WEBINAR on “Waste Management in Post COVID 19 Scenario in South Asian Countries” Date & Time : 2nd July 10.30am to 1.30pm IST, Indian Standard Time (JPN time 14:00 – 17.00 hrs)

Organizer: Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP, )

In Collaboration with: International Society of Waste Management, Air and Water (ISWMAW) The IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET)

Introduction The whole world witnessed the unprecedented situation with the disease evolved from the outbreak of novel coronavirus which has been termed as, COVID-19 in later stage. COVID-19 is a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. ‘CO’ stands for corona, ‘VI’ for virus, and ‘D’ for disease. Formerly, this disease was referred to as ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ or ‘2019-nCoV.’ The COVID-19 virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and some types of common cold that was initiated from Wuhan province in China as recorded in December 2019. Preventing COVID 19 is a critical public health priority globally at present for last six months. The impact of COVID 19 is very high, infectious and intense that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak of COVID 19 as Pandemic.

The virus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person (generated through coughing and sneezing) and in many cases from the asymptomatic persons. Individuals can also be infected from and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and touching their face (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth). The COVID-19 virus may survive on surfaces for several hours, but simple disinfectants can kill it. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms that are less common and may affect some patients include aches and pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but only have very mild symptoms. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing hospital treatment. Around 1 out of every 5 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart and lung problems, diabetes, or cancer, are at higher risk of developing serious illness. However, anyone can catch COVID-19 and become seriously ill. People of all ages who experience fever and/or cough associated with difficulty breathing/shortness of breath, chest pain/pressure, or loss of speech or movement should seek medical attention immediately. If possible, it is recommended to call the health care provider or facility first, so the patient can be directed to the right clinic.

Nearly 213 countries around the world have seen cases of COVID-19 and many are experiencing outbreaks. Authorities in China and some other countries have succeeded in slowing their outbreaks. However, the situation is unpredictable. Most of the countries have to enforce lock down closing all the human activities paralyzing the whole country. One can reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19 by taking some simple precautions. Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include staying at home, avoiding crowded places and social distancing, sanitizing hands with sanitizer containing 70% alcohol, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least 20 seconds, practicing good respiratory hygiene and avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands. Researchers and administration around the world are trying to develop different ways to get relief out of the COVID 19, those includes, vaccines, other medicines, procedures & guidelines to be adopted to reduce and eliminate the infection out of COVID 19. The wastes generated from diagnostics and treatment of COVID-19 suspected/confirmed patients have to be treated specially to avoid potential infection. IGES is working to develop guidelines on COVID 19 waste management. SACEP is also involved in this process as a sub-regional partner.

With this backdrop, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), in collaboration with IGES and ICOM… has planned to organize a webinar on 2nd July 2020 to discuss various issues related to the protection of people and the environment from the effects of COVID-19. The webinar is planned to be addressed by the officials and experts from countries in South Asian and other region/s.

It is expected that the members in South Asian Countries are involved in the webinar to have a fruitful discussion on the status of outbreak of COVID 19 in respective countries and the details of the proposed draft of the guidelines developed. These inputs from different countries will be helpful to prepare robust guidelines applicable to all the countries. THE TENTATIVE SCHEDULE :

10.30 - 10.35 : Welcome address by Dr. Abas Basir, Director General, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP)

10.40 – 11.40: Session 1 (Moderator-Priyankari Alexander) 10.40 – 11.00 Introduction by the representatives of South Asian Countries/Experts and key note speech 11.00 – 11.15 : Prof. Sadhan K Ghosh : Need for a new WM system in post COVID situation

11.15– 11.30 : Mr. Kazunabu Onogawa: Draft Guidelines on COVID 19 waste management developed

11. 30 – 12.45 : Session 2 (Moderator: Dr.Abas Basir) Statements by representative of SACEP member countries on country situations and actions on WM in post COVID 19 era and comments on the guidelines:

11.15-11.25: Waste Management Goals for South Asian Countries and Progress: By CCET (Name-TBD)

11.25- 11.35: (Name of presenter- 11.35 - 11.45 (Name of presenter-TBD) TBD)

11.45 – 11.55: (Name of presenter-TBD) 11.55- 12.05 (Name of presenter-TBD)

12.05-12.15 : (Name of presenter-TBD) 12.15: 12.25: (Name of presenter-TBD)

12.25-12.35: (Name of presenter-TBD) 12.35- 12.45 : Sri Lanka (Name of presenter-TBD)

12.45 – 13.25 : Session 03- Panel discussion (Moderator: Dr.Premakumara)

12:45- 12.50 Representative from UNEP

12.50 – 12.55 Prof. Sadhan K Ghosh

12.55-– 13.00 Mr. Kazunabu Onogawa

13.00– 13.05 Two representatives from two countries (TBD) 13.05 – 13.10

13.10 – 13.20 Q and A Session

13.20 – 13.25: Concluding Remarks by Dr. Abas Basir

13.30 : The end

Joining the Webinar : Kindly register your participation at the link ; The joining details will be sent to you in your email. In case of any queries, Please contact & write to : [email protected] Ms. Priyankari Alexander, Programme Officer, SACEP, Colombo, Sri Lanka Phone : +94112552761 [email protected] Ms. Ipsita Saha, Research Secretary, ISWMAW-IconSWM, Kolkata, India Phone : +91 9836911950 / +91 8777686385