Report of the Second Meeting of the Steering Committee for the Preparation of the Regional

Report of the Second Meeting of the Steering Committee for the Preparation of the Regional Strategy for the Environmentally Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island States

San Salvador

January 24-26 2006

1. Executive Summary

The studies relating to the management of used lead acid batteries (ULAB) in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and Caribbean Island States have determined that in many of the countries inthe region there is inadequate handling of the ULAB, resulting in some cases of serious health and environmental problems, particularly amongst the poorest communities and in areas of high vulnerability, such as the marine ecosystems in the Caribbean. Discharges of hazardous materials, such as oxides, lead sulfates anddilute sulfuric acid from usedbatteries, represents a potential source of contamination of fresh and salt waters.

Throughout the life cycle of the ULAB (the hazardous waste) problems were identified in the collecting, transporting, storing, transboundary shipping (BC Transboundary movements) and recycling in an environmentally sound manner.

The country presentations and the ensuing discussions carried out during the meeting indicated that most of the problems could be to be resolved by adopting the procedures set out in the Basel Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of ULAB and the application of the Basel Convention Regulations for theTransboundary movement of Hazardous Waste as applied to ULAB. It was also clear that most of the countries shared the same problems and so it made sense to develop a regional strategy for the ESM of ULAB for Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and theCaribbean Island States that integrated collecting, storing, transporting/shipping and recycling ULAB to common standards thereby enabling the development of a regional training program based on the Basel Training Manual for the ESM of ULAB, and this approach would be to the benefit of all parties.

However, some countries and companies in the Region have already adopted excellent procedures for the recovery of ULAB. For example, Mexico has the most comprehensive legislation for the protection of the environment; Mexico and Venezuela have the best Smelters; Mexico and Trinidad have model ULAB collection centers, and El Salvador has the most extensivecollection infrastructure. Sharing these experiences in the context of a Regional Training Program or Strategy will improve standards very quickly.

It is also worth noting that other smelters in the region are currently going through the assessment process for the determiantion of environmental credibility, notably those in Colombia and Guatemala.

Regional cooperation, should reside in appropriate judicialmechanisms and economic instruments to improve the recycling standards in the formal sector through continuous improvements in technology and in the application of cleaner production techniques, including waste minimization and appropriate waste disposal. In addition it is essential to support measures to eliminate the poorULAB handling methods carried out by the informal sector, through their incorporation into the formal sector. It is also necessary to establishULAB collection centers, storage areas and safe local transport of the ULABto environmentally sound recyclers.

Delegates at the meeting represented Governments and International Organizations from civil society and the private sector.

Delegates emphasized that the regional strategy for the ESM of ULAB will not work without financial assistance, and technical support from the industry and other interested parties. It was also recommended that there should be publicity campaigns and other initiatives designed to raise public awareness about the risks to people’s health and the environment from poor ULAB recovery and inadequate handling procedures. It was also important to champion appropriate environmentally sound collecting and recycling processes.

Finally, it was concluded that it is very important to have Regional Strategy approved as soon as possible, and entrusted to the Basel Convention Regional Centres (BCRC -El Salvador and Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago), so that these Centres could coordinate efforts to conclude the strategy and obtain its approval. Each country will strive to find what national mechanisms would allow the implementation of the action plans and programs established in this strategy.

The SteeringCommittees then commenced discussions to finalize the draft strategy to be considered and confirmedby the representatives of seven of the project’s pilot countries, namely; Barbados, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

1. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES

Among the priorities identified by the participants were:

a)to develop harmonized polices for handling hazardous materials that facilitates the safe handling of ULAB amongst the countries in the region to take advantage of the available technologies in those countries that have environmentally sound recycling plants.

b)to facilitate the implementation of the Basel Convention in the region by preparing and distributing a manualexplainingthe regulationsapplicable to the transboundary movement of ULAB.

c)to improve the coordination among the appropriate national and regional Authorities, with the objective of establishing widercustoms control of the transboundary movement of ULAB.

d)to develop inventories that can show thebattery cycle, and thereby also establish registrations for the formal and informal sector.

e)to establish indicators of environmental performance that can verify the degree of compliance with the environmental standards for the safe handling of ULAB.

f)to adopt the standards contained in the Basel Technical Guidelines for the ESM of ULAB for the collection, transport, storage and recycling of ULAB.

g)to develop information databases and proceduresfor the dissemination of information about ULAB at national and regional level that facilitate the exchange of information about collecting, storing and recycling ULAB.

h)to develop specific programs and guidelines to achieve the safe handling of ULAB in an environmentally sound manner in the Informal sector and thereby move them into the Formal Sector.

i)to develop an ESM Assessment Tool that can be used by a Government Agencies that have to administer the Basel Convention to determine the Environmental Credibility of a ULAB Collector or Recycler in order to expedite the administration of the documentation associated with theTransboundary Movement regulations.

III. INTRODUCTION

The Project was launched in Trinidad at meetings held from 3 to May 4 2001 where a work program was agreed for the ESM of ULAB. Since then, each participating country has been conducting national ULAB inventories in conjunction with the BCRC for the Caribbean (CARIRI, Trinidad) and for Central America and Mexico (CRCB-CAM, El Salvador), the Basel Secretariat (SBC), the Conference of the United Nations on the Trade and the Development (UNCTAD) and the International Lead Management Center (ILMC).

As part of the initial activities, a Regional Workshop on the ESM of ULAB in the Caribbean and Central America was convened in San Salvador fromOctober 30th to November 1st2002. One of the most significant outcomes of the Workshop was the Declaration of San Salvador, in which the seriousness of the regional situation was clarified regarding the ESM of ULAB and recommendations wereadopted to obtain political support for the project. This Workshop was undertaken within the context of the delivery of the Basel Ministerial Declaration. Subsequently, it was endorsed at the first meeting of the Project Steering Committee in Caracas, Venezuela, convened from 4th to 5th December 2003 to prepare a draft regional strategy for the ESM of ULAB Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island States. This meeting concluded with the publication of the first draft of the regional strategy.

On this occasion, the purpose of this three day meeting, convened from January 24th to 26th 2006, was to consolidate the regional efforts and to set out the basis for the finalization and approval of the proposal of regional strategy for the ESM of ULAB in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island States.

At every workshop and meeting participation of representatives from the private sector and civil society had been actively sought, with the intention of establishing a regional strategy for the ESM of ULAB in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island States with as wide a consensusas possible.

IV. OBJECTIVES

The Meeting had the following objectives:

1. To presentthe results of the national and regional procedures in place for the ESM of ULAB in the participating countries.
2. To contribute specific information on waste minimization, and the use of technologies and best practices for the recycling of ULAB.
3. To finalize the Regional Strategy and reach concrete agreement on:

• Regional cooperation and the development of practicable relationships between the public and private sectors.
• The development and delivery of coherent national and regional polices that emphasize the importance of ESM for the recycling of UALB.
• The access to information regarding environmentally sound technologies and the creation of a favorable environment for the development of technical capacity in the region, in order to achieve the ESM of ULAB as quickly as possible.

1. PARTICIPANTS OF THE REGIONAL MEETING

Delegates of thirteen countries representing Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island Statesattended the Meeting for the ESM of ULAB in the Region. The delegates and representatives of participating organizations were warmly welcomed personally by the Communications Section from the Ministry of Hazardous Materials of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) of El Salvador and of the BCRC. Once the meeting was officially open, the organizers outlined the meeting agenda and the essential housekeeping information. Special arrangementswere in place to present the content of the meeting in English and Spanish.

GREETINGS AND WELCOME

Eng. Italo Andrés Flamenco Córdova

Director of the BCRC for Central America and Mexico

Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, El Salvador

Sn. Italo Córdova, Director of the Basel Convention Regional Center for Central America and Mexico welcomed the delegates to the meetingof the important project for the Environmentally Sound Management of Used Lead Acid Batteries in Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean Island States. He remindedeveryone this was a continuation of activities from 2002, and during 2004, there was a Regional meeting in Venezuela, during which a draft Regional Strategy was prepared and this was the opportunity to examine and approve the document. It was also mentioned that besides the representatives of the countries of the region there were also in attendance a number of delegates form outside the Region, namely, Sn. Nelson Sabogal, representing the Secretariat of the Basel Convention; Ronnie Sookhoo, of the BCRC for the Caribbean; Brian Wilson, of the ILMC and Lic. Miguel Araujo, Coordinator for the BCRC for Center America and Mexico and the representative of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, Don Hugo Barrier.

