ISSUE48: FEBRUARY-APRIL 2008
network of research and training centres/programmes
UNU & GIST sustainability programme reaches out to Africa
UNU & GIST Joint Programme on Science and Technology for Sustainability, has initiated a waste management programme for sub-Saharan Africa as part of its mandate to carry out research and training on science and technology for environmental sustainability.
Operating from the International Environmental Research Centre (IERC) at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Korea, the UNU Initiative on Solid Waste and Wastewater Management Systems in Africa builds on a growing number of initiatives designed to improve the quality of life in sub-Saharan Africa and drive progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
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Solid waste disposal problems in Mozambique: a roadside garbage dump |
Despite rapid economic development in several countries, sub-Saharan Africa does not have adequate data, analytical systems and appropriate technology to establish the regulatory framework, policies, technical guidance systems, data management systems/research support and compliance enforcement to control the environmental and human health impacts of solid waste and wastewater discharges.
Mountains of trash and solid industrial wastes are found in many cities and regions. Untreated effluent from numerous small- and medium-scale factories and other businesses is released into surface water and other sensitive areas. This has serious health implications since surface water and groundwater are rarely treated before domestic use. Inter-media transfer of contaminants, exemplified by deposition of wind-blown dusts and solid waste particles into rivers and ponds, contributes to surface water contamination.
The World Bank, World Health
Organization and other international agencies report that contaminated drinking
water claims hundreds of thousands of lives in Sub-Saharan
Africa, annually. As population growth and socio-economic factors induce
urbanization rates that exceed 4% annually, inadequate waste management
systems will continue to pose environmental and health risks to millions
of people in the region.
The objective of this GIST led initiative is to build
management systems, analytical and technical support capacity, educational
support systems and the resource base necessary to effectively plan,
execute and maintain appropriate solid waste and waste water management
systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Central to this objective are the
generation, compilation and analyses of data through research and training to enable the selection and implementation of cost-effective
options by decision makers in public agencies, the private sector and
other supporting organizations.
The programme covers educational aspects
that will involve student researched mini-projects, student exchanges and
internships at participating universities, stakeholder engagement
workshops and database development in French, English and Portuguese. The
utility of this programme covers capacity-building on policy-making,
technical systems implementation and education of environmental management
professionals. The five-year initiative will require funding support from national and international agencies and the private sector in both
developed and developing countries.
This initiative will be jointly managed and directed by the directors of
United Nations University and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Joint Programme on Science and Technology for Sustainability (UNU
& GIST), Korea, United Nations University Institute of Natural Resources in
Africa (UNU-INRA), Ghana, and the Global Institute for Energy and
Environmental Systems (GIEES) of the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte, USA who have jointly signed a letter of Agreement to this
effect. Implementation will involve a consortium of African academic and
research institutions as well as public and private sector organisation.
© 2008 United Nations University