Story 01 May, 2025

Making visible the invisible: the role of IUCN and WCEL in the sound management of chemicals and wastes at the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Conference of the Parties 2025

The 2025 Meetings of the conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions (2025 BRS COPs) are taking place from 28 April to 9 May 2025 in Geneva under the theme “Make visible the invisible: sound management of chemicals and wastes.” IUCN and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) are present as Observers, a status held by IUCN in all three Conventions since 2023.

Photo: IUCN, Karine Siegwart

Pollution from waste and chemicals is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation on land, in water systems, and in the marine environment. Species at risk are under increased threat. Pollution from the unsafe use of materials, chemicals, pesticides and waste has a direct impact on human health and climate change and it causes damage to social systems (i.e. risks to food security, energy supply, and water security). Simultaneously, well-functioning ecosystems with healthy biodiversity can help detoxify the environment. (1)

Over the years, IUCN Members have adopted many Resolutions regarding chemicals, waste, and pollution out of plastics, agriculture, and mining, but also on other types of pollution (noise, light, ship wastewater discharge, Deep Sea mining, sunken vessels, nutrient coastal pollution), which affect nature, ecosystems and people.

The BRS Conventions are multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) designed to regulate the handling of chemicals and hazardous waste worldwide to protect our environment and human health from negative impacts of hazardous pollutants and wastes. IUCN’s role as Observer to the 2025 BRS COPs is to provide the international voice for nature and conservation, stressing the importance of biodiversity protection, indigenous people rights as well as the key role of international law considerations and conformity.

While at the 2025 BRS COPs, IUCN continues to make the case that the connections between pollution, biodiversity loss, and human health are intertwined and must be considered together, especially to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 12 on sustainable production and consumption and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and its Targets.

The three conventions are embedded in a broader chemicals, waste and pollution agenda, including the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Global Framework on Chemicals. Thus, the three BRS Conventions have strong interlinkages to other MEAs and organisations (e.g. ILO, WHO, FAO, WTO), including to Biodiversity Strategies and Targets, and the issue of enhanced cooperation, coherence and synergies among these different treaty regimes are addressed accordingly. These links are critical to the ongoing negotiation of the Global Plastics Treaty and will be essential for its implementation once adopted.

Cooperation – and multilateralism – are needed to tackle pollution

In this context, international cooperation and coordination as rooted in the foundational texts of the BRS Conventions serve as a strong foundation for the cooperation with other MEAs setting a global standard for emulation. This coordination and cooperation discussion during the 2025 BRS COPs are critical for many of IUCN’s priority areas, including the Global Plastics Treaty and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the GBF, particularly for Target 7, Reduce Pollution to Levels That Are Not Harmful to Biodiversity and Target 18, Reduce Harmful Incentives by at Least $500 Billion per Year.

Achieving the GBF goals “requires integrated efforts across all environmental agreements, notably those under the chemicals and waste agenda” per the “Report on the contributions of the chemicals and waste international agreements and frameworks to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (UNEP-CHW.17-59 Information Document) introduced during the BRS COPs. IUCN's engagement includes ensuring science-based legal and policy efforts address the impact of wastes and chemical pollution on ecosystems while helping countries meet obligations across multiple frameworks.

More than just plastics

Cross-cutting topics integral to the IUCN mission include the call for nature-based and nature-positive circular economy solutions. This work is critical as significant challenges persist and will be discussed at 2025 BRS COPs. The illegal traffic of hazardous wastes, such as electronic or plastic waste, pollution from textiles and shipwrecks, continue to strain waste management infrastructures in developing countries, needing stringent technical guidelines on plastics waste, e-waste, and others and improving the functioning of the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure. Unsustainable consumption and production patterns, and open burning of waste release dangerous pollutants like dioxins and furans. The presence of POPs and other chemicals in certain products (including plastic products) complicates recovery and final disposal efforts. Challenges also persist in implementation and bans, including with the use of certain harmful pesticides and chemicals (e.g. paraquat, asbestos, PFOS, and additives to plastics products). As many countries face major legal, institutional, and technological gaps, hindering the effective enforcement of these conventions, some important decisions on listing, effectiveness, financing, and compliance are tabled.

The challenge posed throughout the lifecycle of many materials and products – from resource extraction and processing to production and use to end of life – have documented negative impacts on biodiversity and nature conservation. This requires a holistic response under the common Chemicals and Wastes Policy agenda, based on scientific evidence and data. The BRS COPs aim to address many harmful forms of pollution, improve circularity and the prevention, monitoring, and implementation of effective approaches to a wide variety of pollutants, chemicals and wastes that are a barrier to a cleaner, healthier planet for all people.

Moving forward

The recognition of the need for preventing and managing pollution and improving cooperation between agreements is crucial for States and furthers the idea of “making visible the invisible” for the sound management of chemicals and wastes. As States negotiate over the next two weeks, IUCN and WCEL will continue to position the Union to advance these connections, linking to the Union’s overall strategic programme for conservation to be renewed at the upcoming World Conservation Congress 9-15 October in Abu Dhabi.

In advance of the next negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, IUCN and WCEL propose to States that the international cooperation measures used and endorsed by the BRS COPs is carried forward for a dedicated article on International Cooperation in the Global Plastics Treaty when INC5.2 reconvenes in Geneva in August 2025. As ever, IUCN and its World Commission for Environmental Law stand ready to support the BRS Conventions and State Parties with further legal and scientific expertise.

Side event: 4 May

Join us on 4 May, Sunday – online and in person (register here) for a side event with partners on the topic, “Empowering Education and Effective Capacity Building to Tackle Plastic Pollution”. Join the Governments of Ghana and Malawi, IUCN and WCEL, BCCC-Uruguay, Azerbaijan Branch Office of the Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus, AEEFG, and GRID-Arendal for this exciting event!

We will hear from youth and globally placed partners about advancing the BRS Conventions’ work. Objectives include showcasing successful educational initiatives, sharing insights on educational tools, promoting education and capacity building as a strategy for tackling plastic pollution and implementing laws and rules relating to it, and facilitating knowledge exchange. The event aligns with the 2025 BRS COPs theme "Make Visible the Invisible" by highlighting how education reveals hidden pollution issues through BRS-supported projects, school initiatives, interactive games, and scientific tools.