The
project's goal is to contribute
to improved public health and environmental conditions through the safe
collection and disposal of solid waste in Rif Damascus, Aleppo and Homs.
The project addresses three main challenges in the solid-waste sector:
(i) the lack of information on solid waste management assets, their location, status and coping mechanisms that have emerged to deal with non-collected or poorly disposed of solid waste. Without current information, the response to emerging challenges remains ad hoc. The project will develop geo-referenced solid waste management maps. The maps will in turn support the preparation of three city-wide and five community level solid waste management plans.
(ii) decreased capacity within municipalities due to the on-going conflict. Many staff have become either IDPs or refugees. In other areas, people with no technical background are assuming the responsibilities of the staff who have left. The project will conduct a rapid capacity assessment in three cities and five neighbourhoods, followed-up by specialised training at the city and neighbourhood levels.
(iii) increased health risks posed by accumulating solid waste. Neighbourhood grants will be used to address priority issues identified by communities. The physical improvements will be complemented by "clean neighbourhood" campaigns and health and hygiene awareness campaigns. Grants will be selected based on a variety of criteria related to need, but also according to their positive impact on the quality of life for women.
UN-Habitat will provide specialised technical expertise in municipal solid waste management, as well as specialised GIS expertise, building on the work already done for the City Profiles as well as for the WASH asset inventory.
