The Federal Government says it is strengthening Nigeria’s waste-management system through improved regulation, institutional coordination and greater protection for informal waste workers.
This was the focus of a closure workshop on the Environmentally Sound and Safe Waste Management Framework in Africa Project, organised by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, and its partners in Abuja.
The project is being implemented in Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone.
Across many African communities, discarded materials provide livelihoods for thousands of people who collect, sort and recover recyclable materials, often working without adequate protective equipment or formal recognition.
It is against this backdrop that NESREA and its partners have reviewed findings and recommendations from a project aimed at promoting safer and more sustainable waste management practices.
A major focus of the project is the informal waste sector, whose workers play an important role in recovering recyclable materials and reducing the volume of waste sent to disposal sites.
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The framework also seeks to strengthen legislation, institutional capacity and enforcement, while promoting greater consideration for gender and the protection of vulnerable groups within the waste-management value chain.
Implemented in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, the project brings together stakeholders across the three participating African countries of Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone.
Recommendations at this event are expected to support stronger regulatory and institutional frameworks, improve working conditions for informal waste workers and promote a circular approach in which waste is recovered and transformed into useful resources.
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(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
