The Bago Waste Project

News

Capacity building on waste management in the Bago region in Myanmar

Due to the political crisis in Myanmar, all bilateral cooperation projects involving government partners have been put on hold. However, the Bago waste project continues to function in close co-operation with civil society and the private sector.  Bago based partners include private waste management company MJT and civil society actor, Justice for All (JFA).

Aims and outcomes 

The Bago Waste project aims to build capacity in Myanmar to tackle (plastic) waste pollution from domestic and small-scale industrial sources. The project is linked to the bilateral Myanmar-Norway Environmental Programme (2019-2023) with the main objective to provide a knowledge platform suitable for developing local waste management plans.  

Myanmar and the Bago Region suffer from waste and pollution issues that cause environmental problems and societal risks, which are especially visible along the Bago River. The 

Bago River connects land-based waste contamination sources with the marine environment. The Bago Waste project seeks to tackle this over a 3-year period (2020-2022) through the following outcomes: (a) improving waste management infrastructure and responsible waste management; (b) clean up waste from selected rivers and sites; and (c) encouraging private sector’s sustainable production, use and recycling of waste.  

The Bago Waste project will develop waste management strategies building on the current status of waste management in Bago Region, and the Bago Township at different levels (domestic, public and private sector). As part of this objective, existing waste management networks, mechanisms, and incentives will be identified and where possible supported.  

The project collaborates with selected private sector actors to establish waste management models focusing on plastic waste and recycling, local models of promising actions and measures, including demonstration sites, and evaluate their effectiveness. The objective is that these activities will ultimately strengthen capacity, improve decision making and raise awareness of solid waste management in Myanmar. 

Partners and funding  

The Bago Waste project is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Yangon under the Norwegian Development Assistance Program Against Marine Litter and Microplastics. The project aims to contribute to the Assistance Program’s impact ‘to prevent and substantially reduce the scope of marine litter from sources in developing countries’, focusing on the Bago Township and the Bago River in Myanmar.  

The Bago Waste project is associated and builds on the Integrated Water Resources Management Institution building and Training project phase I (IWRM I project), a collaboration with Watershed management Division Forest Department, MONREC (2015-2018), and iswill be affiliated with the IWRM project phase II (2019-2023). 

The project will utilize this strong partnership established within the Bago Region, and create strong links to ongoing initiatives on waste management, marine litter and plastic pollution, including the National Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan in Myanmar, the Honolulu Strategy, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals with particular relevance to marine litter.  

 

More information about the project: