PROMOTING EFFECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
Climate change is a global issue which knows no political boundaries neither does it occur at distinct air spaces. Climate change mitigation cannot be achieved in isolation and thus calls for a collaborative responsibility. The Africa Waste is Wealth Series (AWWS), a series of high-level regional conferences convened by Taka Taka Ni Mali, the East African Business Council, and the Alliance for Science which is informed by Taka Taka ni Mali’s program under Transform (FCDO, Unilever, and Ernst and Young), accelerated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)’s Accelerator Lab. The conference seeks to Promote Effective Waste Management Practices for Environmental Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation. The conference also aims at providing stakeholders a platform to evaluate waste management policies across primary production, industry, and green finance in the region. The conference will be held on the margins of the UN-Habitat General Assembly meeting, in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 6-8th, 2023, recognizing that urbanization is a key driver for waste management challenges in Africa.
This first conference will bring together government institutions, private-sector actors, development partners, and financing organizations to forge the regional commitments required to grow best-practice sustainable waste management models. It will further explore the potential of waste management as a driver of economic empowerment and job creation, while enhancing circular economy principles of waste and pollution elimination, circulating products and resources at their best value, and natural regeneration.
Conference Themes
These themes aim to convey the importance of waste management in mitigating the impact of waste on the environment and climate while highlighting the need for proactive measures and sustainable solutions:
- The Status of Waste Management Policies across the Eastern Africa Region
- Green Transitions and the Circular Economy
- The Role of Technology in Waste Management
- Financing for Circular Economy
- Implementation Approaches to the Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations Sustainability and Green Innovations
Target Audience
The target countries for the first conference will be the East African region Such as Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, DR Congo, Tanzania, and Reunion. Other expected audiences include; green innovators, green champions, policy makers, leaders and academicians
The Conference Objectives
- Fast-track the harmonization for solid waste management policies across the region.
- Catalyze waste management conversations in Africa while identifying priority policies to promote entrepreneurship in waste management space.
- Showcase best-practice innovative waste management models across Africa.
- Scale up the Taka Taka Ni Mali integrated ecosystem waste management model piloted in Kenya under Transform
- Aid countries across the region speed up plastic recycling while raising their awareness to influence environmentally sound data- driven decision-making.
- Increase policy evidence and insight of the science behind plastics and other waste
- Bring on-board African First ladies (spouses of presidents) in waste management
- Promote the use of technology in tracking waste movement and conversion
The Conference Outcome
The AWWS will help to accelerate nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans for African countries. It will also aid in the mobilization of climate finance to support local goals and innovative partnerships, particularly in sustainable waste management. Other projected deliverables include policy priorities for unlocking country-level climate financing, exhibiting ecosystem investment models, a blueprint on the role of technology in waste management, and resources for implementing waste management solutions–a fund, CEO commitments, and technical help.
Conclusion:
Purposing to attend The AWWS will of great significance as it is design to improve business-to-business and business-to-government engagement. The series, which includes high-level sector-focused forums, networking sessions, and much more, offers exciting opportunities to fulfill your business objectives.
We will have peer to peer learning and collaboration of industries to align and understand their role in the waste management ecosystem, enable industries to understand the journey to environmental compliance requirements at the local and global levels, including ESG management and have the private sector contributing to waste management policy development and implementation at the regional and country levels.