International seminar on waste management

| Subject: International Cooperation, Waste

Local governments from Gambia, Lebanon and northeast Syria share experiences with the AMB

Visit to a waste treatment facility

From 14 to 18 October, representatives from various local institutions of Gambia, Lebanon and northeast Syria took part in a seminar that included theory-based working sessions and visits aimed at learning about, sharing and reflecting on waste management governance and management models and strategies.

The Gambian delegation was comprised of political, technical and municipal representatives, as well as other actors involved in tasks related to the environment and management. The seminar was attended, on the one hand, by individuals from the Greater Banjul Area, which encompasses the capital and the cities of Kanifing and Brikama. Also present were representatives from Tujereng, site of a waste management project currently being carried out through the AMB's coordinated cooperation programme with the metropolitan councils of Santa Coloma de Cervelló and Torrelles de Llobregat (twinned with the Municipal Council of Tujereng). Other participants included representatives from the Mbolo Association, a regional NGO which acts as a catalyst for such initiatives.

On behalf of Lebanon there were two members of the Lebanese Red Cross, an institution which has worked with the AMB's Cooperation Department and town councils in northern Lebanon to implement a more sustainable system of solid waste management and decrease environmental pollution, a situation exacerbated by the presence of a large refugee population.

As for the delegation from northeast Syria, the seminar gathered representatives from the Jazira Region's Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment, the Ecology Committee of the Al-Hasakah District's Committee for Municipal Affairs and Environment and the Qamishli District's Committee for Municipal Affairs and Environment. In addition, the delegation was accompanied by a representative from the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per..., an institution active in the region and partner in the current sanitary waste management project in northeast Syria.

Waste management challenges and strategies

The seminar on waste management governance organised by the Waste Management Department and the Area for International Relations and Cooperation of the AMB, was adapted to the interests and projects of the invitees. In this regard, particular emphasis was placed on selective collection, landfill management, recycling and hospital waste management. These items served as a basis for promoting exchange and reflection and for sharing waste management challenges and strategies among participants.

As part of the initiative, the three delegations had the opportunity to visit landfills in Garraf and Hostalets de Pierola, the recycling plant in Molins de Rei and the composting plant in Torrelles de Llobregat. The participants from northeast Syria also visited the Vall d'Hebron Hospital to learn more about their sanitary waste management system.

Other institutional visits were also organised with the town councils of Torrelles de Llobregat, Santa Coloma de Cervelló and El Prat de Llobregat.

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