EU – Africa collaboration

Project description and aims

In February 2008 IMPEL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC). Within the framework of this MoU, IMPEL TFS and the SBC agreed to collaborate on component 4 of the SBC’s E-wastes to Africa project. This project, launched in 2009 aims to equip West Africa and other African countries to be able to tackle the growing problem of e-waste import coming from industrialized countries and thereby protect the health of citizens. The project has 4 components:

1) A study of the flow of e-waste into Benin,Cote d’Ivoire,Ghana,Liberia andNigeria

2) A national assessment on e-waste in Benin,Ghana andNigeria

3) A socio-economic study on e-waste in Nigeria with a feasibility of international cooperation between African SMEs and European recycling companies. The same study will be carried out in Ghana.

4) An enforcement programme in Benin, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Tunisia led by IMPEL with the aim of preventing illegal export from Europe to West Africa. The programme consists of 2 training workshops in Europe and one in each of the five countries.

Under the umbrella a series of workshop and trainings were delivered.