Project description

Title: Decentralisation of Solid Waste Management
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Yemen
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Local Administration
Overall term: 1995 to 2010

Context

Until 1999, responsibility for local waste management in Yemen lay exclusively with the central government. The competent ministry was in charge of all waste disposal measures throughout the country, including their financing. This concentration of responsibility at national level led to exclusion at local level, resulting in badly organised or even non-existent waste disposal. It became evident that waste cannot be managed appropriately and sustainably with only the government’s sparse financial resources and without the active participation of the population.

Objective

Selected district administrations operate their own integrated waste management systems, professionally and efficiently. Other municipalities have learned from the experiences gained in the process. Through a special waste fee, the population is actively involved in organising and financing the decentralised waste management services.

Approach

GTZ is working with its Yemeni partners at two levels. At the central level it is cooperating with the Ministry of Local Administration and at the local level with the local councils and the cleaning funds, where practical experiences are being collected for use in the further development of the regulatory framework. The project addresses three key aspects:

• Development of the legal and regulatory framework
• Implementation of integrated waste management systems in the districts
• Development and training of waste management administrations.

Results achieved so far

In the pilot cities and governorates, approximately four million people have benefited directly from the project. At the same time, the whole population of Yemen has also gained from its measures, for instance, through the improved financing and regulatory framework, increased competences and environmental awareness, and environmental and climate protection measures. Some of the main results include:

• Development and approval of the Cleaning Fund Law 20/1999. This law has decentralised the financing of solid waste management by enabling the local authorities to fund their own services.
• Development and approval of the Public Cleaning Law 39/1999. This has defined solid waste management services and clarified the role of the local authorities. (Both these laws have been amended recently to accommodate later experiences and new developments).
• A Yemeni ‘National Strategy for Solid Waste Management' has been developed and approved in a sector wide approach. This strategy defines priorities and targets, as well as the responsibilities of the different government agencies; it also coordinates donor support in the waste management sector. The strategy is augmented by a National Investment Plan.
• Integrated solid waste management systems have been established in selected cities and governorates, resulting in improved health and environmental conditions. In the process of decentralisation, effective waste management services are seen as an important indicator of good performance by local administrations. The lessons learned from the successful solutions have been shared with, and used by many other local authorities countrywide.
• Drawing on the practical experiences, a range of manuals and guidelines have been produced and distributed. These address waste collection and city cleaning, construction and operation of landfills, tendering and contracting, and the management of healthcare waste. These tools are now being used by many local administrations as they establish and improve their services. A unified accounting system has been introduced, which enables the cleaning funds to monitor the costs and efficiency of their services.