Basel Convention

BOLIVIA

Status of Ratification/Accession/Acceptance/Approval:	15.11.1996 (r)
Ratification/Acceptance of the Amendment to the Basel Convention:	Not yet as of 20.11.2002

Competent Authority	Focal Point
Vice Ministry for Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development Av. Mariscal Santa Cruz # 1092, Piso 6, La Paz tel: [phone] fax: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail] web site: www.rsd.org.bo	Director General for Quality, Environmental Impact and Environmental Services Av. Mariscal Santa Cruz # 1092, Piso 6, La Paz tel: [phone] fax: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail] web site: www.rds.org.bo

National Definition

There is no national definition of waste and hazardous waste used for the purpose of transboundary movements of waste in Bolivia. There are no wastes defined as, or considered to be hazardous wastes by national legislation in accordance with Art. 1, para 1(b) of the Basel Convention. Bolivia has no specific regulation on the transboundary movement of hazardous substances and only has a regulation for activities on hazardous substances which are part of the regulations of Environment Law No. 1333. In Bolivia there are no wastes other than those pursuant to Art. 1 (1)a and/or Art. 1 (1)b of the Basel Convention that require special consideration when subjected to transboundary movement.

Data* on the Generation and Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes** and Other Wastes*** in 2000 (as reported)

		Quantities (in metric tonnes)
Generation	Total amount of hazardous wastesgenerated	No data
	Total amount of other wastesgenerated	1)
Transboundary Movement	Total amount of hazardous wastesand other wastesexported
	Total amount of hazardous wastesand other wastesimported	121 482

* Figures are rounded to the nearest integer.

** Covers wastes under Art. 1 (1)a (Annex I: Y1-Y45) and Art. 1 (1)b.

*** Covers wastes under (Annex II: Y46-Y47).

1) Amount reported as: 1 400 T/per day of municipal solid waste which may contain small quantities of hazardous wastes.

Restrictions on Transboundary Movement	Amendment to the Basel Convention The amendment to the Basel Convention (Decision III/1) has not been implemented in Bolivia.
	Restrictions on export for final disposal Bolivia has no restrictions on the export of hazardous wastes and other wastes for final disposal. There is no legislation on export of hazardous waste.
	Restriction on export for recovery Bolivia has no restrictions on the export of hazardous wastes and other wastes for recovery. Agreements and regulations have been established in accordance with the provisions of the Basel Convention. Iron scrap is exported to Peru in accordance with the provisions of the Basel Convention.
	Restrictions on the transit and import for final disposal and for recovery Bolivia has no restrictions on the transit and import of hazardous wastes and other wastes for final disposal and for recovery. In accordance with Art. 59 of the Regulation on Activities having hazardous wastes, the Government of Bolivia prohibits the importation of hazardous substances with the sole purpose of confinement. However, the definition of hazardous substances in accordance with the above-mentioned regulation is the following: The substance presenting or containing, among others, the following intrinsic characteristics: corrosive, explosive, flammable, patogenic or bio-infectious, radioactive, reactive and toxic, in accordance with standard tests. Nevertheless, the difference between substances and wastes is not specified and the term is used indistinctively. Therefore, we are working on the amendment to the regulation, as well as on the proposal to set as a priority the elaboration of a regulation on hazardous wastes.

Reduction and/or Elimination of Hazardous Waste Generation	Legislation, regulations and guidelines National legislation is based on Environmental Law No. 1333 and its Regulation for Activities with Hazardous Substances.
	Measures taken by industries/waste generators Industrial activities have the obligation to incorporate the information concerning management and disposal of hazardous wastes.

Transboundary Movement Reduction Measures

Legislation, regulations and guidelines Environmental Law No. 1333; Regulation for Activities with Hazardous Substances; and Regulations and Agreements of the Basel Convention.

Disposal/ Recovery Facilities

Disposal facilities Each province in Bolivia has its own disposal of solid wastes system, which in general is done through the sanitary landfill method (D1). Further information could be obtained from the environment municipal units of each province which are directly responsible for carrying out solid waste management. Recovery/recycling/re-use facilities There are no means for waste recovery installations at national level, only on a small scale which includes recovery operations R4, R5 and R9.

Bilateral, Multilateral or Regional Agreements

Bilateral agreement between Peru and Bolivia, under implementation of the Basel Convention, concerning the export of metal and plastic scrap, effective from 12.07.1996.

Technical Assistance and Training Available

The available sources are: Ministry of Sustainable Development and Planning, Av. Mariscal Santa Cruz, 1092, Piso 6, La Paz, tel: [phone], fax: [phone]; Prefectura Santa Cruz, Direccion Ambiental, tel: [phone], fax: [phone]; Prefectura Cochabamba, Direccion Ambiental, tel: [phone], fax: [phone]; Prefectura La Paz, Direccion Ambiental, tel: [phone], fax: [phone]; and Institute for Ecology, tel: [phone]. Further information could be obtained from the Focal point.

Basel Convention

Country Fact Sheet