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The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) adopted the Cairo Guidelines and Principles for the Environmentally Sound Management of Hazardous Wastes, or Cairo Guidelines on Waste Trading, in 1987. The guidelines dealt with the nature and transport of hazardous wastes, primarily by sea, and the informed consent to be given by states through whose territory the waste passed and the prior notification that states were to receive. These guidelines were necessary to regulate the increasing flows of such wastes and their often-toxic nature. Maritime trade had also become an almost entirely globalized industry with regulations almost impossible to enforce. Concern had been raised in 1981 at the Ad Hoc Meeting of Senior Government Officials Expert in Environmental Law that was held in Montevideo, and gave rise to an Ad Hoc Working Group that provided the guidelines that were ultimately adopted.
The process of negotiation was controversial because of the unclear nature of what exactly defines waste and other technical issues. However, the continuing stream of problematic shipping accidents galvanized the discussions. Even so, a variety of political arguments meant that it took several years before ratification could take place, even though it required the signatures of only 20 countries. One of the most significant areas of controversy focused on the nature of the guidelines, which provided a basis for continued transportation of waste and not the complete ban preferred by many interests. Ultimately, the guidelines were ratified as the Basel Convention in 1987.
Some conflict has centered on what qualifies as hazardous waste. Since regulations inevitably add some cost to transportation of such items and by protecting people from them and their effects, commercial firms seek ways to minimize those costs. As a result, they have lobbied to have different categories of hazardous waste downgraded in status. The importance of the Cairo Guidelines has been to provide a reasonably comprehensive set of regulations that serve as a legal basis for all aspects of a complex, widely distributed industry with significant implications for the environment. Even so, this listing approach is problematic; it is difficult to create a fully comprehensive listing that is up to date with the latest technologies and techniques for dealing with hazards.
Bibliography:
- Philippe Sands, Principles of International Environmental Law (Cambridge University Press, 2003);
- Han-Nhien Vu, “The Law of Treaties and the Export of Hazardous Waste,” UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (v.12, 1994).
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