NIGERIA: USG PARTICIPATES IN INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000823 SENSITIVE SIPDIS BAGHDAD FOR DUNDAS MCCULLOUGH DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO EPA GANGULI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ENRG ECON EAID TRGY KRVC TPHY NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: USG PARTICIPATES IN INTERNATIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE REF: 08 ABUJA 2064 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: At an international workshop and conference on waste management from April 21-22 in Abuja, stakeholders discussed strategies for improving waste management in Nigeria. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) helped design the workshop and provided four trainers. Delegates from the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA),South Africa and Ghana also attended and shared their experiences. Attendees of the conference called on the Government of Nigerian (GON) to give increased focus to waste management and create an enabling environment for enhanced public-private partnership to better manage waste in the country. The EPA's assistance and active participation in the events demonstrated U.S. commitment to help Nigeria address its growing problem of waste management. The Mission will encourage appropriate GON agencies and NGOs to build on the positive momentum of the workshop and conference and take incremental steps to address the problem. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The Wastes Management Society of Nigeria (WAMASON),in conjunction with the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), organized Nigeria's first international workshop and conference on waste management (April 21-22) under the theme: "Closing Dumpsites and Opening Landfills." EPA's Methane-to-Markets (M2M) Partnership Program helped design the workshop agenda and funded the international travel of four trainers, including that of Swarupa Ganguli, M2M's Outreach Program Manger. Delegates from ISWA, South Africa and Ghana also attended and shared their experiences. Municipal Waste a Growing Problem -------------- ¶3. (U) According to information provided by WAMASON, Nigeria generates annually over 60 million tons of solid waste, with a per capita rate of 0.44-0.60 tons per year. WAMASON reported that currently 40% of Nigeria's estimated 150 million people live in urban centers -- a figure it believes is increasing by six percent every year due to rural to urban migration. According to WAMASON, the country's current waste management capacity can only handle less than 10% of the waste generated, leaving huge amounts of waste uncollected or dumped in the open and posing serious health, safety, and environmental risks. ¶4. (U) Reuben Ossai, President of WAMASON and CEO of The Initiates Ltd, pointed out that waste management in Nigeria was still seen as a household problem; hence the lack of adequate focus at the community level and at all stages of government. He added that waste management should be considered an "environmental challenge," that demands a "chain of control from generator to manager." Unlike other "perfect market" goods and services, waste management requires extraordinary government attention and involvement, which he said is sorely lacking at the moment. ¶5. (U) Several other speakers lamented that Nigeria's major urban centers, home to tens of millions of people, lack an integrated waste management system to collect, process, and dispose of waste according to internationally accepted standards. However, they praised recent improved waste collection and cleanup efforts in Lagos as highly encouraging and a model for other cities to follow. As an example of the severity of the problem, WAMASON pointed out that in Nigeria there exists no single sanitary landfill that meets international standards. (Note: The CEO of the Lagos Waste Management Authority contested this assertion by saying that Lagos-owned Olushosun landfill meets such a standard. End Note). A U.S. EPA consultant responded that sanitary landfills meeting international standards should not be the focus, as building such landfills was expensive and time consuming. Instead, he suggested using local products such as clay to build landfills, which have comparable effect in decomposing waste and preventing pollution from seepage. A New Approach to Waste Management -------------- ¶6. (U) The president of WAMASON highlighted the need for a drastic shift from current practice of "no control" to "controlled" waste management through the introduction of appropriate policy and legal framework as well as the creation of an enabling environment for public-private partnership. Such an approach will lead to the efficient collection, disposal, and management of waste, cleaner and healthier living, and help create jobs, said the WAMASON President. He added that his organization is ready to work with the government and community-based organizations to craft and implement lasting solutions to the problem. ABUJA 00000823 002 OF 002 Converting Dumpsites to Landfills -------------- ¶7. (U) Most speakers agreed that, apart from improved collection of waste, Nigeria needs waste processing centers and landfills to better manage its growing waste. A representative of a local NGO suggested that states should require existing urban centers to convert dumpsites into landfills while making the establishment of landfills a core requirement for the incorporation of new cities and towns. Experts from ISWA stressed that closing existing dumpsites and opening new sanitary landfills would require a lot of money and time. Instead, they advised taking incremental steps in closing existing dumpsites and opening new sanitary landfills using local materials such as clay. WAMASON suggested facilitating public-private partnership and improving the investment climate to encourage local and international investment in converting dumpsites to sanitary landfills and building new ones. Using Landfill Gas for Power Generation -------------- ¶8. (U) The EPA's Ganguli highlighted the objectives and benefits of the U.S. Methane-to- Market (M2M) program that seeks to recover and use methane from closed dumpsites and landfills for small scale power generation, which is ideal for use in areas surrounding such sites. This approach also improves local air quality and public health. Ganguli outlined the scientific, technical, and logistical steps involved in establishing successful methane-to-market programs and reviewed USG efforts to date in helping Nigeria in this area. (Note: In 2006-07, the EPA funded the inventory of several dumpsites in Nigeria to evaluate potential for methane gas recovery and energy generation purposes: Mpape, Gosa, Ajata, and Kubawa in Abuja and Olushosun and Abul Egba in Lagos. Based on these initial assessments, Mpapa is seen as a possible candidate for methane production. End Note). ¶9. Comment: (SBU) Nigeria's large population, rapid urbanization, and lack of adequate waste processing infrastructure coupled with the general perception of waste as a household problem pose significant challenges to effective waste management. Overcoming these challenges will, among other things, require an integrated approach to waste management that involves public-private partnership and community involvement. The workshop, which brought together local and international experts, business, state and federal representatives and community-based NGOs, enabled honest appraisal of the problem and exchange of ideas on possible solutions. The Mission will encourage appropriate GON agencies and WAMASON to build on this positive momentum and take incremental steps to improve waste management in Nigeria. ¶10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS