Signing ceremony for City-City cooperation between NCDC and each ULLGs
Over several decades, waste has become one of the major concerns for small island countries in the Pacific region because of severe challenges in coping with the increasing volume and changing characteristics of urban and industrial wastes. Improper waste management has potential to pose a significant negative impact on public health, water and food supply, ecosystems, tourism and trade, resources, and even climate change, which threaten sustainable development in this region.
Such unique constraints as geographical isolation, limited resources and economic scale, and dependence on foreign aid and imported goods have made management of solid waste more difficult for Pacific Island countries (PICs).
In order to realize the commitment of the Government of Japan at the 2nd PALM (Japan-Pacific Leaders' Meeting) in 2000, JICA started assisting PICs in terms of solid waste management in collaboration with SPREP.
Under the Pacific Regional Solid Waste Management Strategy (2016-2025) as Cleaner Pacific 2025 which has been already formulated in previous J-PRISM cooperation, JICA has conducted "Japanese Technical Cooperation Project for Promotion of Regional Initiative on Solid Waste Management, Phase II (J-PRISM II)" in partnership with the responsible agencies of the waste management of each target countries and SPREP.
Regarding the previous J-PRISM project, successive technical cooperation programs contributed to raising the capacity of local counterparts. They even became an essential resource person not only in their respective countries but also in the surrounding countries in the region, as experts or trainers. Also, "3R + Return" concept has been promoted during J-PRISM project. Most of the countries in the region are lacking recycling facilities and limited recycling markets in the country due to the small scale of the economy. The "3R+Return" concept would promote the proper resource recycling and appropriate disposal by exporting (returning) valuable waste or difficult waste for disposal while returning organic waste into soil for effective utilization.
To promote regional cooperation and south-south cooperation effectively and efficiently, it is expected that these human resource exchange programs would be set up as a firm system in the Pacific, not just relying on each country's initiative/effort.
Also, for the realization of "3R+Return" concept, proper organic waste treatment, effective/efficient resource recycling, and appropriate disposal, within and across the country would be significant, but it is still a continuous challenge among PICs to set up "3R+Return" system.
Snap Photos
Waste audit in Goroka in cooperation with NCDC
Baruni Disposal Site (Before)
Baruni Disposal Site (Upgraded)
Installation of the weighbridge system in the Baruni Disposal site
Validation workshop for National waste management policy - Port Moresby, July 2022