Legal Problems of Hazardous Waste in Developing Countries: The Case of Morocco

Presented at the World Conference on Hazardous Wastes in Budapest in October 1987, this study subjects the problem of hazardous waste in developing countries to critical legal examination, with Morocco as an emblematic case study. The author first draws an alarming picture of the global phenomenon: industrialised countries produce some 300 million tonnes of toxic and hazardous waste annually, a growing proportion of which is routed to developing countries through often irregular or fraudulent transboundary movements due to the prohibitive cost of treatment in the North. The legal analysis covers existing international instruments — OECD conventions, UNEP guidelines, Stockholm Conference principles — demonstrating their non-binding character and inability to stem the dumping of toxic waste in developing countries, and identifying gaps in Moroccan legislation for controlling hazardous waste imports and ensuring safe disposal. The author formulates precise recommendations for reform of the international normative framework, including the adoption of a binding convention on transboundary movements of hazardous waste, and for urgent reinforcement of Moroccan national legislation.