DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION

ENTWICKLUNG UND ZUSAMMENARBEIT

International Journal

ISSN 2366-7257

Twitter! Monthly e-Paper June 2016

Internet Primary schools Doping Digitalisation has Ample room for Malpractice X + a bearing on improvement in distorts global human rights rural India sports Garbage challenges Christian Guy/Lineair Title: Selling plastic waste in Mumbai. Photo: GKV

Focus: Editorial Garbage challenges Consumerism’s side-effect Living amidst filth Humans produce waste. That is almost inevitable. The amount, how- Nepal’s capital Kathmandu needs better waste manage- ever, reflects the standard of living, but must not grow unchecked. As ment. There are many good proposals, but not much wealth and purchasing power increase, so does the consumption of goods, action, writes Roshan Sharma, a postgrad student at the and ever more waste is generated. The OECD countries produce about half of Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Page 14 the world’s waste, while Africa and South Asia produce the least. But things are changing. China has surpassed the USA and become the biggest genera- A system for collecting waste tor of garbage in absolute numbers.

Emerging markets are generating ever more waste. In Waste is a by-product of urbanisation. It is noteworthy, though, that the Mumbai, the plastics industry is taking an approach that amount of municipal solid waste is growing faster than the urbanisation rate. involves local people in recycling, reports Oliver Möllenstädt of the German Association of Plastics Plastic is now found in the remotest corners of the world, making life more Converters (GKV). Page 17 comfortable and daily chores like fetching water easier. Unlike formerly used natural materials such as weeds or wood, however, plastic doesn’t rot – as Sierra Leone’s cleanest city is evident in huge garbage patches floating in our oceans. Plastic debris is often laced with chemicals. It harms humans and animals alike. When it is In the past, most of Bo’s rubbish ended up in dumps, burned, unhealthy smoke is a result. Generally speaking, plastic needs to be courtyards and sewers – or was burned. Today, the made much longer and better use of. So far, it is hardly being recycled prop- municipal waste-management authority and private erly either. collectors deposit and recycle 45 % of all waste generated in a formal landfill. Jochen Moninger and Raphael Coping with rubbish is a huge challenge. Informal dumps are a big nuisance Thurn-Valsassina of Welthungerhilfe, a non-governmen- in developing countries. Rubbish causes flooding, air pollution and many tal organisation, assess the situation. Page 19 other public health problems. Learning from one another Formal waste management is needed. Typically, this is one of the most important municipal services, with great impacts on the functionality and Cape Town and Aachen are cooperating to promote sustainability of urban life. In low-income countries it is usually a city’s larg- sustainable urban waste management. The two cities face est budget item. Many workers are involved, but all too often, they lack for- different challenges, but have some things in common. mal employment and any kind of social security. Labour standards and occu- Regina Brück, Hermann-Josef Ostlender, Mona Plate pational safety matter in this sector as in every other one. At the same time, and Gabriele Schütz-Lembach give account. They work many small-scale initiatives that deal with the collection, separation and for the city of Aachen and a local waste-management recycling of waste provide income to poor people in developing countries. company. Page 22 Reducing waste is important, and so is reusing waste. Recycling is the third Sorting unites best option. For organic waste, composting is the way forward. Sound waste management provides win-win solutions, generating employment, recover- Masses of Syrian refugees are overburdening Lebanon’s ing valuable resources and reducing the space needed for landfills. Only what capacities. In a small town in the Bekaa Valley, people have cannot be used at all anymore should be disposed of in landfills. begun to take care of garbage issues themselves. Journalist Mona Naggar has spoken with them. Page 26 Industrial waste is more problematic than residential waste since it often contains hazardous substances. Unless there is proper treatment, toxic waste Indispensable resources pollutes the environment, contaminates water and harms human and live- stock health. Unfortunately, some of those responsible prefer informal ways Waste from electric and electronic goods contains many to get rid of it, and corruption plays a role too. valuable substances. Proper recycling is essential and should be the norm, as Ruediger Kuehr from the UN Development assistance can contribute to improving waste management in University told Hans Dembowski in an interview. Page 28 developing countries and emerging markets. The solutions to standard prob- lems are well understood. However, it needs to be stressed that rich nations Turning wastewater into produce the bulk of waste – and they don’t always deal with it in an exemplary way themselves. Yes, poisonous plastic residues haunt the OECD’s food chains. ­drinking water Too often, moreover, digital devices that contain rare earths and precious met- Inappropriate wastewater disposal is a problem in many als are simply dumped, even though developing countries. Omniprocessor technology serves they need to be recycled. The imperative Katja Dombrowski better hygiene and also delivers drinking water, electricity is to prevent waste, but the rich agglom- is a member of the editorial team of and fertiliser. Andreas Hauser of TÜV SÜD, a provider of erations basically excel at collecting it. D+C Development and Cooperation / technical services, elaborates why international standards They generate more per head than all E+Z Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit. would contribute to spreading this technology. Page 31 other human settlements. [email protected]

2 D+C e-Paper June 2016 In German in E+Z D+C June 2016 Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit. Tribune Both language versions at www.DandC.eu

Monitor 4 The first co-financing effort looks promising, but ADB and AIIB may yet become fierce adversaries / In Egypt, the freedom of expression is being eroded fast / Migration in – and from – Africa / Why international youth exchange matters / Nowadays: Women are a radio station’s target group in Afghanistan / Imprint / Campaign to improve labour conditions in Indian textiles industry / Brazil’s political crisis

Focus: Garbage challenges

Roshan Sharma Chiu/AP Photo/picture-alliance Kathmandu needs competent waste management 14 Two sides of the same coin Oliver Möllenstädt Recycling project in Mumbai involves local garbage pickers 17 Digital technology facilitates access to services and allows people to exercise their human rights. Jochen Moninger and Raphael Thurn-Valsassina However, it can also serve to infringe people’s rights, In Sierra Leone, the town of Bo is setting a waste-management warns Nanjira Sambuli, who used to work for example 19 Nairobi’s i-Hub. Page 34 Regina Brück, Hermann-Josef Ostlender, Mona Plate and Room for improvement Gabriele Schütz-Lembach Sister cities Aachen and Cape Town strive for sustainability 22 In India, almost all children aged six to ten years go to school these days. Especially in rural areas, Interview with Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola however, governmental primary schools still have Wecyclers are making a difference in Lagos 25 to get much better. That is the assessment of Boro Baski, who belongs to the Santal tribe of Mona Naggar Adivasis. Page 36 Syrian refugees and Lebanese people rise to garbage challenges together in the Bekaa Valley 26

Interview with Ruediger Kuehr Debate How to deal with e-waste 28

Andreas Hauser TÜV SÜD is defining international standards for waste-water treatment 31

Tribune Nanjira Sambuli Human rights and internet access 34

Boro Baski Schytte/Lineair In India, governmental primary schools must get much better 36 “Do not close the camps” Theresa Krinninger Scandals force anti-doping agencies to act more decisively 38 Kenya’s government has announced it will close the two refugee camps of Dadaab and Kakuma. The residents of Dadaab have been told to return to Debate 40 their home countries or move to a third country by Comments on Kenyan plans to close two major refugee camps, the end of May 2017. The refugees are devastated, authoritarian populism and human-rights infringements in the writes Peter Okello, a journalist who grew up in context of the Sochi Olympics Kakuma. Page 40

D+C e-Paper June 2016 3 International financial institutions Multilateral banks’ honeymoon

In May, the Asian Development Bank Jin Liqun, the president of the AIIB, ment, the least developed countries are (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure took part in the ADB conference in Frank- being left behind, not least because they Investment Bank (AIIB) announced furt. He used the occasion to emphasise cannot afford loans from multilateral their first co-financing project dur- that all sides benefit from cooperation. banks to build essential infrastructure. ing the ADB’s annual conference in The road project in Pakistan is an exam- He proposes that all multilateral banks Frankfurt. They will join forces to fund ple. Better transport infrastructure will get together and think outside the box to transport infrastructure in Pakistan. obviously benefit Pakistan’s economy. At improve matters. In Frankfurt, however, It remains to be seen whether or not the same time, the intended co-financing he did not comment on a proposal made they will turn into adversaries in the fits into what Beijing calls the “One Belt by Norbert Kloppenburg, a board member long run. One Road” programme, which is meant to of Germany’s KfW Banking Group. Accord- improve sea links in the Pacific and Indian ing to Kloppenburg, it would make sense Takehiko Nakao, the ADB president, said Oceans and to rebuild something like to grant very poor countries loans denom- that the details of the deal had not been the ancient silk road. Such infrastructure inated in their own currencies so they agreed yet, but that both multilateral insti- would boost Chinese exports, and Chinese would not bear any exchange-rate risks. tutions will invest the companies can get assignments building Monitor same amount. Accord- it. Rather than delve deeply into specif- ing to him, up to $ 300 ics, Jin expressed a general interest in million are at stake. The cooperation in Frankfurt. His counter- ADB will manage things Common interests part at the ADB similarly showed himself on the ground, given that open to joint action. Nakao reported that the AIIB only began operations last year Jin correctly points out, however, that the the ADB was planning further to do co- and does not have an extensive network One Belt One Road initiative does not financing with the AIIB as well as discuss- of country offices yet. According to Nakao, merely serve Chinese interests, insisting ing joint projects with the Shanghai-based ADB rules and standards will apply. that the policy was launched by the Peo- New Development Bank (NDB), which, ple’s Republic, but is not owned by it. In his like the AIIB, was launched last year. It is Among western donor governments, eyes, the owners are the countries that get owned by Brazil, Russia, India, China and the AIIB is a controversial institution. The the new infrastructure. It is true, of course, South Africa (BRICS). US administration considers it an instru- that, if Pakistan’s road links to western ment of Chinese policymaking and wanted China improve, not only people there will its allies to reject Beijing’s invitation to get better access to Pakistan’s seaports. So Beijing’s foreign join it. Major EU countries, including will people in land-locked Central Asian policy stance Germany, became members nonetheless, countries with links to China. All summed arguing that they wanted to influence the up, world trade would become easier. Whether the current honeymoon between new institution from within and tie China the new and the established multilateral more firmly into the system of global gov- Jin is happy to point out shortcom- development banks will last remains to be ernance. ings of global development. In his assess- seen. According to a German government officer, cooperation with the new multilat- eral banks may yet become “very difficult” in spite of the promising start. It is evident, for instance, that Jin endorses Beijing’s foreign-policy stance. Asked whether ten- sions in the South China Sea, where the People’s Republic is building airstrips on islands that are also claimed by other nations, could hurt economic coopera- tion, he responds that China’s approach is consistent: it wants difficult issues of sov- ereignty to be resolved “amicably”.

Statements like this make some observers flinch. Building militarily rel- evant airstrips is not exactly amicable after all. In regard to development affairs, moreover, there are marked differences

ADB between the approaches taken by estab- Jin Liqun, AIIB president, with his ADB counterpart, Takehiko Nakao. lished donors and emerging markets.

4 D+C e-Paper June 2016 The former want governance to improve, as established development banks com- sional and vocational training. According human rights to be respected and sus- pete with the new ones for business (see to Müller, it does not make sense to build tainability principles to apply. The latter, box below). While non-governmental infrastructure without enabling the young in contrast, are more interested in unre- organisations still see many contentious generation to find good jobs. stricted economic growth. The Indian gov- issues in regard to established IFIs, they ernment, for instance, is pressing ahead have even less trust in the BRICS and the In a similar vein, he praised the ADB with projects disregarding the ecology and development banks they have launched. and the World Bank for making obser- marginalised people. The emerging mar- vance of the International Labour Organi- kets want more say in the management of sation’s core labour norms a condition for multilateral development banks and have ILO norms granting loans. Germany promoted the recently been providing more capital to cause, and doing so is probably easier in the ADB. Gerd Müller, Germany’s federal minister the context of the established interna- for economic cooperation and develop- tional financial institutions than the new For decades, on the other hand, civil- ment, is known to support many causes ones. It also has more impact since the society activists have been accusing mul- promoted by civil-society organisations. established banks have greater financial tilateral development banks of harming At the ADB’s annual meeting, he pre- clout. The ADB granted loans worth over poor people and the environment. Today, sented the Frankfurt Declaration that $ 16 billion last year and expects that figure however, many of them worry that the was agreed by Germany and the ADB. It to rise to $ 20 billion by 2020, says Nakao, progress made towards serious social and includes commitments to climate protec- while the AIIB probably can invest up to environmental safeguards will be undone tion and adaptation as well as to profes- $ 5 billion or so in 2016. Hans Dembowski

Let’s race to the top

Civil-society organisations regularly In front of the accuse the Asian Development Bank (ADB) ADB and other international financial institu- headquarters, tions of only insufficiently protecting the Greenpeace environment and the rights of poor peo- protesters ple – but they consider national govern- expressed ments an even bigger problem. discontent with funding for coal- Building infrastructure is the core compo- based power nent of the ADB’s mission. Civil-society infrastructure in activism has contributed to improving the 2012. Bank’s social and environmental safe- guards over the years. Today, activists are not calling for more stringent rules, but for more stringent implementation.

In a similar vein, the activists appreciate Dela Pena/picture-alliance/dpa the work of the Bank’s Compliance Review Panel (CRP), to which people can turn under its control. Expressing themselves ADB officers agree that the ADB system is when ADB rules are not followed. How- in favour of strengthening the rule of law stronger and thus preferable. ever, they bemoan that victims of forcible everywhere, they suggest that non-gov- displacements, for instance, are often not ernmental organisations can help the ADB The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank compensated even when the CRP rules in reach out to marginalised people and (AIIB) and the New Development Bank are their favour. They warn that things may engage in the fight to ensure the rule of adding to NGO worries (see Korinna Horta deteriorate because, due to recent deci- law. in our D+C/E+Z e-Paper 2016/03, p. 17). sions, the CRP’s mission no longer Both new multilateral banks are based in includes proposing remedial action in Civil-society activists, in any case, are reso- – and backed by – China. Its leaders cases where ADB rules were breached. lute about preferring ADB safeguard sys- express commitments to international tems to those of the countries concerned. standards, but what kind of safeguards When these matters were discussed at the They point out that the latter are less strin- and compliance mechanism they will use ADB’s annual meeting in Frankfurt in May, gent. While ADB rules give the public 120 is not clear. NGOs worry that there will be leading Bank officers agreed that there days to comment on an environmental an international downward spiral. The was room for improvement. In their eyes, impact assessment, for example, Indone- response of Mario Sander, who represents however, ADB jurisdiction is limited sian law foresees a mere 10 days. Moreo- Germany, Turkey, Britain, Austria and Lux- because the governments of the countries ver, they bemoan that many Asian govern- embourg on the ADB board, is that he where projects are implemented are not ments do not obey their countries’ laws. hopes there will be “a race to the top”.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 5 Press freedom Media under assault

The independent organisation Report- Other North African countries are and Sudanese refugees in Egypt, yet the ers without Borders (RSF) has pub- faring worse, for instance Morocco. The media hardly ever mention them. Online lished its annual Press Freedom country has slid down one rank. “Journal- journalist Doaa Sultan claims that “we Index. As last year, Finland leads the ists and citizen-journalists are threatened write more about refugees in Europe than list as the nation with the compara- by censorship, surveillance, intimida- about those living in Egypt.” tively freest media, while the last tion, heavy fines and imprisonment,” RSF three ranks also remain unchanged, states. This judgment is endorsed by Ali Despite the continuous crackdown on with Turkmenistan, North Korea, and Anousla from the Moroccan news website freedom of speech, the media still tries – as the last one of 180 states – Eri- Lakome.com. He is living abroad since his to cross the red lines. The recent deal trea. Egypt is a reason for concern. website was blocked. between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in April 2016, in which Egypt agreed to cede its Some countries have made remark- Egypt is even worse. Five years have sovereignty over two Red Sea islands to able progress. Tunisia, for instance, has passed since the uprising of 2011 that Saudi Arabia, sparked anger among the risen 30 ranks since last year. Nonethe- marked the Arab spring, yet the situation citizens. Many people took to the streets less, RSF complains about continuing of the media keeps deteriorating. Egypt has to protest the controversial deal – and this harassment of Tunisian journalists and fallen one rank in the recent 2016 World was reported in the media. The regime self-censorship. On the positive side, the Press Freedom Index and is now 159th of quickly reacted: at least 30 journalists international NGO points out that “online 180 countries. According to the interna- were arrested while covering demonstra- media outlets are trying to change this.” tional Committee to Protect Journalists tions, according to the CPJ. The daily (CPJ), only China holds more journalists in newspaper of El-Masry Al-Youm – a widely RSF explicitly praises the web maga- jail than Egypt, calling this a “systematic circulated privately owned newspaper – zine Inkyfada, which “provides investiga- imprisonment to silence criticism.” was stopped in the printing press to amend tive coverage of very sensitive subjects.” the front-page headline that criticised the Inkyfada co-published, for example, the Ever since the coup d’état of 2013 that visit of Saudi King Salman to Egypt. The “Panama Papers”, documents about secret ousted Mohamed Morsi, who was the original headline read “Two islands and bank accounts in Panama. According to elected Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated presi- a PhD to Salman … and billions to Egypt”. Malek Khadhraoui of Inkyfada, more than dent, the authoritarian regime has expanded The headline had to be changed to “Sal- 20 Tunisian nationals were mentioned its power at the expense of human rights man visit’s toll: agreements worth $ 25bn”. in these documents concerning money and freedom of speech. Journalists are being This marked the first case of open media transferred to tax havens. Even the leader detained on charges related to their work. censorship in 2016. of a political party is named. Report- ers without Borders considers Inkyfada Even some seemingly innocuous top- The tension between journalists and a proof of growing press freedom in Tuni- ics can prove problematic, reporting about the Sisi regime reached another climax on sia. refugees, for instance. There are Syrian 1 May 2016, when security forces stormed the headquarters of the Press Syndicate to arrest two journalists accused of stirring public unrest. According to CPJ, dozens of plain-clothes policemen stormed the building, assaulted the syndicate’s pri- vate security officers and broke furniture in the lobby. The Interior Ministry, how- ever, denied using force. Yehia Qallash, the syndicate’s president, called the raid “unprecedented.” The organisation’s head- quarters had been a safe place for protests for 67 years. Ironically, the assault on the syndicate came one day before World Press Freedom Day. Ingy Salama

Links Reporters without Borders – Press Freedom Index 2016: https://rsf.org/en/ranking Web magazine Inkyfada, Tunisia: https://inkyfada.com/ Syndicate of Journalists, Egypt: http://www.ejs.org.eg/

6 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Development policy Managing migration in Africa

Many Europeans regard African agree. In his view, it is more important Morocco, because that country treats migration as a European problem. For to manage migration in a development- black Africans extremely bad and denies Africans, however, it is an internal conducive way than to prevent it. Free them all rights. “The EU tries to use matter – and not necessarily a prob- movement of people – as the Economic Morocco as a buffer for asylum seekers,” lem either. Community of West African States (ECO- he says. According to his knowledge, the WAS) foresees, for instance, – should be money flowing into Morocco does in no Florent Kossivi Tiassou, a journalist from fostered, he said at an event organised by way benefit the refugees. Germany’s international broadcaster GDI, the European Association of Devel- Deutsche Welle (DW), recently visited opment Research and Training Institutes Regarding the causes of flight, Tias- a refugee camp on the Burundian-Tanza- (EADI) and VENRO, the umbrella organi- sou points to the roles Western companies nian border. “Many people there asked me: sation of development and humanitarian play in Africa. The French energy group How can we get to Europe?,” he recounts. aid NGOs in Germany, in Bonn in May. Areva, for instance, makes a lot of money But not all Africans on the run are head- mining uranium in northern Niger. But ing for Europe. “Many people want to stay Elke Löbel, who is in charge of the the local people are not well off. “There are in Africa,” Tiassou says. For Burundians refugee issue at the German Ministry for no roads, no schools, no hospitals,” Tias- stranded in Tanzania, moreover, going to Economic Cooperation and Development sou says. “The money flows to Europe – Europe will always remain a dream. They (BMZ), points out that development assis- and the people follow suit.” are poor, and Burundi is situated in the tance already has an impact on migra- heart of the African continent. tion in Africa. One example is Morocco, In contrast, he considers Heidel- one of the few countries in Africa that has bergCement a positive example. This Ger- Some migrants cannot go to Europe, an asylum law as well as a programme man multinational is running a clinker and others do not want to. Accordingly, for returnees. The BMZ advises Rabat on plant in Tiassou’s home country Togo. the majority remains in Africa. There are migration policy. Close to the plant, the company has built millions of internally displaced persons in a model village with good infrastructure. their own countries and millions more in Tiassou, the DW journalist, takes “Such action is important to stop the exo- immediate neighbour states. a critical stance on the cooperation with dus,” Tiassou says. Katja Dombrowski

Administration of refugees and their inclusion in society often work much bet- ter in Africa than perceived from far away, says Hamidou Bouba, vice-president of the Central Council of the African Com- munity in Germany, an umbrella organisa- tion for the African diaspora. “If a society is ready to include people, it will happen – even when the political and administra- tive system is overwhelmed.”

Target countries often benefit from migration economically. Countries of ori- gin, on the other hand, lose their young people and part of their workforce. Such brain drain is a big loss.

Although there have always been flight and migration, both phenomena have been attracting more attention in Europe since more than 1 million peo- ple came to the continent in 2015. In Germany, politicians and media increas- ingly discuss combating the causes of flight as a task of development assis- tance.

Benjamin Schraven of the German picture-alliance/dpa Development Institute (GDI) does not Africa attracts migrants: this man from Pakistan has an electronics shop in Cape Town, South Africa.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 7 Volunteers “It is good when walls come down”

Germany’s Federal Government teaches youngsters to grow vegetables. volunteers. More than 70 % of those who launched the weltwärts programme My experience with Slow Food will allow have been abroad are active in some kind seven years ago to second young Ger- me to show them how to make do with of initiative or plan to become active soon. man volunteers to social projects in less pesticide.” So far, however, there is no reliable data developing countries. Since 2013, about those who return home from Ger- volunteers have also travelled in the In view of globalisation, Horst Hein- many. However, Meena Bedarkar works other direction. Young people from rich Bammer of the South African embassy for an Indian CSO and says: “They come developing countries are working in in Berlin considers international exchange back with the awareness that they can Germany. more important than ever before: “All the make a change.” huge challenges that endanger stability, Weltwärts volunteers are sent to develop- like human or drug trafficking, migration, Visa can be a problem. Even though the ing countries by 155 German civil-society terrorism, are international, except for Federal Government sponsors weltwärts, organisations (CSOs), while 66 German one: nationalism.” To tackle these chal- German embassies sometimes don’t grant CSOs and 245 foreign ones are involved lenges, cooperation is needed. “That is applicants access to the Federal Republic. in south-to-north youth exchange. So far, why this programme is so valuable,” was The BMZ is working on a memorandum of 400 volunteers have come to Germany, Brammers comment at a weltwärts con- understanding with the Foreign Office and and the number expected for this year is ference that was held by ICJA, a CSO, in several embassies to improve matters. 600. Berlin in May. Funding and picking the right candi- Jacob Betmou is from Cameroon and Bernhard Felmberg of Germany’s Fed- dates are two more challenges the CSOs has spent the past ten months in Germany, eral Ministry for Economic Cooperation face. Bedarkar says her organisation gets working as a volunteer with a CSO called and Development (BMZ) sees things in 100 applications for five volunteer posts. Slow Food. The Prostant charity Brot für a similar light. Weltwärts, according to “We want to pick people who would die Welt organised his stint in Germany. him, is grassroots-level cooperation. Hav- otherwise be unable to go abroad,” she He is interested in agriculture and soil. “In ing grown up in West Berlin, he appreciates says, “but more funding is needed.” our society,” he says, “we think more about that “it is good when walls come down”. how we can eat and produce food, and less An evaluation is currently being about how to protect our soil.” In his eyes, All organisations involved want the done to assess whether the south-north- too much pesticide is used in Cameroon. volunteers to stay engaged after return- exchange is meeting expectations. The He says he will pass on his new insights ing home. Experience shows that things results will have an influence on future when he comes home. “My organisation are running well in regard to the German weltwärts funding. Eva-Maria Verfürth

Two volunteers from Brazil and Indonesia experience the

Rafael de Aquino Passos German winter.

