Basel Convention clears Singapore of alleged waste dumping i
sbst275
SINGAPORE : Singapore has been cleared of any wrongdoing over the export of what Indonesia considered organic material or waste to Batam.
The Geneva-based Basel Convention's Secretariat said Singapore acted in accordance with its laws, and that the export of the material on July 27 last year did not breach the convention.
These points were made in a joint statement adopted by both governments on Thursday.
And in the spirit of good neighbourliness, Singapore will allow the return of the material from Indonesia.
At the centre of the dispute was 1,149 tonnes of what Indonesia considered organic material and hazardous waste originating from a Singapore company.
The Indonesian Environment Ministry alleged it had been dumped in Batam.
Singapore argued it was not classifed waste but compost used as a soil conditioner and fertiliser.
After an exchange of letters on each other's definitions, both delegations met under the auspices of the Basel Convention on May 10 and 11.
This comes after the Convention had offered its good offices to both countries to meet and reach an amicable resolution on this issue.
The Convention's Secretariat said Indonesia's Environment Ministry sent a list of hazardous waste to it on July 29 July last year.
That was two days after the material in question was exported from Singapore.
And Singapore only got the notification from the Convention on August 27.
So when the Singapore company exported the material to Batam on July 27 last year, Indonesia had not notified the Basel Convention Secretariat and other state parties that it considered the exported material as hazardous waste.
From the deliberations at the Convention, it was clear that Indonesia's Environment Ministry only sent its notification to the Secretariat a day after the materials arrived at Batam.
At the end of the two-day meeting, the Convention concluded that Singapore had acted in accordance with its donestic laws and that export of the material did not breach the convention.
And in the interest of resolving the issue amicably and in the spirit of good neighbourliness, Singapore will allow the return of the material in question.
This means the return of the material to Singapore is not regarded as a re-export under the Convention's articles.
And to prevent any similar incidents in future, both countries agreed to make use of the Indonesia-Singapore joint working group on the environment. - CNA/de
dragg
this is what we get for helping our friendly neighbour in times of need.
iveco
Originally posted by dragg:
this is what we get for helping our friendly neighbour in times of need.
And it has riled Idwar quite a lot. The fertiliser issue caused our embassy in Jakarta to be attacked by protestors.