INTRODUCTION

Lic. Miguel Eduardo Araujo

Coordinator for the BCRC for Central America and Mexico and with the

Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources

San Salvador, El Salvador

On behalf of the Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador, Don Hugo Barrier, I want to extend to ourvisitorsfrom the Caribbean and Central Americamy most cordial welcome to our dear country, El Salvador. It is a great pleasure for the BCRCfor Central America and Mexico not to be the guests of this important event for Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia and Venezuela, although Venezuelacould not join us. We are speaking on an important topic about health and the environment, which is the regional strategy for the ESM of ULAB. A topic that commits us to the well-being and the health of the children of this region that is so rich in culture and history. This strategy has advanced in the last months, but possibly not enough. The BCRC hopes that the discussions during this meetingwill infuse newspirit, energy, creativity and commitment into the project so that this strategy can advance significantly and we can take advantage of the window of opportunity presented to us in November at the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP8)and share with them a success inenvironment improvements for this region in the ESM of ULAB, as well as in the key indicators of economic and social impacts, such as the realignment of the economic activity of those small businesses that recycle ULAB without the appropriate abatements, reiterating how creative we have been in identifying waysto change their behavior so that their economic and social activities become a very important benefit to the strategy. It has also been said that it is not only the efforts of a few forward looking companies in the region that are already recycling ULAB, but it is also the committed participation of the Governments of the Caribbean, the whole Central American region, Colombia and Venezuela, to establish ULAB collection mechanisms and sound recycling facilities in order to eliminate the adverse effects of lead recovery.

In this task it will be important for everyone to work together, not only the enforcement agenciesand the environment and health ministries in each country, but also the participation of the customsauthorities in each country is essential. We should also include a key component, communication; becauseithelps to raise public awareness, so that everybodysupports a policy for safe handling procedures for UALB, it is an important part of their daily lives, and they understand they need to be managed properly.

Speech

Eng. Nelson Sabogal

Senior Program Officerfor the Basel Secretariat

Geneva, Switzerland

Your Excellency, Sn. Hugo Barrier, Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador, Lic. Miguel Araujo, Coordinator of the BCRC, Ing. Italo Córdova, Director of the BCRCfor Central America and Mexico, in El Salvador; Dr. Ronnie Sookho, Director of the BCRC for the Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of the Secretary of the Basel Conventionwe would like to welcome you to the second Meeting of the Project Steering Committee for the Preparation of a Regional Strategy for the ESM of ULAB in Center America, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean Island States, taking place from the 24thto 26thJanuary2006 in San Salvador, and organized by the BCRC in El Salvador with the support of the BCRC in Trinidad and Tobago and the SBC.

This Second Meeting of the Steering Committee is an important step in the implementation of the project for the ESM of ULAB that is being finalized by the two BCRCs.

I want to thank to the Government of El Salvador for organizing this event and for their hospitality, as well as to welcome them and to thank the following countries for their participation in the project: Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. I would also like to thank the following organizations, the System of Central American Integration (SICA), the Community of the Caribbean (CARICOM), the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Environment West Indies (EWI, Martinique), Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the University of the West Indies, Antilles (UWI) and the International Lead Management (ILMC).

In this ULAB project carried out under the Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Basel Conventionit is very important to face the problems presented by the recovery of ULAB, especially those associated with workers and vulnerable populations, such as children and young people. This Second Meeting of the Steering Committee has to finalize the draft regional strategy developed in collaboration with the governments, industry, academia and international organizations to achieve medium to long term ESM of ULAB. This regional strategy should readilyaccessible and should define the respective roles of all the participants in the ESM of ULAB.

Leadership and collaboration by all those associated with the project are fundamental toits successful conclusion. Collaboration between the public and private sectors and academic institutions is essential for the development of a sustainable regional strategy to increase ULAB collection rates; safe and sound handling, transportation and lead recovery. Compliance with the provisions for the transboundary movement of ULAB under the Basel Convention can also be improved through the harmonization of the national regulations or procedures of the participating countries.

The Basel Technical Guidelines for the ESM of ULAB adopted by the Basel Convention’s Conference of the Parties (COP) on Natural Resources and the Basel Training Manual for the Preparation of National Plans for the ESM of ULAB constitute the benchmarks for the implementation of this project.

It is also necessary to improve the standards of occupational health and hygiene and raise the environmental performance of the ULAB recyclers, especially in the informal sector, and to reduce to a minimum anyadverse effects to the environment and human health that regrettably continue to be predominant in many countries in the region. This project embodies the spirit of EMS for hazardous wastes and the Development Objectives of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Organization, its principle objectives being: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to reduce the number of people whose revenues are lessthan half dollar a day and those whoare starving; and their seventh objective: to guarantee environmental sustainability,incorporating the principles of sustainable development in policies and national programs that willconsiderably improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020, amongst others.

This ULAB project is model program for other regions in the world, who are developing strategies and appropriate mechanisms to meet national and regional requirements for the ESM of ULAB in the context of the Basel Convention. We must all work together for the success of this project. Thank you.