8 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Nowadays: A mouthpiece for women

After the overthrow of the Tali- Radio Rabee Balkhi in the town ban regime in 2001, Afghani- of Mazar-e Sharif in Northern stan saw a media boom. Hun- Afghanistan, however, has dreds of radios and TV stations focussed on women’s issues sprang up, but only few since it was started in 2003. It is focussed on the most disadvan- funded by a Canadian civil-soci- Mazar-e Sharif taged people: women. They are ety organisation. Apart from the target group of Radio Rabee news and music, it airs pro- Balkhi. grammes on nutrition and health as well as on societal Afghanistan With the ousting of the Taliban, issues and the challenges various private radio and TV women face daily. The station is stations were set up in Afghani- named after a Persian speaking stan. Many were funded by for- female poet of the tenth cen- mer warlords who wanted a tury. She was famous for speak- personal broadcasting station to ing her mind about forbidden promote their interests. The issues – like her love to a man. people, on the other hand, wanted something different: Mobina Khairandish is the entertainment, which the Tali- broadcaster’s programme direc- ban had forbidden. Serious tor. She resents the continuing issues were thus rarely debated male dominance in Afghan soci- apparently are in favour of lence, divorce or safe houses for on air. ety. “Even educated men who women’s rights, express reser- vulnerable women, we are told vations when it comes to sup- that we are trying to weaken the porting women in their political basis of family life,” Mobinah activities,” she says. Khairandish says.

In our column “Nowadays”, One relevant issue is divorce. Radio Rabee Balkhi’s purpose it D+C/E+Z correspondents Even men who work for foreign to deal with women’s daily chal- write about daily life in agencies are likely to say that it lenges. The station cooperates developing countries. is impossible as marriage “is with local civil-society organisa- a choice for life”. Another, tions as well as state agencies. related taboo topic that Radio Rabee Balkhi tackles is domestic In Afghanistan, radio is the most Aida Azarnoush violence. In Afghanistan’s male- important medium. Radio Rabee is a journalist and lives in Bonn, Germany. dominated society, it is a great Balkhi offers women in the challenge to discuss these issues Northern Afghan region Balkh [email protected] in public. “Whenever we talk a forum for free expression and about things like domestic vio- demands for women’s rights.

Imprint

D+C Development and Cooperation and academia at an international level. Executive director: Translators: two voucher copies are sent to the editor Vol. 43, 2016 D+C is the identical twin of E+Z Oliver Rohloff M. Bell, C. Davis unless copyright is explicitly indicated. D+C is published together with Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit, This does not apply to the photographs the German edition E+Z the German edition. Address of the publisher Disclaimer according to § 5,2 Hessian published in D+C Development and Coop- Internet: http://www.DandC.eu and editorial office: Law on the Freedom and Rights of the eration and E+Z Entwick­lung und Zusam­ ISSN 2366-7257 ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL gGmbH Frankenallee 71-81 Press: The shareholder of the company men­arbeit. The editors request that no Service für Entwicklungsinitiativen D-60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany is Frankfurter Societät GmbH. unso­licitated manuscripts be sent. How­ Published on assignment from: Tulpenfeld 7 ever, they do welcome proposals along 53113 Bonn This is also the legally relevant address Advertising and subscription service: with abstracts that serve to outline Tel. (02 28) 2 07 17-0, of all indicated as responsible or entitled Klaus Hofmann (responsible) submissions. Fax (02 28) 2 07 17-150 to represent them in this imprint. Phone: +49 (0) 69 75 01-48 27 D+C Development and Cooperation is http://www.engagement-global.de Fax: +49 (0) 69 75 01-45 02 Prices for print edition (incl. mailing charges): funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry Editorial team: [email protected] single issue: € 2.20 for Economic Cooperation and Advisory board: Dr. Hans Dembowski (chief), Sabine Balk, annual subscription, Germany: € 14.00 Development and commissioned by Thomas Loster, Prof. Dr. Katharina Katja Dombrowski, Sheila Mysorekar, Opinions expressed by authors indicated annual subscription, world: € 18.00 ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL. D+C does not ­Michaelowa, Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner, Eva-Maria Verfürth, Dagmar Wolf (assistant) in bylines do not necessarily reflect the serve as a governmental mouthpiece. Petra Pinzler, Hugh Williamson Phone: +49 (0) 69 75 01-43 66 views of ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL, the Printing: Our mission is to provide a credible Fax: +49 (0) 69 75 01-48 55 publisher or the editor and his team. Westdeutsche Verlags- und Druckerei GmbH forum of debate, involving govern- Publisher: [email protected] Individual articles may be reprinted Kurhessenstraße 4–6 ments, civil society, the private sector Frankfurter Societäts-Medien GmbH Graphic design/Layout: Jan W. Hofmann provided the source is mentioned and 64546 Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany

D+C e-Paper June 2016 9 Fashion industry Mainstreaming responsibility

India’s textile industry has a long Especially in southern India, young However, the language of the laws can history and is the second largest girls are abusively employed in spinning be gotten around, so the economic and employer in the country. Working con- mills, critics point out. A camp-labour- physical exploitation of vulnerable com- ditions remain exploitative however. system lures teenagers from poor back- munities prevails. Ferus-Comelo wants Civil-society organisations demand grounds into the spinning mills. The sys- manufacturers to provide proof of employ- more transparency in the supply tem is traditionally known as “sumangali”. ment and promote women to positions chain and want to mobilise consumer The word means “happy bride” in Tamil. of authority in both factories and bunk- pressure towards higher production The girls work in exploitative conditions houses. standards. for three years and are eventually paid a sum which is supposed to serve as their In the fashion industry, consumer India’s success in the textile industry is dowry. The young girls must do heavy pressure could prove powerful. Awareness driven by a low-cost, highly flexible pro- shift work for a pittance and sleep in about dismal labour conditions, especially duction system. It is able to respond to overcrowded and poorly equipped bunk- in sewing factories, has been raised again sudden fashion changes, as a recently houses, the FEMNET study reports. and again. Catastrophes such as the col- published study by the German femi- lapse of a factory in Sabhar, Bangladesh nist initiative FEMNET states. India’s The state government of Tamil Nadu stir up the public’s attention for a short economy is marked by a high share of acknowledges that there are accidents, time, but fail to have a long-term impact unregistered, informal businesses. As the and some of them are deadly. The main on policymakers. That is what Frederike report bemoans, however, the govern- cause is said to be exhaustion. However, Boll of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, ment supports these small and mid-sized there is also a lack of vocational train- which is close to Germany’s Social Demo- enterprises without explicit requirements ing. Viyakula Mary of Social Awareness crats, recently told a conference in Bonn concerning social and environmental & Voluntary Education (SAVE), an Indian that was organised by the foundation in standards. NGO, says many girls do not know how cooperation with FEMNET. She insists to handle machineries, and that the entire supply chain must be con- such ignorance also leads to sidered. accidents. Moreover, suicide, sexual abuse and murder One approach to improving matters are common in the spinning is to use labels that certify better social mills, Mary reports. The teen- or environmental standards. However, no age workers are not allowed label has been established so far which contact to their families, and would really encompass the entire sup- many suffer from mental stress ply chain, Gisela Burckhardt of FEMNET and illness. Making matters points out. worse, most girls never get any proof of employment, NGOs appreciate Britain’s modern so they cannot go to court if slavery act which was passed last year. It their rights are not respected. obliges companies to report on sourcing Should they leave the camp practices. Report author Ferus-Comelo before the three years are over, would like other countries to introduce they go home empty-handed, similar laws. “We need to mainstream FEMNET reports. corporate social responsibility with due diligence,“ she says. In her view, boycott- There are laws that could ing fashion firms is not the right way. In be used to rescue the girls, the end, poor communities need decent says Anibel Ferus-Comelo, the employment, and companies need expe- author of the FEMNET study rienced, healthy workers. The sumangali and an activist with Civil Ini- camps can only be overcome in a multi- tiatives for Development and stakeholder approach, involving consum- Peace (CIVIDEP), another ers, companies and the workers them- Indian NGO. In the past few selves, she argues. Floreana Miesen years, media coverage and public-awareness campaigns Link have prompted government FEMNET e.V., 2016: Die moderne Form der Sklaverei in agencies to enforce laws and indischen Spinnereien (only in German): regulations with an eye to http://www.femnet-ev.de/images/downloads/sumangali/ The study is only available in German. formalising the informal sector. Studie-Moderne-Sklaverei_2016.pdf

10 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Transition of power Tough times

Brazil is experiencing a political cri- eyes, that she increasingly met with oppo- Senate and the Supreme Court must decide sis in the midst of an economic crisis. sition within her coalition. whether the charges against her are valid. Whether Michel Temer, the interim She is basically accused of having fudged president, will get a lasting grip on The recession compounded problems. budget figures. Rousseff speaks of a coup. power, remains to be seen. Inflation and unemployment have risen, She says her opponents took advantage of and the economy is shrinking. Corrup- the country’s bleak mood to remove her Brazil’s military dictatorship ended 27 tion allegations abound. Sennes speaks of from office without elections. years ago. Now the country is in crisis a multifactoral crisis. Politicians from all again. The political institutions are not parties are involved in the bribery scandal Vice President Michel Temer of the being questioned, however, says Ricardo concerning the partly state-owned oil cor- PMDB is now the interim president. He is Sennes of Prospectiva, a consultancy. In poration Petrobras. tainted by corruption, however, and may his eyes, the capacities of political groups be impeached himself. Because of a cam- are being tested. Before the recession, Brazil had had paign-finance scandal, he is barred from many good years. The share of poor peo- running in elections for eight years. In early 2016, 17 parties were repre- ple went down from 27 % in 2003 to seven sented in the country’s Senate and 25 par- percent in 2014. The number of university Temer has taken Monitor ties in its House of Representatives. This and college graduates tripled from 1998 office, ending 13 years multitude makes it difficult to organise to 2014. In one and a half decades, life of leftist government majorities, so any president would need expectancy rose by five years to more than by Lula and Rousseff. considerable political skills. 75. Such progress went along with con- His cabinet consists of siderably higher government spending, as elderly white men. They are now running Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had those Sennes reports in the São Paulo office of a country in which the majority is female skills. The predecessor of President Dilma DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwick- and considers itself black or coloured. Rousseff, who has recently been sus- lungsgesellschaft) at the end of April. DEG Many observers doubt the new admin- pended from office, forged broad-based supports the private sector in emerging istration will get a grip on the country’s and diverse coalitions, even getting right- and developing countries and is active in problems. wing parties to support his agenda. He Brazil since the 1960s. could rely on about 80 % of Congress, the Temer uses market-oriented rhetoric, consultant says. The political crisis escalated when but has also pledged to maintain social the PMDB stopped cooperating with the protection. His agenda includes mak- Rousseff, who belongs to the same Workers Party after 13 years of coalition. ing labour laws more flexible, reforming Workers Party, was less successful. She It became a driving force for Rousseff’s the pensions system and reducing social reshuffled the cabinet to escape his influ- impeachment. On 12 May the Senate con- spending however. In Sennes’ view it has ence and to divert pressure from her coali- firmed the impeachment proceedings that been obvious for many weeks that Brazil’s tion partner, the centre-right party PMDB, had been started by the House of Represen­ economic policy must change – and that says Sennes. Moreover, she changed eco- tatives. Rousseff has thus been suspended enforcing such change will prove difficult. nomic policy. The result was, in Sennes from power for 180 days. In this time, the Dagmar Wolf

Temer und Rousseff last

picture-alliance/dpa summer.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 11 Garbage challenges

Woman working at a recycling point at Houte Bay near Cape Town. Doering/Imagebroker/Lineair

It is impossible to simply throw waste away. It always ends up somewhere – and there simply is not enough space for landfills. Moreover, garbage contains valu- able resources that must not be wasted. Some of them are needed long term. Waste management must therefore take a holistic approach. Disposal is only one of many aspects – avoiding waste, reusing it and recycling the substances it consists of are just as important. Living amidst filth

It is quite common to see garbage piling up on the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city. The agglomeration needs better waste management. There are many good proposals, but not much action.

