First Sub-Regional workshop on Preparation of Status Report and Sub-regional Road map for implementing the Global Waste Management Goals toward Addressing SDGs in South Asia was held on 25-26 March in Kathmandu, Nepal. The meeting was jointly organized by CCET, SACEP, Government of Nepal, ICIMOD, UNEP, and the Ministry of Environment, Japan. The workshop was inaugurated by His Excellency Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister of Forests and Environment, Government of Nepal, Director General of SACEP, and Director of CCET.

Background

Home to roughly 1.8 billion people, South Asia generates approximately 334 million tonnes of waste per year of which 174 million tonnes (57%) is organic in content. In addition to the increase in municipal solid waste, managing complex and emerging waste streams, including e-waste, food waste, construction and demolition waste, disaster waste, plastic and marine litter are also growing issues in need of attention. Due to a lack of effective policy and regulations, technical, financial and human resources, many countries in the sub-region are facing tremendous challenges to provide adequate waste management services.

In this regard, sustainable waste management based on the waste hierarchy and 3R principles (reduce, reuse and recycle) is increasingly gaining local, national and international attention as one of the key drivers for achieving both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and commitments under Paris Agreement. 

In this context, CCET in collaboration with the governments of South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and the key regional institutions is initiating a series of policy dialogues on sustainable waste management with the aim of enhancing sub-regional cooperation and national implementation.

Workshop Discussion

On the first day, a preliminary consensus was built among the participating countries and institutions on the proposed activities of Sub-regional cooperation, while current status and baseline data of SWM was presented by member countries as a basis of a report on the state of waste management in the sub-region which is expected to be developed as the next step. On the second day, preliminary discussion on implementation gaps and potential actions at both sub-regional and national level were discussed in the context of global policy context including SDGs, Paris Agreement, Global Waste Management Goals, and Hanoi 3R Declaration. Another workshop is expected to be organized in 2019 for continued discussion towards development of Sub-regional Roadmap for enhancing waste management.

>> Workshop Report <<