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1. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN BOLIVIAN CITIES
The deficient solid waste management contaminates all environmental dimensions (soil, air, water, landscape, etc.); therefore, affects the whole population’s health. These effects are obvious and visible in the city as well as in the country side; however, the most dramatic levels are presented in the communities surrounding the damping places.
In almost all Latin American cities, population is not yet aware enough to participate in this problematic and pays little attention to the environmental quality to which everyone has right. The lack awareness and environmental education causes the poor participation and the adjustment to the deficient solid waste management.
Solid waste problems are very old in Bolivian cities and until today, there still lacks the legal framework as well as national, departmental and municipal plans and policies of INTEGRATED solid waste MANAGEMENT. The responsible of the solid waste management, in the three levels, do not have an integral and long term vision for this problematic. They prefer skip this complex problematic and only implement short term, isolated and reactive solution measures.
Municipal Governments frequently give up their MANAGEMENT responsibility to operator cleaning companies, which have operative FUNCTIONS, such as collect urban residues and store them at the municipal dumping place. Not being part of the Municipal Government, these operator companies cannot do the solid waste INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT policies, plans and programs necessary for urban societies.
Even though technical-operative solid waste management knowledge has been developed these last years, there has not been the same advance at the socio-cultural, institutional and political levels. Therefore, the priority is to educate and to train the population as well as the decision making authorities in this issues. Technicians won’t be able to go ahead without political decisions that give clues and back them.
Frequently, solid waste management problems are pointed out, but not what it could be done to approach this complex and old problematic; neither it is said how it could be institutionalized the INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT to the municipal policies and plans in order to have continuity in time and beyond authorities’ changes.
To orientate in the quest of solutions, this symposium about MUNICIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES FOR THE SOLID WASTE MANGEMENT is searching successful experiences generated in different Bolivian and Latin American municipalities and spread them to national, departmental and municipal government authorities, not only to the executive and legislative instances but also at the social control level; to authorities that work in public policies planning as well as to those in charge to implement and to make them operative; and very specially, to the civil society organizations, such as the Vigilance Committees and the Grassroots Territorial Organizations.
2.SIMPOSIUM OBJECTIVES
a) To educate the national, departmental and municipal authorities, at the executive and legislative levels as well as the representatives of civil society in decision-making organs about the urgency and importance of developing real municipal environmental policies for the integrated solid waste management.
b) To analyze and capitalize successful experiences of municipal policy of integrated urban solid waste management from Bolivia and Latin America.
c) To integrate the different state and society levels in the analysis of the solid waste issue and the construction of participative, sustainable and achievable solutions for this problematic.
d) To generate a history that can be useful to incorporate them to future policies and legislations at the national, departmental and municipal levels in Bolivia.
3. SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZERS
SGAB – Focus City Project, supported by the IDRC, Sustainable Development Commission of the Deputies Chamber, Ministry of Environment and Water, with the support of FUNDAPPAC, CAF, GTZ and the participation of Cochabamba’s Prefecture and Municipality.
4. PLACE AND DATE
Cochabamba, 22 and 23 October 2009. In "Casa Campestre", Piñami area.
5. SYMPOSIUM THEMATIC AXES
- Solid Waste Management Policies in Bolivia at national and departmental level.
- Urban Solid Waste Management in Bolivian main cities.
- Successful international experiences of solid waste management in Latin America.
- Solid waste management in cities of different size and characteristics.
- International cooperation approach to the solid waste problematic in Latin American municipalities.
- International cooperation support to improve solid waste management in Bolivian municipalities.
- Quito and Lima’s Metropolitan approach to environmental management.
Subjects to be approached by the international lecturers:
- Solid Waste Management Policies in Latin America, approaches and opportunities.
- Successful cases of development and institutionalization of environmental policies of integrated solid waste management in municipalities of Latin America.
- Policies and regulations implemented for the integrated urban solid waste management.
- The role of local stakeholders in municipal policies: authorities, operators, population, scavengers, environmental organizations, etc. Inception, evolution and current positions, allies, indifferent and opponents.
- Obstacles and successes of planning, implementation and operation of municipal policies.
- Current situation, next steps and vision for the future.
6. GUESTS AND TARGET GROUPS
More than 160 participants from the following institutions
- National legislators, departmental and municipal authorities, president of commissions of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Parliament, Departmental Councilors and Municipal Counselors.
- Authorities of executive bodies: Ministry, Prefectures and Municipalities.
- Civil society representatives: Vigilance Committees.
- International cooperation, funding agencies.
- Municipal Cleaning Services Companies.
- Institutions linked to the issue and the Mass Media.
7. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND LECTURERS
- Special guest: Luis Díaz, CalRecovery and Earthgreen Director. California-USA
- Special guest: Walter Ubal Giordano, IDRC–Canada Regional Representative. Montevideo-Uruguay
- Special guest: Marco Rodríguez, GTZ Specialist in Mexico.
- Special guest: Paco Moncayo, Quito’s Metropolitan District Former Major, Ecuador
- Eduardo Martín, Environment and Civil Prevention Institute (IPCA), Chacao Municipality. Venezuela.
- Luis Armando Llanos, Metropolitan Lima’s Regidor
- Carmen Elena de Janón, Quito’s Metropolitan District, Ecuador.
- Ángel Huaccho Flores, Santiago de Surco Municipality, Lima, Perú.
- Emilio Uquillas, CAF Representative in Bolivia. La Paz - Bolivia
- Jorge Forgues, CAF Public Sector Chief Executive. La Paz - Bolivia
- Detlef Klein, GTZ/PROAPAC Coordinator. La Paz - Bolivia
- Armando de la Parra, FUNDAPPAC Director. La Paz - Bolivia
- Yuko Okamura, JICA Irrigation and Environment Responsible. La Paz - Bolivia
- Elisenda Realp, Catalan Solid Waste Agency. La Paz – Bolivia
- Gregory Paz B. SGAB – IDRC Cochabamba Focus Cities. Cochabamba, Bolivia.
EXPECTED RESULTS
- Gathering and coordination of the three governmental levels (municipal, departmental and national), from the legislatives as well as the executives powers, the authorities as well as the citizens, and those that define policies as well as those who execute them.
- Definition of strategic guidelines and policies of solid waste management in the short, medium and long term.
- Inter-institutional participation (public and private) in policies, strategies and guidelines formulation about solid waste management.
- Reflective analysis and inter-institutional involvement to assume commitments in the solutions implementation.
- Establishment of a coordination platform between public and private institutions for the urban solid waste thematic.
- Symposium memory and lecture’s with the results, conclusions and recommendations.