By Roshan Sharma

Kathmandu’s open spaces, roads, sidewalks and of solid waste is generated in Kathmandu every day, waterways are littered with waste. People dump but there is no waste management. It became com- their garbage in public places because no proper mon to dump garbage in the river and elsewhere. waste-management system is in place. Things become worse in the monsoon when solid waste clogs the In 1971, Germany’s GTZ (which has since become sewage system and the drainage canals, causing GIZ) provided assistance to start a landfill in Gokarna. flooding all over the city. It became operational in 1986. For 14 years, it was repeatedly closed and reopened, until it was perma- According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, nently shut down in the year 2000. Since then, Kath- Kathmandu Metropolitan City had a population of mandu Metropolitan City Office (KMC) has installed about 1.7 million in 2013. The city is very crowded. several landfills in and around the city but they tend Resources are scarce, and the pressure on infrastruc- to be temporary and informal. ture is huge. The local government cannot provide all services it should. This includes waste management. From 1994 to 2000, the KMC used the western Political unrest in decades and the earthquake in April banks of the Bishnumati and Bagmati Rivers. The 2015 has worsened the situation. People worry about garbage dump along the Bishnumati River had to be daily survival and subsistence, not garbage, hygiene closed, however, because it attracted birds that posed and sanitation. risks to airplanes taking off from the nearby airport. Later, an area near the confluence of the two rivers In the past, the people were responsible for their was used, but in view of protests and environmental Kathmandu’s rivers are waste. Households composted organic waste in piles. concerns, it too was shut down in 2005. affected badly. Plastic was hardly used, and plastic items were reused and recycled. As the population grew and economic Plans for new landfills always face strong public development set in from the 1960s on, the waste quan- opposition (see box, p. 15). People want hospitals, tities started to rise. Currently, around 450 metric tons schools and better roads, and they want their homes to be linked to the water pipes and the power grid. They don’t want a landfill in their vicinity.

Dead rivers

Improper waste disposal has left the Bagmati River aesthetically destroyed and biologically dead. There is virtually no aquatic biodiversity in the river and only some patchy riparian vegetation. Consequently, the attractiveness of traditional monuments along the river and its tributaries has been eroded. Nepal’s economy depends on tourism, so the country cannot afford to neglect cultural heritage this way. However, all river banks have become informal dumping sites.

Since 2005, the authorities have been using a temporary landfill in the neighbouring district of Nuwakot. Its capacity is too small, so adjacent areas have been used too. Moreover, there have been dis- putes over the main site. As a result, the rivers suffer. There is currently only one waste collection and treat-

Frank Bienewald/ImageBroker/Lineair ment centre. Unfortunately, it is too small too.

14 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Waste is increasingly becoming a public health to task and caused public outrage soon after incep- concern in the densely populated capital. Land, water tion. Neither the national government nor the local and food are contaminated. The garbage piles stink. authorities have been able to rise to the challenges. Frequent waste fires pollute the air. The urban poor in particular are exposed to health hazards, not least Inadequate urban planning is indeed a huge chal- as waste has an impact on water supply. Many public lenge. Many roads are too narrow for garbage trucks. taps are near waste disposal sites, so there are risks of The agglomeration’s crowded neighbourhoods do water-borne diseases. Moreover, clogged drains cre- not have enough space for refuse containers, and cer- ate small ponds where mosquitos and other disease tainly not for composting. Because the infrastructure vectors breed. is poor, solid waste collection is difficult and disposal services remain insufficient. As in many major cities of developing coun- tries, waste issues have never been managed well in The urban public shows little interest in garbage Kathmandu. Even the Gokarna landfill was never up matters. It is not a common practice to separate

Part of a system

Avoiding and recycling garbage must be Landfills must be insulated from soil and But it turned out to be impossible. the main priority of waste management. groundwater. Moreover, they must be Accordingly, densely populated advanced Landfills should only serve to dispose of organised in a way to prevent gas building nations have taken more holistic garbage waste that cannot be used any- up in the wrong places. Some gases have approaches. more. economical value and can be used to gen- erate energy for example. It is a funda- Landfills are not as Proper landfills are safer and cleaner than mental issue that waste needs to be sorted awful as traditional ocean dumping or open-air burning. They into different categories to make the most pit dumps are. How- are about more than simply dumping of gases, liquids and solids that can still be ever, they are not waste in a pit. Landfills are the most eco- used or recycled. Accordingly, a proper pleasant either, and nomic form for handling solid waste – but landfill is always just one component of an people generally only, if that waste really cannot be made entire waste-management system. It does prefer not to have use of anymore. not exist in isolation. one in their neigh- bourhood. The core Plastic bottles sorted It is estimated that about 95 % of human- Policymakers in developing countries challenge of waste for recycling in Essen, ity’s solid waste is disposed in the landfills. often shy away from tackling all implica- management is to Germany. The landfills have numerous environmen- tions. They would prefer to set up avoid and recycle tal and social impacts. Therefore, compe- a major landfill to solve all waste prob- garbage. Only what cannot serve any pur- tent management must be ensured. lems once and for all. That is what their pose at all anymore should be disposed of counterparts in the rich world used to do. in landfills. Microbes transform organic waste and generate greenhouse gases such as car- bon dioxide and methane. It is estimated that landfills thus contribute up to four percent of global greenhouse-gas emis- sions. Methane, moreover, is a highly toxic and flammable gas. There are numerous incidents of fires and explosions reported from the landfills around the world.

Another problem is the leakage of toxic substances (gases and leachates). Air, soils and aquifers are contaminated this way. Not only the immediate environ- ment, but also surrounding areas are affected. The bad smell is one reason why people oppose plans for landfills. Those who live in the vicinity of a landfill often feel ostracised due to the odours. Gases and leachates must therefore be kept in

check. Jochen Tack/ImageBroker/Lineair

D+C e-Paper June 2016 15 Waste overload at a ward collection point. Sharma

degradable from non-degradable household waste. It tised in the neighbourhoods concerned. The govern- seems easier to simply dump waste somewhere – or ment could rely on various environmental and cli- to burn it. mate funds or aid agencies in general for investing in landfill management. Caste plays a role too. Municipal garbage collec- tors traditionally belonged to marginalised Dalit com- Moreover, Kathmandu needs a paradigm shift to munities. In the informal sector, street children and a holistic approach of Integrated Solid Waste Manage- kabbadis (scavengers) are busy collecting and sorting ment (ISWM). Environmental effectiveness and social Roshan Sharma waste items. Most Nepalis believe that managing gar- acceptance matter as much as economic feasibility. is a professional of natural bage cannot be honourable work. The bitter irony of Apart from waste disposal, relevant issues include resources management from this attitude is that inadequate waste management the prevention, reduction and recycling of garbage. Nepal. He is currently studying means that everyone in the city lives amidst filth. All Behaviour change is needed both at the level of house- in a post-graduate course at the summed up, it is no surprise that Nepal’s Solid Waste holds and industries. Organic, plastic and paper waste Technical University of Cologne. Management Act of 2011 is not stringently enforced. needs to be separated so the best use can be made of [email protected] it. People must learn to see waste as a resource rather than a nuisance. The way forward The challenges are considerable, but policymakers To improve matters, Kathmandu urgently needs can make a difference. It would also help if they used proper and formal landfills. Local policymakers must incentives. In Germany, for example, consumers get negotiate with local communities and ensure that the a refund when they return plastic bottles and alumin- people who live near future landfills are well com- ium cans to retailers. Moreover, a system to separate pensated and the landfill itself is well managed. For waste and recycle its components was set up in the instance, schools or health facilities could be priori- 1990s.

16 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Systematic approach

Economic growth and rising consumption sharply increase the amount of waste that newly industrialising countries generate. That is especially so in India, where the economy is growing fast and the population of currently more than 1.2 billion people keeps growing. In Mumbai, the plastics industry is taking an approach that involves local people in waste recycling.

By Oliver Möllenstädt

Household waste in India and other newly stakeholders. The investigation found that there was industrialising countries is increasingly made up much scope for improvement, especially in regard to of packaging and other plastic products that are not recycling used consumer goods and household waste. naturally degradable. There is a lack of proper waste collection and recycling systems, so people often litter In Mumbai, as in other Indian cities, rubbish is their environment, thoughtlessly dropping garbage mostly collected by informal waste pickers. They are on streets. The problem is particularly pronounced in normally women. They make their living collecting India’s densely-populated cities. plastic waste and selling it to intermediaries. The problem is that they collect and trade very small Plastic waste is a major cause of marine pollution. amounts on a scale that is inadequate for up-to-date Plastic bags and PET bottles make their way into the recycling. ocean from rivers or settled coastlines. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Euro- To improve matters, the waste pickers need to pean Commission and Germany’s Federal Govern- be involved in a well-structured waste-management ment are paying increasing attention to this issue. system. That will not be possible unless the solution proves beneficial to the waste pickers themselves. The plastics industry is facing the problem world- Furthermore, housing societies, schools, hotels and wide and has started to respond. National associa- other waste producers have to agree to the strategy Local waste pickers tions of the industry are cooperating ever more closely and contribute to its implementation. The infrastruc- collect plastic waste in with their counterparts at the global level, expanding ture and technology of waste collection and sorting Mumbai, which will plastic-waste collection schemes and introducing pro- must improve too. then be recycled. fessional recycling programmes. This kind of approach is now being taken in Mum- On behalf of Germany’s Röchling Stiftung, the bai. The Stree Mukti Sanghatana (SMS), an non-gov- German Association of Plastics Converters (GKV) and ernmental organisation, represents waste pickers and the Organisation of Plastics Processors of India (OPPI) supports women’s rights. It plans to set up seven col- conducted an analysis to assess the conditions for lecting and sorting stations throughout the city. Each plastics recycling in the Indian state of Maharashtra will initially have a waste recovery capacity of 25 in 2013. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra. The tonnes per month, of which plastic waste is expected analysis was based on structured interviews with key to make up seven to eight tonnes. GKV

D+C e-Paper June 2016 17 Since 2014, the Röchling Stiftung has been fund- 4. collecting waste using city waste transporters and ing SMS’ efforts to establish the local collecting and transferring it to one of the collection and storage sorting stations and to provide financial support for sheds provided by the city; and involving waste pickers in the new system in Chem- 5. documenting waste collection and sales as soon as bur-West and Mulund, two districts of Mumbai. The there is an adequate amount for recycling. local government is contributing garbage trucks, driv- ers, land and storage sheds. As part of the project, the planned waste-storage sites have been modernised. For instance, safety and ven- The following activities are underway in order to tilation technology was installed, and shredders and improve conditions for waste recovery in both dis- balers were acquired. Accordingly, working condi- tricts: tions and economic prospects have improved for more than 70 waste pickers in both districts. The women’s Oliver Möllenstädt 1. raising people’s awareness for the need for properly income has increased by about 20 %. The improved is the executive director of the designed waste management; infrastructure allows for larger volumes of plastic to German Association of Plastics 2. encouraging local waste pickers to participate, and be collected and stored, so it is now possible to sell the Converters (GKV). providing them with training on how to sort waste; waste directly to recycling companies. SMS expects [email protected] 3. purchasing waste from local pickers at fair prices that the project will soon become economically self- http://www.gkv.de according to accurate weighing; sufficient thanks to its increased productivity.

The new plastics economy

Plastic waste is polluting the oceans. At current trends, ■ drastically reducing leakage of waste from collec- the total weight of plastics in the ocean will equal the tion systems and total weight of fish by 2050. By 2025, there will be one ■ decoupling plastics production from fossil raw tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish. materials.

These figures are from a study published by the To achieve these goals, plastic products need to World Economic Forum (2016). It points out other become more standardised. So far, the diversity is so environmental damages as well, including the gen- great that reusing plastic waste in chemical industries eration of greenhouse gases when plastic is produced is very difficult, so plastic waste cannot really substi- and when it is burned. The carbon footprint alone is tute oil as feedstock. That would be different if the estimated to amount to $ 23 billion a year. Another most important kinds of plastic like PVC or PET were issue is tiny particles of waste plastic poisoning the produced in a more homogenous way that would food chain. result in more homogenous qualities.

