• Collaboration with industry and non-governmental partners;
• Development of environmentally sound infrastructure;
• Development of wastes minimisation strategies and techniques;
• Exchange of information on best practice.

In order to realise the long-term objective, the Centre will aim to:

• Serve as a source of information and guidance for the region's countries in carrying out their obligations under the Basel Convention;
• Become an effective coordinating body for the region and regional sub-groups (e.g., the oil-producing Gulf States); and
• Serve as a tool for developing capacity in the region, including in the area of legislative, administrative and technical management of hazardous wastes.

Immediate objectives

• Establishing links and communication networks for hazardous waste management information exchange among the countries of the region;
• Updating the region's priority needs for sound hazardous waste management and implementation of the Basel Convention;
• Setting up mechanisms for maintaining adequate links to media, industry and non-governmental organisations; and
• Contributing to the public awareness on sound management of hazardous wastes.

Steps, which will be taken to achieve these objectives:

• Implement the work programme of the Centre
• Collect and disseminate information about waste generation, management and disposal in the region
• Determine the needs of the region as a whole and of sub-regional groups
• Networking of regional actors with one another and with non-regional actors such as: bilateral donor countries; multilateral financial institutions (e.g., the World Bank); global and regional agencies, organisations and institutions with programmes complementary to the Basel Convention (e.g., the Rotterdam, Stockholm, Kuwait, Jeddah and Barcelona Conventions, UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, etc);