African Clean Cities Platform (ACCP) Webinar Series #1: Towards clean, healthy and circular cities in Africa

About the Webinar Series 

Africa’s urbanization rate is 3.5%, the highest in the world. Due to the rapid urbanization in recent years, municipal solid waste management has become a big challenge for many cities, as lower-income cities in Africa are expected to double their municipal solid waste generation within the next 15-20 years. 

To address this ever-increasing waste issue, the African Clean Cities Platform (ACCP) was established in 2017 in Maputo, Mozambique, with 24 African countries representative together with the Ministry of Environment of Japan (MoEJ), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the City of Yokohama, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) with the aim of sharing knowledge and good practice and promoting investment in waste management to realize clean cities in Africa by 2030.

The ACCP webinar series aims to share knowledge and experiences to tackle common challenges in solid waste management observed in the continent so that the member countries and cities can interactively learn solutions for improved solid waste management and shift towards the urban circular economy. The webinar series consists of below three webinars.
 

1. How to Improve Waste Collection Rate in African Cities? (31 January) 
2. Covid Waste Management in Africa (24 February) 
3. How to Turn Open Dumpsites to Controlled Waste Disposal Facility in African Cities? (24 March) 

Webinar #1 Waste Collection: How to Improve Waste Collection Rate in African Cities?:

Date: 31, Jan 2022

Time: 11.00 – 12.30 (WAT) / 14.00 – 15.30 (EAT) / 20.00 – 21.30 (JST)

Register from here: 

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uhWRS_XiSY270h6QiTnw9w

The first webinar addresses the issue of waste collection – many cities in Africa struggle to achieve a high waste collection rate. UN-Habitat studies on Waste Wise Cities Tool so far have found that waste collection rate in Sub-Saharan African cities ranges from 7% to 60%, observing the huge amount of uncollected waste becomes a public health concern. The first webinar invites the founder of Mr. Paulin Buregeya, Chief Executive Officer of COPED Ltd (Compagnie pour l’Environnement et Développement au Rwanda), to speak Kigali’s experience to improve waste collection rate to more than 80%. The other speaker is from Bukavu City DRC Mr. Francis Sawanga, the ACCP focal person from the city. Bukavu City applied Waste Wise Cities Tool in 2021 and the survey results showed a 7% of waste collection rate. The session will explore how African cities can improve the waste collection coverage, through presentations and dialogue between prominent speakers.

Speakers:

Ms. Nao Takeuchi

Nao Takeuchi is a waste management expert from UN-Habitat, having more than eight years of experience in the development and implementation of waste management projects. She manages African Clean Cities Platform, two pillars of UN-Habitat’s waste management work. She led the development of “Waste Wise Cities Tool” a rapid city waste assessment tool that can help cities to track progress against the Waste Management related SDGs. In 2021, this tool will be applied to more than 50 cities in addressing waste management and marine litter problems. Before joining UN-Habitat, Nao worked for Tokyo-based environmental engineering consultancy firm where her tasks focused on preparing feasibility studies, managing demonstration projects and providing training on waste management in developing countries.

Mr. Francis Sawanga

Of Congolese nationality, François Venance Alwend is Director of International Relations attached to the Office of the Mayor of the city in charge of all international partnerships with the city of Bukavu. In 2018, he was appointed as Representative of the city of Bukavu expanding partnerships with other organizations on behalf of the city of Bukavu and the Province of South Kivu. In 2019, he was appointed as Technical Assistant to Mayors for Africa Forum for Urban Safety from its Secretariat based in Durban, SA; and also Focal Point for the Platform of Mayors and Local Authorities of African Great Lakes Countries for UNDRR, UCLG and The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Municipality of Bukavu, he is currently occupying the position of the Director of International Relations attached to the Mayor's Office and Projects Manager in waste management sector in the city of Bukavu.

Mr. Paulin Buregeya

Mr. Paulin Buregeya is a founder and the Chief Executive Officer of COPED Ltd. (Compagnie pour l’Environnement et Développement au Rwanda), the largest Rwandan waste management company. He has previously worked in the Rwandan Ministry of Economic Planning, SOGEC (a Rwandan company for finance audit and controls) and BEST (a Rwandan company for human resources, construction project, office and secretarial, and fleet management). Mr. Buregeya designed the operational concept and management structure of COPED Ltd., differentiated its services from its competitors, managed the company’s human resources and finances, and has been expanding COPED’s business for the last over 20 years. His expertise not only lies in business administration and waste management, but also in implementing cleaner production and renewable energies. He holds a Bachelor in Business & Administration (Adventist University of Central Africa – Rwanda). More information is available here.