The authors acknowledge that plastic is very useful Accordingly, the authors want the international com- but warn that global plastic production will probably munity to pass a Global Plastics Protocol. Such a pro- double in the next 20 years, after having increased tocol would facilitate industry-wide coordination and from virtually zero to 311 million tonnes in the past provide incentives for improving garbage collection 60 years. The environmental impact is thus set to get systems. Most important of all, it would allow pro- worse. ducers to decouple from fossil feedstock.

The study’s title is “The new plastics economy”. It The study calls for the engagement of policymakers, points out that 95 % of plastic packaging material is public awareness raising as well as more, better coor- only used once. It ends up in landfills, incinerators or dinated and more ambitious research. It argues that leaks from collection systems, so material worth up the public sector, government agencies, civil society, to $ 120 billion is wasted every year. The authors international organisations and academia must be acknowledge that Europe and North America are involved. better at collecting garbage than Asia, which accounts for about the same amount of plastics. They make it The publication makes sense. Its weakest spot, how- very clear, however, that good collection systems do ever, is that it calls for an “independent coordinating not make the plastic economy sustainable. vehicle” to manage the transition, but fails to spell out who should set up such a vehicle and how it To solve all of these problems systematically, the might be governed. Hans Dembowski study proposes a three-pronged approach with global reach: Link ■ improving further use of plastic material after first World Economic Forum: The new plastics economy. use, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf

18 D+C e-Paper June 2016 The cleanest city in Sierra Leone

In the past, most of Bo’s rubbish ended up on informal dump sites, courtyards and sewers – or it was simply burned. Today, the municipal waste-management author- ity and private collectors bring 45 % of all the waste generated by Sierra Leone’s second-largest city to a disposal site for more proper disposal and recycling.

By Jochen Moninger and Raphael Thurn-Valsassina

In Sierra Leone’s rapidly-growing mid-sized recyclers and traders and links them to government ci­ties, each resident generates about 450 authorities. A new municipal waste management grammes of waste per day and 250 grammes of authority has been established, and transport and human faeces. The lack of sewers and waste transport disposal capacities have improved. systems results in unregulated disposal, which in turn increases the risk of infections from preventable dis- In cooperation with traditional leaders and repre- eases. sentatives of civil society, local ordinances have been passed. Rules of conduct have been made binding. Since 2013, Welthungerhilfe has been helping An integrated waste-management system is emerg- Bo’s city council to improve waste management. ing, and it has been quite successful so far. Bo is now The German-based non-governmental organisation considered the country’s cleanest city, and other mid- trains independent waste collectors, latrine emptiers, sized cities are starting to follow its example.

Klin Bo Services uses motorised three- wheelers to collect rubbish. Welthungerhilfe

D+C e-Paper June 2016 19 Informal dump sites tioning administrative structure. Until 2014, waste transport was the only public service offered in Bo. In 2013, the city of Bo, which is home to 200,000 peo- Since 2015, an independently-operating waste man- ple, generated almost 25,000 tonnes of household agement authority has assumed responsibility for all waste and 8,000 tonnes of commercial waste. That aspects of integrated waste management, including is not much compared with other countries, but the waste collection in cooperation with youth groups, public waste management system was overwhelmed waste transport, which continues to be offered as nevertheless. At the time, the city’s waste collectors a public service, systematic support for small busi- could only provide basic services to 30 % of house- nesses in the recycling sector and the construction holds at most. Even though residents were willing to of a controlled disposal site, which should be opera- pay for waste disposal, there were at least 127 infor- tional by the end of 2016. mal dumping sites in Bo in 2014. Rubbish also ended up in courtyards, in vacant lots, in storm drains along Parts of the waste industry were outsourced to the the main streets, or it was burned. local private sector. For instance, waste collection has been taken on by the youth network Klin Bo Services, Especially in view of fast population growth, poor and recycling is being handled by waste-to-wealth sanitary conditions present a serious health risk to the entrepreneurs. Thanks to support to small and micro- city’s residents. More than 18,000 tonnes of human enterprises, a formal market for waste has emerged faeces were generated in Bo in 2014. The city has no which involves collectors, traders and recyclers of sewer system. Sixty-seven percent of residents rely on reusable material. Local laws were passed in coop- latrines, 48 % share toilets with other households and eration with civil society and traditional leaders, so 18 % of the households surveyed reported overflow- unregulated dumping is now prohibited throughout ing pit toilets. Open defecation is widespread, as are the entire city. so-called “flying toilets”: people relieve themselves in plastic bags and throw them on unregulated dumps In order to award private contractors licensed or in the storm drains. monopolies for waste collection in specific neigh- bourhoods and to provide effective support to recy- clers, the municipal government first had to define Integrated waste management the goals clearly and identify performance indicators. Public monitoring has served the system’s efficiency An integrated waste-management system consists of by reducing corruption and allowing innovative and Plastic bottles are waste prevention, efficient waste removal, better rates cost-effective solutions to take hold. turned into paving of recycling and proper disposal of rubbish and fae- stones: these stones are cal sludge in a sanitary and environmentally-friendly The city council’s approach is innovative in Sierra a mixture of PET way. The precondition for such a system is a func- Leone. The “Bo model” has been discussed by various plastic and sand.

Promoting the recycling economy

The city of Bo is promoting the creation of new prod- ucts from recyclable materials such as glass, metal, plastic and paper. Particular emphasis is placed on composting because organic waste makes up the lion’s share of rubbish generated in Sierra Leone. The Jochen Moninger idea is to create jobs all along the value chain. In addi- was Welthungerhilfe’s country tion, important resources can be recovered by local director for Sierra Leone until businesses, and the cost of dumping as well as envi- December 2015. He now is the ronmental damage will be reduced. innovation manager at the NGO’s head office in Bonn. Many materials that are discarded can be reused in jochen.moninger@ economically sensible ways if value chains are cre- welthungerhilfe.de ated. Over 20 small businesses have been registered in Bo since 2013 and have joined forces in a “waste- to-wealth” interest group. The local recycling sector is becoming an attractive and dynamic field:

■ pots, figurines and fashion trinkets are made from aluminium; ■  paving stones are made from plastic and sand; Welthungerhilfe

20 D+C e-Paper June 2016 national bodies as well as at the ministerial level. The Operating costs were lowered by organising the sense of local ownership has benefited from this posi- groups into four units. This step was made in 2015 tive public image as well as from receiving the “Best with support from the waste-management author- City Council Award” in 2015. ity. It soon became clear that the motorised three- wheeled scooters which were being used were not the best vehicles for the job. Their capacity is a mere 350 Waste collection door-to-door kilogrammes. The constant back-and-forth between residents’ homes and the containers overburdened The city council originally maintained 12 collection the youth groups. The purchase of small trucks with sites where residents could drop off their household a transport capacity of two tonnes provided relief. waste free of charge. The city would then take care of They can now take waste directly to the dump site, the costly transport to the dump site. However, less rather than relying on urban collection sites. The city than a third of the people used this system. Moreover, council is subsidising this more costly means of trans- waste removal was not reliable, so rubbish containers port. would frequently overflow. People who lived near the collection sites would often set fire to the containers By enlisting youth groups to remove waste, the to stop them from attracting flies and to get relief from city of Bo managed to raise the share of households the smell. that benefit from collection services to more than 41 % in 2015. The entire system has become significantly A survey conducted by Welthungerhilfe showed more reliable, as customer surveys prove. that a large share of the residents were prepared to pay for waste collection services if rubbish was picked up reliably door-to-door. Using pumps to empty latrines In 2013, the city council introduced a waste removal system, supplementing the collection sites. Many of Bo’s streets are narrow and latrines tend to The city was divided into 10 zones, and youth groups be poorly build and inaccessible. Therefore, it is often were given a monopoly to collect waste there. The impossible to empty them mechanically and use tank groups also assumed responsibility for building trucks. Emptiers who do the job manually are called a customer base. The waste removers have organised “night soil men”. The tradition is that they climb into themselves in a network called Klin Bo Services in the narrow cesspools without protection and expose order to be able to represent their interests in interac- themselves to injury from broken glass, needles and tion with the city council. The number of waste collec- other dangerous objects. They then empty the faeces tion sites was reduced to seven as it proved easier to into shallow pits in clients’ gardens or courtyards. serve customers this way. This practice poses serious health risks to all people involved.

The introduction of hand pumps has revolution- ised the work of the latrine emptiers. The pumps are easy to use and can be assembled on site. They serve to pump the faecal sludge out of the pits into a tank ■ ropes are made from plastic bottles; that is attached to a simple vehicle – for instance ■ discarded plastic bags provide material for new a motorised three-wheeler. Faecal sludge can thus handbags; be taken away from the city for proper treatment and ■ new clothes and tote bags are made from fabric disposal without any ground-water contamination. It remnants; is no longer necessary to dig local pits, which is time- ■ organic waste is turned into valuable compost ferti- consuming and costly. Raphael liser or formed into biochar briquettes, which are Thurn-Valsassina a substitute for charcoal; and Generally speaking, Bo’s waste-management sys- is Welthungerhilfe’s project ■ old tyres are made into sandals, fan belts or scoops. tem has improved considerably. In the second half of manager in Bo. 2015, the waste-management authority’s staff and [email protected] The promotion of recycling has resulted in strong private waste removers brought a total amount of local demand for reusable materials, making waste 280 tonnes of rubbish to the dump site on average collection and separation economically attractive. per week. That figure was about 45 % of the city’s Waste producers – including private households, busi- waste. The collection rate has thus doubled in three nesses or restaurants – appreciate the opportunity to years. sell sorted waste to recyclers. Prices are rising. People who recycle plastic and soda cans have even started The dump site that is currently in use is located to buy recyclables from neighbouring cities. The mar- outside the city limits. It is currently being trans- ket is taking on the form of an auction. There are cur- formed into a licensed dump that will conform to rently 26 specialised waste traders operating in Bo. the minimum standards. In addition to the landfill, a composting plant is in the works.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 21 Learning from one another

Cape Town and Aachen are working together to promote sustainable urban develop- ment. Waste management is a core issue. The two cities face rather different chal- lenges, but also have things in common. Cooperation helps to develop ideas and learn from one another.

By Regina Brück, Hermann-Josef Ostlender, Mona Plate and Gabriele Schütz-Lembach

The project “Learning From One Another – For An employee of Cape Town Municipal Authority a Sustainable City!” was launched at the begin- first spent a week with AWA Entsorgung, the munici- ning of 2015 and is funded by Engagement Global. pal company in charge of waste management for the After a preparatory meeting in Cape Town, the project Aachen region. She got to know every aspect of AWA leaders agreed to reciprocal visits. The idea is to com- operations. She inspected facilities, including a waste pare working practices, sustainability strategies and incinerator, a bio-waste fermentation plant, recycling the statutory frameworks in which the two cities fulfil centres and landfills. She was told about various their duties. waste collection systems and fees. She also gained an

Waste workers in Doornbach.

Regina Brück heads the waste consulting department at AWA Entsorgung GmbH. [email protected] Ostlender

22 D+C e-Paper June 2016 understanding of the legal framework. Especially rel- ers face rather different challenges. Unlike Aachen, evant for Cape Town was the work of Aachen’s waste for example, Cape Town cannot pass a bylaw to make advice service, which uses various methods and chan- reliance on municipal waste-disposal services com- nels to inform citizens about avoiding, separating and pulsory. Accordingly, waste management is difficult to recycling waste. finance. Cape Town is still developing recycling sys- tems with stable fee structures as are in place in Ger- In Cape Town, on the other hand, two AWA employees­ many. Waste producers and collectors bring recycla- similarly inspected facilities and collection points. The ble material to recycling points, where they are paid. tour programme included lectures and discussions on waste management in the metropolis of 4 million people. Another major difference is that waste manage- ment is highly mechanised in Germany. In Cape Town, Due to considerable structural and social differ- in contrast, waste management is intentionally organ- ences, the German and South African waste manag- ised as a labour-intensive industry. Employment and

Innovative projects

A number of innovative private-sector recycling A worm farm has been set up near a wholesale veg- proj­ects are underway in Cape Town. The city has etable market. It turns bio-waste from the market a re­cycling plant for construction waste, and its pri- into compost, which serves as fertiliser on adjacent vate operator is crushing road construction waste fields. The project has scientific support from the and concrete to make gravel, which is sold. Moreover, University of Cape Town. An assessment study has secondary resources are used for making concrete shown that, where the compost is used, crops are blocks and plant rings. less susceptible to disease and do not require artifi- cial fertiliser. A major shopping mall is running its own bio-waste fermentation plant. All of the mall’s bio-waste – The city’s top hotel also has a worm-based compost- around 600 kilogrammes a day – is manually sorted, ing facility. All of the hotel’s organic waste goes into mechanically pulped and fermented. The energy it worm bins in a separate building. The compost is yields is used for lighting and air-conditioning. used on the hotel grounds.

