As more
rural residents move to Phnom Penh in search of work, the city’s population has
nearly doubled over the last decade. Estimates suggest it could reach 2.9 million
by 2025. Meanwhile, new construction projects have driven thousands of urban
poor out of the city center to peri-urban areas where services are few or
non-existent. Cambodia’s capital is literally bursting at the seams with the
garbage produced by its growing population, and, despite efforts to expand
services, is struggling to keep up.
According
to a recent Asia Foundation/ODI report, in Phnom Penh municipality, 40 percent
of residents have no garbage collection. For the poorest households in the
outer khans (districts), the figures are twice as high. A poor waste management
system has led to illegal dumping at informal dumpsites, on-site burning of
waste, and the accumulation of household waste in waterways, drainage systems,
and community streets. The accumulated waste fouls water sources, releases
toxic gases during burning, threatens public health, and reduces the overall
livability of communities.
While the
city is working to improve and expand collection services, lack of education
and public awareness of the impact of waste on the environment and health is an
impediment to progress. Many Cambodians do not see the benefits of trash
collection due to the cost of services and the availability of alternative
disposal methods, such as burning or dumping illegally. Only about 30-50
percent of households sign up for a service where it is available. In addition,
community and local authorities generally pay less attention to urban services,
especially waste management, in the poorer areas of the city.
Solid
waste management is an even more complicated issue in Cambodia because it
involves coordination and buy-in from the service provider, government, and
community. Each of these stakeholders has a very different incentive (the
provider wants to make money, individuals may want to “free ride” or not pay
for the service, and the government wants a clean environment for public
health, tourism, and elections). Getting everyone to work together requires
bringing these stakeholders together, but also identifying and mobilizing
leaders in the community to serve as focal point persons so that efforts are
sustainable.
Since
2014, The Asia Foundation and local NGO Urban Poor Women Development have been
working with three low-income communities made up of 219 households on the
outskirts of Phnom Penh to bring together stakeholders and raise awareness of
waste management. These communities (Chamroeun, RuseySras, and Phal Andet in
ChbarAmpov Districts) are located in lowland areas where monsoon flooding makes
the small roads nearly impassable for garbage trucks. In addition, the houses
are very close together, blocking garbage trucks from entering to collect
waste. The inability of a collection truck to access the areas, coupled with
the sharp increase in population growth, has plunged the community into grave
environmental consequences, with waste piled on roadsides, river banks, and
underneath houses. In addition, waste separation has never been a practice in
Cambodia, so introducing the concept is challenging.
The Asia
Foundation has brought together local officials from these three communities,
including the district deputy governor, Sangkat (village) chief, and
representatives from a waste collection company for a series of meetings to
discuss challenges and solutions surrounding waste management. To ensure that
the priorities of the communities were included in decision-making, the
communities selected six local leaders to participate in a series of trainings
on the environmental impact and details of waste management.
The campaign included
training sessions with community members
about how to manage
waste properly.
Following
the trainings, these leaders held community sessions to educate community
members on the most critical areas of waste management – packing, discharge,
collection schedule, composting, and impacts on environment and health. Village
chiefs also participated in some sessions to help influence people’s habits.
To
mobilize the public, we also conducted a waste collection campaign with over
200 participants from the community, officials, and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). The campaign featured an interactive forum which allowed
participants to ask questions on the health risks posed by waste, trash
collection procedures, including separation, packing of waste, and truck
scheduling. Forum participants were then organized into groups and deployed to
different roads in the community to collect waste. This activity served as a
model for best practices, and encouraged people to pay more attention to proper
waste handling in the community.
The
results of these effort have been immediate and significant. Officials, through
close consultations with residents, have established three designated
collection points, one for each community, that are accessible by truck, where
residents can now bring their garbage. Residents have also reported that the community
is now much cleaner and more hygienic and that the number of children getting
sick has dropped.
The
lessons from this project will only become more important in Cambodia as a new
sub-decree on waste management mandates that the responsibility be devolved to
the community (khan) level. Cambodia is on its way to becoming a cleaner and
healthier society for all if the government continues to work with local
communities on identifying and targeting ongoing issues, educating citizens on
the importance of solid waste management, and demonstrating their commitment to
a brighter future.
Kry Sopheap is a senior program officer for The
Asia Foundation in Cambodia. The views and opinions expressed here are those of
the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation or its funders.
No comments:
Post a Comment