waste management and the mediterranean ... - ATIA-ISWA Italia

Antonis Mavropoulos, CEO EPEM SA, ISWA STC Chair,amavrop@epem.grWASTE MANAGEMENT AND THEMEDITERRANEAN ECOSYSTEM

To be discussed• Global trends for waste management• Mediterranean ecosystems and societies• The need for a Mediterranean Cooperation regarding WasteManagement

Global trends for waste management• Increasing quantities of waste• Composition will keep changing – new products newwaste• Current systems in place are not capable to control thewaste volumes coming• Infrastructure is required but it is not enough because itdoes not change the social behavior and attitude regardingwaste• Recycling is required but it is not enough because it can notdeliver immediate solutions to public health problems• The real question: What is the right mix of infrastructure andrecycling activities for each city and country

The importance of resource scarcity

Climate Change becomes crucial…• Climate Change becomes veryimportant for decision makingregarding waste management• Waste management is one of the veryfew sectors that can deliver immediateresults in CO 2 emissions reduction• Even more, as the EU example showswaste management sector canbecome a CO 2 saver rather than anemitter• In each and every country there is away forward to reduce CO 2 emissionsno matter how developed is the wastemanagement sector

Waste hierarchy as a guiding principle

• SWM is a high political issue: it is not a popularactivity, it does not bring votes and it is difficultto discuss it fairly in front of the public opinion• Even so a SWM crisis may be destructive forevery local government or municipality – in thatway SWM does not bring new votes…• But it can reduce them significantly if a crisiscreates health and environmental problems

• SWM is not copied or transferred from onecountry to another just because social, politicaland financial conditions are not copied ortransfer too• What works perfectly in France or Italy may bea failure in Egypt• Experiences should be judged and lessonsmust be learned from all over the world. But it isthe waste management authorities and localoperators that can create the next steps andimplement them

Mediterranean Ecosystem and Societies

A Unique Ecosystem…• A nearly enclosed sea surrounded by very urbanizedlittorals and mountains from which numerous riversoriginate• The Mediterranean is a sea, where it takes around100 years for the waters to become renewed• A unique highly coupled system ( Ocean-Atmosphere-Continent)• The Mediterranean is one of the two main hot spotregions of the climate change

…with unique threats Med sea represents 0.7% ofearth’s oceans Carries 30% of world’s maritimetraffic & accidents Uncontrolled development ofcoastal areas including illegalconstructions (unless checked50% of 46,000km coastline will beartificial /concreted from thepresent 40%) Land-based sea pollutionrepresents 80% of total (industrialactivity, no w/w treatment plants)

Urbanization• Total population around Med Sea 380 millions (2005)• Population projected for 2050: 550 millions• Urbanization Southern Europe (1950-2030):from 44.2% to 75.2%• Urbanization in North Africa(1950 – 2030):from 24.7% to 63.3%

And more is coming…• Temperature will rise• Desertification• Water scarcity• Decrease of agricultural productivity• Extreme weather events

An interconnected basinPhoenician trade routesGreek trade routes

Comments• Cultural heritage alone is insufficient to boost Mediterraneancompetitiveness - Cultural diversity can contribute if transformedinto territorial creativity• Mediterranean identities have specific creativity dynamicsrequiring new work - Innovation can result from the meetingbetween culture and technology actors• Economically, the gap (GNP per capita per year) between the twoshores of the Mediterranean is the largest in the world betweentwo adjacent regions• The rate of investment from the north towards the south isabnormally low. Only 2.3% of the EU’s foreign direct investment(FDI) is in the southern Mediterranean region (€5.86 billion in2006). In comparison, 20% of the US’ FDI is directed towards itssouth, and Japan invests 25% in its south

Waste management in Med. Basin• There are a lot of successful cases and thousands offailures around Med Sea – still there are no lessons learntand limited know-how exchange between North and Southshore• What we know for sure is that inadequate wastemanagement practices create harmful environmentalimpacts to a very sensitive ecosystem• What is more than sure is that around Med Sea there aredecades of thousands of uncontrolled dumpsites that mustbe eliminated• What is not so well known is that poor waste managementhas a high direct and indirect cost for our societies

Damage costs from Inadequate SWM&environmental degradationas % GDP0.5%0.3%0.0%Morocco Egypt Jordan Tunisia Algeria Syria LebanonPercentage of GDP65432WaterSoilAirCoastal ZoneWaste2.1%2.74%3.41% 3.49% 3.67% 3.7% 4.8%10Tunisia Jordan Lebanon Syria Algeria Morocco Egypt

…and the gap between investments required anddelivered is still growingRequired vs Planned Annual WSM Coastal Urban Investments for 100%Collection and 50% Disposal over 2005-10 (US$ million in 2005 prices)60Required Annual Investments(US$ Million)4020Planned Annual Investments0Algeria Egypt Lebanon Libya Morocco Syria Tunisia WestBank/GazaSource:CountryDoumani and Arif , 2007 for required investmentsNAP, UNEP/MAP 2003, for planned investmentsPopulation data: Plan Blue

Instead of conclusions• Current country level policies are not capable to phase theupcoming environmental degradation of the MedEcosystem. A so interconnected ecosystem needs a muchmore closer cooperation between countries• Med societies have creativity and innovation resources butthey have not find out a way to utilize them and deliversocial, technical and market innovations• The gap between North and South shore of Med sea ishuge – the challenge is to be faced as a driver of changeand not as a political status

There are steps we can follow…• 23 rd of October: Vouliagmeni declaration regarding climatechange in the Med Basin• Mediterranean Climate Change (MCC) Initiative – EIBinvolved• MCC Forum created• Waste Management is definitely a part of the initiativealthough it is not yet emphasized• There is a need to link our efforts with MCC

In terms of waste management• There is a need for a more close cooperation, interactionand know-how exchange regarding SWM in Med Sea• Capacity building activities are crucial in order to preparethe human resources involved to deliver environmental safesolutions• A lot of investments in infrastructure are required. Safelandfills, recycling and composting facilities are certainly thefirst steps required• This is why we do require a Mediterranean WasteManagement Initiative

An initiative that…• Will create a permanent network of capacity buildingregarding waste management in Med Sea• Will create a platform of interaction between governments,NGOs, experts and markets• Will raise EU and other funds and prepare investments inwaste management• Will prepare a Mediterranean Convention for WasteManagement

Next steps• ISWA – SWEEPNET MoU• Med platform in ISWA’s Knowledge base• Climate Change and Waste Management in Med Sea –Heraklion, Greece, June 2011Can we start it today?