A visit at the worm farm.

Hermann-Josef Ostlender manages the customer service at AWA Entsorgung GmbH. Brück

D+C e-Paper June 2016 23 social inclusion are priorities. The sorting facilities vehicles can often not be used, so individual residents allow unskilled workers to acquire some basic skills. are paid to collect waste and recyclable material. Sorting centres in the South African city actually do more intensive sorting than the German ones, and Swop shops have been quite successful. Private they pass on useable materials to recycling companies. individuals collect plastics (bottles, sheeting, buckets, garden chairs et cetera). When they hand them in at a swop shop, they get tokens that they can exchange Landfills and recycling for food and everyday items. The swop shops sort and package the plastic waste and sell it on to recycling Urban waste in Cape Town is landfilled; waste incin- firms. The income generated is used to purchase the eration is prohibited by law. The Visserhok landfill goods for which the tokens are exchanged. is one of the city’s major disposal facilities. It has a multi-barrier system with subdivided storage areas, These initiatives ensure that waste is duly col- entry control and documentation of stored waste. In lected even in difficult areas. Sorting reduces the vol- these regards, it meets the same standards as Ger- ume of waste that needs to be landfilled. At the same man landfills. However, it does not collect and recycle time, it creates income opportunities. gas. Moreover, there are land disputes because settle- ments are quickly rising up in the area. Awareness raising also matters in Cape Town. The Mona Plate goal is to educate people about appropriate waste avoid- supports the project “Learning As landfill space is becoming scarce, Cape Town ance, separation and disposal. A team of employees­ is From One Another – For a is taking measures to reduce the volume of residual developing and implementing programmes for schools, Sustainable City!” for the city of waste. The most important options are waste reduc- universities and other target groups. Aachen. tion and avoidance programmes, higher recycling [email protected] rates for paper, glass, metal and plastics as well as the Both sides find the exchange programme useful in composting of green waste (for examples of innova- terms of ideas for their own work, and many projects tive projects see box p. 23). that were considered could serve both cities. The Cape Towners, for example, plan to pay more attention to Cape Town has 20 recycling centres. Most of them recycled goods in municipal procurement. Moreover, are run by private-sector companies on behalf of the they will check whether Aachen’s temporary collec- municipality. At the centres, citizens can hand in sepa­ tion systems, which include green waste containers rated waste free of charge. In some cases, recycling and mobile collection services for hazardous waste, firms do the separating. The standard and degree of can be copied. Aachen, for its part, plans to adopt sorting are remarkable. Plastic bottles, for example, waste education initiatives and ideas such as paper- are sorted by colour. The better the sorting process is, making and upcycling projects. Joint workshops are the higher the value of the recovered material. planned. Cape Town, moreover, is interested in adapt- ing Aachen’s mobile advice service. The municipal Waste separation projects are also in place in some exchange programme will therefore continue in a sec- informal settlements. Due to high building density, ond phase.

Pioneers Cape Town and Aachen

Cape Town and Aachen have been cooperating closely As proposed by Aachen’s Environment Department, in an Agenda 21 Partnership since the late 1990s. both city administrations agreed to involve municipal Gabriele Schütz- There have been various initiatives, including school staff in cooperation on sustainability issues in order Lembach and student exchange as well as art and educational to boost the Agenda 21. One result was the project is responsible for the project at projects concerning the environment and cross-cut- “Learning From One Another – For a Sustainable the city of Aachen. ting issues of sustainability. City!” (see main article). The topic is waste manage- ment. The basis of cooperation is the memorandum of agreement of 2007. In it, representatives of both cities Waste management has a crucial impact on sustain- as well as civil society defined the objectives and areas ability. Wasteful patterns of consumption negatively of cooperation. The memorandum is reviewed every affect the climate and deplete essential resources. three to five years and adjusted if necessary. The These issues need to be addressed at a practical level Aachen-Cape Town partnership is a model for other and understood by a wide range of target groups. As development partnerships in the context of the regulatory authorities, municipal governments moni- Agenda 21 goals. Agenda 21 is a voluntary UN action tor the enterprises that work on their behalf, and they plan that was launched at the Earth Summit in Rio de have ample scope to improve the status of the envi- Janeiro in 1992. ronment.

24 D+C e-Paper June 2016 “Incentives for behaviour change”

It is estimated that only about 40 % of garbage is for- over, the blight of unmanaged urban trash undermines mally collected in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and the pride that people normally have in their communi- most important business centre. Recycling makes ties. At Wecyclers, we solve both problems by collecting economic sense, however, and a local start-up called recyclable waste and providing sanitary services. Wecyclers is beginning to make a difference. Co- founder Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola told Eva-Maria Verfürth Why do you use bicycles for collecting the gar- about her approach. bage? We call our cargo bicycles wecycles. They are designed Interview with Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola and manufactured locally and are operated by youths from local communities. We decided to use wecycles How did you get the idea to found Wecyclers? because they were a low-cost solution; they also pro- The idea for Wecyclers developed while I was studying vide us with the flexibility to navigate densely popu- at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan lated neighbourhoods. School of Management in the USA. Before, I had worked as a corporate software engineer at IBM for How do you make money? five years. I was assigned to do a study project to help We make money by selling processed recyclables to people at the bottom of the pyramid – people who recycling companies, sponsorships and contracts. live on less than two dollars a day. I decided to work on waste and focus on its uses, collection and pro- What incentives do you offer clients? cessing. Our project team saw that there was a huge Households that recycle with Wecyclers get points for potential in the waste-recycling sector in Nigeria. The each kilo of waste. Over time, the households accu- reason is that manufacturing businesses need mulate points, and the amount depends on their level cheaper and easier access to raw materials. There is of participation. They can exchange the points for demand for their goods in Nigeria and abroad. I specific rewards, including basic household items, decided to move the idea forward; and that is how mobile phone minutes and various sponsored prizes. Wecyclers was born. This way, the benefits of recycling become tangible. We use incentives to encourage people to take up the Don’t people from low-income communities have recycling initiative willingly. more urgent problems than recycling? Well, urban waste management systems tend to be What do your clients say about your approach? overburdened in the developing world. Garbage clogs They absolutely love it and they are glad that they are Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola waterways and makes living conditions unsanitary for part of an initiative that is helping to improve the on a wecycle. millions of people. The health hazards are serious. More- current state of the environment. Since inception we have registered over 10,000 households to our service and created over 100 jobs.

You cooperate with the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). How did you establish this coop- eration? As a waste management Bilikiss Adebiyi- company that is focused on Abiola recycling, we have to collabo- is the co-founder and chief rate with LAWMA. For executive officer of Wecyclers instance, we had to get an in Lagos. authorisation for collecting [email protected] recyclable wastes. LAWMA, http://wecyclers.com/ moreover, has facilitated our work by providing us with spaces that serve as our waste collection centres as well as with tactical support and advice. They have been an invaluable partner and

Wecyclers support system.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 25 Bonding through waste separation

Lebanon’s many Syrian refugees are putting an additional strain on the country’s already overtaxed infrastructure and administrative bodies. Waste management and disposal are a matter of concern. The largest share of refugees has settled in the Bekaa Valley, and in one of its towns people are now taking matters into their own hands.

By Mona Naggar

The town of Bar Elias is located about 12 kilome- Fayez Okasha, a native of Bar Elias who is taking tres from the Syrian border. A recycling task part in the recycling project, says that job prospects force recently started to work here. It includes refu- and infrastructure have not kept up with the influx of gees who live in a camp as well as Lebanese residents people: “As a result, many Lebanese now consider the from one of the town’s neighbourhoods. Syrians a burden.”

In this context, 53 families from both commu­ Medyan Al-Ahmad, who has lived in a camp near nities have begun to sort their domestic plastic and Bar Elias for four years, explains how problems arise metal waste. They sell the recyclables, and the pro- between Lebanese residents and refugees: “Rubbish ceeds will be used to fund an investment for the ben- from a refugee camp will end up on neighbouring efit of both Syrians and Lebanese. Proposals include Leba­nese property, or Lebanese people complain repainting the school and repairing the public water about the smell from the sewer of a nearby camp.” tap. The recycling project emerged incrementally. Approximately 15 families who fled from the Alaa Alzaibak and Medyan al-Ahmad are both active Aleppo area in northern Syria live in what is officially in the Syrian organisation Basmeh and Zeitooneh. called an “informal tented settlement”. The gravel This NGO provides humanitarian aid and is assisting paths between the huts are well maintained, and refugees and host communities in regard to educa- there is no rubbish lying about. tion, social services and culture. One of its partners is the German peace organisation forumZFD, which Amina Hussaini lives here. The young woman is supporting the project (also see D+C/E+Z 2014/05, says that separating waste has become a family rou- p. 158). tine. She admits that her children at first tended to keep the plastic and sell it, in order to earn money for “Our goal is to ease tensions between Syrians and ice cream and sweets. But she says that everything is Lebanese in Bar Elias and to bring the two groups now working smoothly. closer together,” Alaa says. An undertaking that is inspired by the needs of both communities and allows Along the road from Syria, a sign at the both to benefit. entrance of Bar Elias reads: “Population 50,000”. It only refers to the town’s Lebanese residents. In In the project’s planning stage, activists from Bas- recent years, many Syrians have joined them. The meh and Zeitooneh did surveys to find out what Syr- mayor’s office puts their number at approximately ians and Lebanese worried about most. Both groups 70,000. According to the UN Refugee Agency indicated jobs and better infrastructure the top priori- (UNHCR), about 35 % of the over one million Syr- ties. Several proposals were made, including repairing ian refugees registered in Lebanon are staying in pavements, creating more green spaces in the town, the Bekaa area. planting a garden and starting a recycling project, which was ultimately done. The region was always considered poor and underdeveloped. The local people make their living The NGO activists want to slowly withdraw from primarily from agriculture and the cross-border trade the project and let the task force take full control. with Syria. Rapid population growth has exacerbated According to Alaa, the project is proving successful: competition for resources. “The Lebanese and Syrian residents of the neighbour-

26 D+C e-Paper June 2016 picture-alliance/dpa Lebanon cannot bring hood are talking to each other and trying to solve showed that Bar Elias was among the Lebanese towns its rubbish problem problems together.” that were most at risk of environmental and ecosys- under control: a street tem damage. The lack of proper waste disposal and in a Beirut suburb. Waste disposal is a hot-button issue in Lebanon. waste water treatment is compounding matters, and Indeed, mountains of rubbish in the streets of Beirut so is the extensive use of land for settlement purposes. made international headlines last summer. The waste Soil, groundwater, nature and people’s health are crisis, however, has nothing to do with Syrian refugees. being strained. The real reason is that there is no national plan for waste disposal. Since Lebanon’s civil war ended in 1989, no Lebanon’s Ministry of Environment is promoting national government has seriously tackled the issue. far-reaching projects to help the towns in question. International donors too are increasingly respond- In the Bekaa Valley, the refugee crisis means that ing to the needs of host communities, whereas they overburdened municipal authorities must rise to had initially only focused on the plight of refugees additional challenges. In Bar Elias, the landfill out- when the Syrian crisis began. In Bar Elias, the EU side of town has been receiving ever more rubbish. is financing the up-grading of the landfill, includ- The waste is not sorted and dumped in the open on ing the establishment of recycling and composting untreated soil. plants.

