Myanmar, one of the fastest growing countries in ASEAN, has been facing considerable challenges with the management of waste in its all forms (solid, liquid and gasses), especially after the country opened up its economy after decades of self-imposed isolation. The waste management policies, laws, regulations, systems and technologies in Myanmar are also at an inception stage when compared to other ASEAN countries. In this regard, IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET) has been working with the Environmental Conservation Department (ECD) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) and the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC) of Myanmar for the development of the National and City Waste Management Strategies and Action Plans with the support of the UN Environment – International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC). The national strategy would serve as the first national framework ever for advancing waste management policies and practices across the country, and supporting city-level waste management strategies for promoting execution of concrete actions led by township and city development committees. Both national and city waste management strategies and action plans were prepared through an inclusive consultative process, including a series of baseline studies, stakeholder workshops, and technical consultative meetings conducted during the period of January 2016 to July 2017.

As the concluding key event of the process, national and city workshops were organised in Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay on 7 and 9 August 2017 respectively to share the final drafts of the national and city waste management strategies and action plans. The final national workshop in Nay Pyi Taw was organised by the ECD, MONREC, inviting key figures including H.E. U Ohn Win, Honorable Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation; U Htay Aung, Permanente Secretary of MONREC; U Hla Maung Thein, Director General of MONREC; and more than 100 senior officials from relevant ministries, regional offices, academic institutions, civil society and media, in order to finalise and agree upon the national strategy and action plan before submission to the Cabinet for its final approval and official adaptation. The final report of the Mandalay City Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan was presented at the final city workshop in Mandalay on 9 August 2017, inviting Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, Honorable Chief Minister of the Mandalay Regional Government; Dr. Ye Lwin, Mayor of Mandalay City; U Hla Maung Thein, Director General of ECD, MONREC, and approximately 120 guests including regional ministers, the members of MCDC, senior officials of relevant national government institutions, heads of departments, academic institutions, civil society, private sectors and media, for final endorsement of the strategy and expression of commitment to its implementation.

The proceedings of both national and city final workshops included welcome speeches, presentations of the overview and outlines of national and city waste management strategies and action plans, and discussions. At the both workshops, Mr. Kazunobu Onogawa, Director of CCET made a welcome speech on behalf of CCET and IETC. H.E. U Ohn Win, Honorable Union Minister of MONREC, extended an appreciation to CCET and IETC for their timely support in preparing the national strategy, and expressed its intention to utilize it as a guiding framework for setting political and policy directions for waste management in the country. U Hla Maung Thein, Director General of ECD, MONREC, acknowledged that the strategy’s emphasis on holistic and integrated approach for waste management and its special focus on municipal waste taking into account the challenges faced by the cities of Myanmar. Based on this national strategy, further strategic planning and action are planned in future for addressing other types of waste including, industrial waste, medical waste, E-waste, and plastics. Agreed and accepted by ECD, the final draft strategy will be circulated to other ministries and regional offices for final hearings after minor modifications. Subsequently, the final strategy will be submitted to cabinet for authorisation, providing a legal basis for its implementation. It was also reported that Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) has started developing its own waste management plan based on the national strategy, with the assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).