On October 17th and 18th 2017, NOWPAP attended the Global Dialogue on Technology for Resilient Cities organized by the UN Environment International Environment Technology Centre in Osaka, Japan. Over 100 participants including city/state/ministerial officials from Asia, international organizations, NGOs, and universities attended the dialogue to explore how technologies can contribute to urban resilience against environmental impacts, especially on waste issues.
Some of the themes covered in the presentations were global mechanisms, national to city scale management strategies, project finance, and education. One distinctive case study that made participants grin was the North-South city exchange between Sao Paolo, Brazil and Copenhagen, Denmark where Sao Paolo, inspired by Copenhagen’s “Recycling is gold” campaign, successfully raised waste issue awareness by painting their waste collection trucks into gold.
Many participants emphasized that technological solutions are available for many environmental problems, but that the lack of conducive to technology adoption including effective laws, policies and human capacities is hindering its application. Furthermore, it was noted that technology must be used strategically and needs to be evaluated according to specific project areas. The learnings about waste management, technology and beyond will help NOWPAP to further enhance outreach and tackling marine litter issues.