Yahya Faris managed to get the municipal admin- According to the mayor’s office, 70 % of the town’s Mona Naggar istration to put a large waste container in front of the waste will be recovered in the near future, and the rest is a journalist and media trainer. camp where he lives in Bar Elias. However, he reports will be properly disposed of. The new facilities will She lives in Beirut. that the waste is not collected reliably. Sometimes it start operating by the end of 2016. Both Lebanese and [email protected] is picked up every 10 days, sometimes as infrequently Syrian people in the region hope that they will not as every two weeks. Occasionally, there is more rub- only improve the waste situation, but also create new bish than fits into the container, causing the Lebanese jobs. neighbours to complain. Sources Moreover, Faris objects to trash burning, which Environmental assessment of the Syrian conflict EASC & priority interven- keeps occurring at the landfill. He says that very tions 2014: unpleasant smoke blows into the camp. He worries http://www.undp.org/content/dam/lebanon/docs/Energy%20and%20 about his children’s health. Environment/Publications/EASC-WEB.pdf Updated factsheet: In 2015, an investigation by the UN Office for http://www.moe.gov.lb/getattachment/dd4e6574-a959-47c1-b2ed- the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 1fc1847b7515/Updated-Fact-Sheet-December-2015-Environmental-Ass.aspx

D+C e-Paper June 2016 27 “22 kilogrammes per person and year”

Waste from electric and electronic goods – e-waste for short – contains many valuable substances that are needed to make new products in the future. To recycle these resources properly, considerable industrial efforts are needed. Ruediger Kuehr works for the UN University (UNU) and runs the international initiative Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP). He explained the problem’s international di- mensions to Hans Dembowski.

Interview with Ruediger Kuehr

Why can’t we simply throw e-waste away? 41.8 million tonnes of e-waste only approximately This kind of waste contains many different sub- 6.5 million are collected by official take-back stances. A normal mobile phone contains about schemes. These are only 15 % of the total gener- half of the elements of the periodic table, including ated. But this does not mean that 85 % are shipped gold, silver, palladium as well as cadmium and oth- to developing countries or economies in transition. ers. Some of them are quite valuable, and we’ll lose There are several scenarios where e-waste ends up in them if they end up in household garbage. We’ll need addition to official collection. Much goes into waste them to keep production cycles going. By using state- bins and is ultimately incinerated or land-filled. A of-the-art methods, we can reclaim them, and if we certain portion is collected outside official collec- do not, these essential resources will become scarce tion schemes, for instance by metal recyclers. And in the long run. We are actually throwing gold and a smaller amount goes into informal collection and other precious metals away. recycling in developing countries or economies in transition. Interpol, UNU and other partners recently Do health hazards result from inadequate estimated these exports from the EU to amount to 10 handling of e-waste? to 15 %. Exports of e-waste from OECD nations to any Yes, and the reason is that waste recycling is done developing countries or emerging markets are illegal often in the informal sector in developing countries because the latter normally lack the infrastructure for and emerging markets. A typical issue is that people appropriate, multi-phase recycling. Exporting sec- want to get the copper from inside cables, and they ond-hand goods for further use is legal however. It is burn the plastic covers in open fires. That results in very hard for the authorities including governmental furans and dioxins, potent toxins, contaminating agencies to tell the difference. Many European con- the smoke. The people concerned are aware of these sumers think that Africans would like to have their problems. Their eyes get sore, they have breathing old Pentium-3 computers, for example, or old tube difficulties and kidney problems. Reduced fertility TV sets. Even if those gadgets still work, however, and other health problems also occur. However, Africans too are of the opinion they are outdated, so the people concerned depend on waste recycling. there is no market for them. If they are declared to be It is their livelihood. Another issue is that people second-hand goods and exported to Africa, they end use acids to sluice gold from circuit boards. Health up in the hands of rag pickers. This is how the idea impacts include cauterisation and skin disorders. has emerged that exporting is a disposal strategy. It Moreover, the acids are often not disposed of prop- may sometimes happen that a small company inten- erly, so the environment suffers too. tionally misdeclares container shipments as second- hand, but that really does not work out as a long Is there a kind of global trade in which rich lasting business model. The logistical challenges, nations get rid of their e-waste to the detri- and accordingly the costs, are substantial. ment of developing countries? I recently read on the website of the UN Environmental Pro- Do you know what share of Germany’s e-waste is gramme (UNEP) that 70 % ends up in unknown exported to developing countries and emerg- and unreported destinations. ing markets? The 1st Global E-Waste Monitor of UNU with data About 10 %, plus/minus five percent. That is from 2014 shows that from an annually generated what UNU found out in cooperation with Inter-

28 D+C e-Paper June 2016 pol and other agencies in an EU funded project. a matter of principle, this kind of waste should be It is important to understand, however, that sent back to industrialised nations, but that is not there is an environmentally valid reason to keep done normally. The industrial capacities needed for using second-hand electric and electronic goods up-to-date recycling exceed the capacities of develop- in developing countries and emerging markets: ing countries. the gadgets are becoming ever more complex, and their production requires huge quantities What can be done to improve matters? of resources. In an environmental perspective, We need more awareness rising. In Germany, the it makes sense to extend the life cycle also in distorted idea of e-waste being a problem of develop- developing countries, even when the first owners ing countries is quite common. People think of black already want yet more recent technologies. Many children on garbage dumps. They neither know that people in Africa or Asia have an interest in used we generate 22 kilogrammes of e-waste per person second-hand items. and year in Germany, nor that future production cycles are at risk because precious resources are What becomes of broken gadgets? thrown away. In any case, it is absurd that public That is the challenge. All too often, they are not recy- agencies meticulously collect waste paper in Ger- cled according to the state of the art. As I said earlier, many, while we do not have a good system to collect waste management is normally done in the informal e-waste. The easiest way to get rid of it is the garbage sector in developing countries and emerging mar- bin, though waste of electrical or electronic equip- kets. The ones to suffer are the poor – the people who ment needs to be taken to recycling centres. Some depend on this kind of work. In most cases, however, e-waste items, but not all, can be returned to retail the scenario is politically accepted. It is very difficult shops, moreover. to formalise waste management. Many people are involved, and there are many links in the chain. As Is this situation typical of advanced nations?

Recycling e-waste in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Van Bree/Lineair Van

D+C e-Paper June 2016 29 No, it is not, and Germany could learn from others. trast, some of our neighbouring countries emphasise In Switzerland, for example, the share of properly compliance, with manufacturers paying for state-of- collected e-waste is much higher. The situation in the-art recycling of their goods. The German system Germany is not satisfying. We do not even have is not appreciated much internationally, even though good data. We know some basic figures, such as most Germans think we are world champions in sort- the 22 kilogrammes I just mentioned, but in regard ing garbage. to the complex patterns of what chemicals ulti- mately end up where, we know much less than our Is the international institutional order ade- neighbours in France, Belgium or the Netherlands quate for getting a grip on the issue? do. We have the necessary regulations, but implementa- tion is weak. Because resources are in demand, how- Why is that so? ever, there is pressure to improve matters. However, The reason is the waste management system that different nations are taking different approaches, and German legislators have designed. Its emphasis is on there is a lack of coherence. Accordingly, our pro- competition, so we now have too many small recy- gramme at the UN University is working on getting cling systems competing with one another. In con- all UN agencies on board.

Why statistics are not enough

In the first decade of the new millennium, the international community lacked solid data con- cerning waste from electronic and electric appliances. Basically, poli- cymakers had to rely on anecdotal evidence. Better information was obviously needed.

The initiative Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) was officially launched in 2007. It resulted from a sense of frustration with insuf- ficient statistics. The UN University (UNU) and the computer manu- facturer Hewlett Packard were among the founding partners. UNU’s mandate is to provide solid science-based information to policy-makers.

The StEP team, however, felt that merely compiling statistics would not be enough. It would make Ruediger Kuehr more sense to work on solutions heads the Sustainable Cycles at the same time, involving as (SCYCLE) programme at the UN many parties concerned as pos- University’s Bonn campus as sible. After all, the institutions that ■ reuse of goods, many’s GIZ, multinational corpora- well as the international could supply data were also the ■ recycling of waste and tions such as Dell and Microsoft intiative StEP (Solving the ones that needed solutions. Bear- ■ capacity building. and academic institutions such as E-Waste Problem). ing this in mind, StEP reached out Massachusetts Institute of Tech- [email protected] to manufacturers, recycling busi- StEP now has several dozen mem- nology and the Technical Univer- ness and other relevant stake­ bers from around the globe. They sity of Braunschweig. Each mem- holders and interest groups. include international organisa- ber contributes to at least one of tions such as the UN Environment the topical areas. StEP is running projects in five Programme and the UN Industrial focus areas: Development Organization, gov- Link ■ policy and legislation, ernment agencies such as Japan’s Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP): ■ redesigning of goods, ministry of environment or Ger- http://www.step-initiative.org/

30 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Turning wastewater into drinking water

Inappropriate wastewater disposal is a problem with serious health implications in many developing countries. Compact decentralised systems for treating wastewater with organic residues can lead to better hygiene and also deliver drinking water, electricity and fertiliser. TÜV SÜD is currently working on an international standard that will define safety, reliability and efficiency requirements for this technology.

By Andreas Hauser

In 2010, the United Nations declared sanitation treatment systems can do a lot more, turning waste a human right. Even so, more than a third of into energy, biogas, fertiliser, biochar (a soil con- humanity still has no access to fully operational sani- ditioner) and even drinking water. These valuable tary facilities and wastewater disposal infrastructure. resources can significantly help improve people’s In unsanitary conditions, viruses, bacteria and other lives and create a self-sustaining business model, for pathogens spread fast. Around 80 % of illnesses in instance involving the sale of omniprocessor’s prod- developing countries result from contaminated water ucts. and poor sanitary conditions. Annually, infectious diarrhoea kills 1.4 million children under six – more Omniprocessor technology treats wastewater and than malaria, measles and AIDS combined. organic residues with high temperatures so that the water evaporates, leaving solid material behind. The Basic facilities such as latrines and septic tanks water vapour is captured while the solids are inciner- solve only part of the problem. In many cases, they do ated. The heat from the incineration process is used not add up to a safe disposal system. There are often to produce steam that drives turbines to generate serious gaps in the infrastructure needed to maintain electricity, ultimately powering the entire system. Any – or merely empty – sanitation facilities. Leaks occur, excess electricity can be fed into the local power grid. polluting the environment and contaminating drink- When it cools off, the condensed and purified water ing water. Far too often, wastewater and faecal sludge vapour can become clean drinking water. Alternative are not treated as they should be. technological solutions are currently being developed.

Due to gaps in the emptying and transport infra- structure along with a lack of centralised, opera- Lack of standards tional facilities, a considerable portion of wastewa- ter still flows unregulated and untreated into rivers, The multitude of options is a problem, however. lakes and seas. Decentralised treatment would have Developers take different approaches and adopt vari- many advantages – not only from an organisational ous strategies, not all of which are fully developed. and logistical viewpoint, but also for reasons of local TÜV SÜD is a German company that specialises in hygiene and health. testing and certifying the reliability of technological applications. It is currently working on the first inter- national standard for decentralised wastewater treat- West is no model ment. Internationally recognised, such a standard will make the merits of various approaches transpar- Western-style sanitation is often unsuitable for devel- ent and allow for comparison. Moreover, it will guide oping countries. One reason is that sewerage sys- developers in designing and optimising future sys- tems are simply too expensive. Moreover, flush toilets tems and processes. are too wasteful for places where water is a scarce resource. Alternatives are needed, and they must Normally, standards are developed long after take local conditions into account. Decentralised a new kind of product has been introduced. In this approaches are appropriate and promising. case, however, it makes sense to do so earlier. The rea- son is that the standard will contribute to accelerating Disposal of wastewater and organic residues is the development and market introduction of decen- however not the only goal. So called omniprocessor- tralised treatment systems.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 31 ZUMA Press/picture-alliance

No matter how promising an approach to decen- Other relevant questions that need to be addressed tralised wastewater treatment is, it must not be rolled include what business models are most suitable and Nearly one out of three out on a large scale unless it is clear that it is safe for how the employment and resources generated by people worldwide lacks operators, communities and the environment. Treat- omniprocessor applications are best used to the ben- access to functioning ment systems must work reliably and efficiently, and efit of regional economies. sanitary facilities: they must meet clearly defined requirements concern- mobile toilets in Dhaka, ing quality and efficiency. Bangladesh. Practical approaches First and foremost, there must be a guarantee that the treatment process eliminates all pathogens so no In a first project phase, TÜV SÜD is currently assess- health risks remain when using the drinking water ing the existing international and national stand- or any of the other products delivered. The fertiliser ards that pertain to decentralised wastewater-treat- too must be free of pathogens, and it has to meet all ment systems. The company is involving specialists relevant requirements on nutrient content. Power from various fields, including water technologies, generation must also be reliable and safe. If these systems engineering, environmental technology, requirements are achieved, they will drive market electrical engineering, building services and mate- acceptance. rials engineering. In the second phase, TÜV SÜD will analyse the principles according to which facili- Omniprocessors can also present a business case ties are currently being designed, built and oper- under certain circumstances. Drinking water, electric ated. The information gathered will help to explore power and fertiliser are resources that are in strong what kind of standardisation will be helpful in what demand in developing countries. Unless the technol- areas. Andreas Hauser ogy works reliably, however, it is not an attractive is director of TÜV SÜD Water investment proposition. Manufacturers, government In the medium term, TÜV SÜD plans to develop Services in Singapore. agencies and non-governmental organisations still a standard that will be published as an Interna- [email protected] need to do quite a bit to make that happen. tional Workshop Agreement under the umbrella of the International Organization for Standardization Technological solutions are not everything. Oper- (ISO). TÜV SÜD emphasises continuous exchange ational and maintenance issues need to be addressed with system developers and operators as well as too. Guidelines concerning health and safety, as well market participants in developing countries. Its as emission levels and quality management are essen- approach will result in a practical and effective tial. Moreover, local government agencies, operators standard, help to propel reliable technologies at and inspection companies must be put in a position an international level and ultimately boost market to audit and certify the complex systems and their acceptance. impacts on human health and the environment. Link For these reasons, introducing standards is a core TÜV SÜD: Sanitation. Foster sustainable solutions. requirement for marketing omniprocessor technology. http://www.tuv-sud.com/industry/water-services/sanitation

32 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Please visit our website www.DandC.eu

X + www.dandc.eu Digitalisation Providing and limiting freedom

Digital technologies have become relevant for accessing services try, and anyone with internet access could as well as exercising one’s human rights. The interests of many check it out. different groups are involved. Unfortunately, digital technology can also contribute to violating human rights. Double-edged sword

By Nanjira Sambuli However, the very platforms that foster the exercise of human rights can also be used The situation is particularly complex in This matters in a country like Kenya, to repress fundamental rights. Government developing countries like Kenya. Digital where free expression is sometimes agencies, private-sector companies, terror- technologies enable people to leapfrog punished in spite of constitutional ists and criminal organisations increas- from conventional methods of accessing guarantees. Digital communication ingly threaten the security, openness and information and services to up-to-date gives many people a sense of security freedom of digital exchange. The privacy ones. Options that were previously limited and anonymity that motivates them to and security of users are under attack. to only a small part of Kenya’s population express themselves freely. It is worrying, Growing online extremism and terrorism are available to many more people. The however, that intimidation and arbi- recruitment are compounding problems. mobile phone has been the frontrunner of trary arrests of bloggers are becoming this development; it has helped people to more frequent. Some argue that “offline security” is overcome infrastructure gaps. more important than digital privacy. Such The new media is particularly signifi- reasoning, however, is often exaggerated. Kenya’s digitalisation is appreciated cant in times when state agencies disrupt It resonates with many people however. internationally. According to the Com- munications Authority of Kenya, there Kenya’s digitalisation is are almost 38 million mobile telephony internationally subscriptions, with a mobile penetration appreciated: iHub of 88.1 %. An estimated 22 million internet Nairobi. subscriptions reach out to 32 million users, of whom 99 % rely on mobile devices.

Mobile phones have given millions of Ken- yans access to financial ser- Tribune vices. Only 29 % of adults have a bank account, but 68 % use mobile money services. Women benefit in particular. Photoshot/picture-alliance

Democracy and conventional media coverage, for instance In Kenya, it is widely believed that more technology because of elections or political unrest. digital surveillance, biometric IDs and This is a recurring issue in Kenya – from closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems In many developing countries, the the post-election violence in 2007/08 are needed to ensure national security. In advancement of democracy is closely tied to recent terror attacks. Digital technol- a recent survey, 75 % of respondents agreed to the advancement of digital technolo- ogy allows people to stay connected and that law enforcement agencies should have gies. In Kenya, the awareness of our new informed nonetheless. the right to access citizens’ online commu- constitution’s bill of rights has improved nication for national security reasons. due to digital communication, and so has One positive example is the Ushahidi its enforcement. crisis-mapping platform. It emerged after Against this backdrop, it is no won- the 2007 elections, when mainstream der that recent state investment in CCTV Mobile technology provides opportuni- media neither informed Kenyans properly equipment was widely accepted as pro- ties to exercise rights such as the freedom about results nor the violent aftermath gress. In fact, concerns by legislators and of expression. Citizens connect and interact that swept the country. A network of peer- citizens alike only focused on the process online, share grievances and political opin- to-peer information sharing was set up, through which the government contract ions, express dissent and mobilise for action. relying on text messages, e-mail and other was issued, without mentioning the risks The audience that engages in public dis- forms of digital communication. Verified of the new equipment being used to vio- course has grown bigger and more diverse. information was put on a map of the coun- late human rights.

34 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Furthermore, Kenyan laws were necting the next billion”. The issue has abilities. The emphasis is on groups who, amended, explicitly limiting the consti- attracted the attention of private compa- so far, remain offline. They should get the tutionally guaranteed right to privacy. nies. They want to complement or supple- same benefits and rights as those who are Government agencies are now allowed to ment government action. An important able to go online. intercept communications “directly rel- issue is whether the technologies and evant in the detecting, deterring and dis- strategies they employ will really ensure The scenarios presented above are rupting of terrorism”. that the unconnected get the right to not unique to Kenya. They play a role in access free, open and secure technologies. developing and developed nations alike. Kenya’s High Court ruled that some As the purchasing power of the people Proposed laws on cyber security across the clauses that limited the publication of ter- concerned is low, profit-driven businesses globe are a cause for concern, as they often rorism-related information were uncon- are not normally interested in them. mean weaker protection of human rights. stitutional, but the clauses that expanded A recurring theme is that one should cede the state’s surveillance powers were left Indeed, some private-sector initia- rights for the sake of security. And while intact. Even the digitally connected and tives have run into criticism because they human rights are increasingly recognised informed did not protest. do not provide full services to everyone. in national and international laws, it One example is Facebook’s Free Basics remains an uphill battle to make all state Today, Kenya is one of only two Afri- programme, which provides poor people agencies respect and uphold them. This is can countries that enjoy “internet free- only with a pre-selected range of internet especially true in developing countries. dom”, according to the US-based watch- options (see box below). dog organisation Freedom House (2015). Links The other one is South Africa. However, Some governments of developing Freedom House: Freedom on the net 2015. Kenya has only few laws to protect its countries make laudable efforts to improve https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/ internet freedom. A data protection bill, affordable access to digital technologies. freedom-net-2015 for instance, has been ready for adoption In Kenya, the Universal Service Fund is Ushahidi: for over two years, yet is caught up in red administered and managed by the govern- https://www.ushahidi.com/ tape. Moreover, Kenya must do more to ment. Levies on telecom providers, licence protect the freedom of speech. payments, government appropriations, Nanjira Sambuli grants and donations serve to finance it. is the outgoing Research Lead at iHub, Nairobi, The Fund’s purpose is to finance national where she has been providing strategic Unequal access projects in order to improve availability guidance for growth of technology research in of – and access to – information and com- the East Africa region. She is interested in In an increasingly digital world, access to munication technologies in remote rural understanding the impacts of ICT on communication devices and to the inter- areas as well as poor urban quarters. The governance, innovation, entrepreneurship and societal culture net is crucial. Efforts to widen access in Fund focuses on special target groups in Africa and cooperates with agencies like the GIZ. developing countries are known as “con- such as women and persons with dis- Twitter: @Ninanjira

Free of charge, but limited in scope

Facebook is running its Free Basics pro- An important downside is that the plat- gramme in Kenya and other developing form restricts users’ freedom to create countries. The goal is to provide poor people because the services on offer are mostly with some, though not full internet access. for content consumption, not production. Accordingly, people’s freedom to compete “Some” access is obviously limited access. The online is limited too. implicit messages of this kind of programme are that poor people do not need all internet In the eyes of internet activists, this kind options and that affordability requires them of “free internet” is insufficient and no to forgo some rights and ideals. The irony of substitute for real empowerment. The the matter is that technological solutions of political implication is that Facebook’s this sort do not truly empower the poor Free Basics do not let government authori- because their options remain restricted. ties off the hook as far as universality of internet access is concerned. In India, the In Kenya, the policy debate now revolves regulator has banned differential pricing around what “free” internet should mean. of internet services. Accordingly, Free The Facebook approach is free of mon- Basics has been banned too.

etised costs – but it does include an impor- Chiu/AP Photo/picture-alliance tant trade-off. It limits users’ freedom of Link Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced Facebook choice. What services are available via Free Facebook Free Basics: founder Mark Zuckerberg in California, but India Basics is predetermined by Facebook. https://developers.facebook.com/docs/internet-org does not appreciate the corporation’s Free Basics.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 35 Primary schools India is facing huge challenges

Enrolment rates have improved in India, but especially in rural schools. Bimol Baski, father of two daugh- areas, the quality of primary education remains too poor. Our ters from our village Bishnubati in West Bengal, sends his children to a private assessment was written by a member of the Santal community, one school where classes are held in English. of India’s many Adivasi tribes. In his eyes, the midday meals in govern- ments schools are a problem because By Boro Baski teachers are now busy distributing lunch instead of focusing properly on classes. India has made substantial progress has taken some measures to keep them in in primary education since a UN con- school. For instance, it gives them refer- Bimol hopes his daughters will learn ference in Dakar in 2000 set the goal of ence books but also cash, silver bangles or good English. It is, however, a serious Education for All (EFA) by 2015. According bicycles as gifts. problem that the vast majority of children to India’s national EFA review of 2014, who belong to linguistic minorities can- 14.6 million new children had joined ele- These alluring schemes are good in the not get education in their mother tongue. mentary schools in the past five years, so short term, but the drop-out rate has more Apart from us Santals, that applies to all almost all children in the age group six to serious reasons. It is linked to families’ other Adivasi tribes as well. Adivasis con- ten go to school. Moreover, there is at least overall socio-economic situation. All too stitute about eight percent of the country’s one primary school within a one-kilometre often, teenagers must contribute to liveli- population. Many regard formal education radius of 98 % of every Indian settlement. hoods. as a threat to their language and culture.

Free school meals have contributed An alarming trend is that ever more In view of such daunting challenges, to boosting enrolment. The main gov- children are shifting from government there are doubts that India’s EFA efforts ernment programme that provides them schools to private-sector schools. Accord- have really succeeded. High enrolment is called Sarva Sikha Abhiyan (SSA). On ing to the Annual Status of Education rates are simply not enough. The trends school days, it feeds 108 million children. Report (ASER) of 2014, almost one third discussed above indicate that there is Another important step was the enact- of those six to 14 year old went to private a lack of balance and clarity in the pol- ment of the Free and Compulsory Educa- schools in 2013. In 2006, their share had icy. Moreover, the governmental primary tion (RTE) Act 2009. Nonetheless, much been not quite a quarter. In Haryana and schools are being degraded. more needs to be done. Uttar Pradesh, two states in northern India, the share of private schools was even more For the success of village schools, the than half. This trend proves that parents local community is very important. Fam- The ground reality do not trust government schools and are ily and school managing committees are willing to pay tuition, which poor people essential for monitoring the performance For the age group six to ten, enrolment can hardly afford. of teachers. Unfortunately, however, many has improved, and drop-out rates have people believe that schools are the gov- declined. The challenge is now to keep up It is deeply irritating that even poor ernment’s responsibility, so they do not the same pace of improvement for the age families now spend substantial amounts get involved. Moreover, the school man- groups 11 to 15 as well as for secondary on sending their children to private aging committees are often dominated by schools. The drop-out rate was 9.1 % in 2009/10 for classes one to four in India, Non-formal school in according to official data, but 15.9 % for Ghosaldanga. class five.

Experience tells us that the mid-day meals and other schemes that serve reten- tion at the lower level do not address the problems of more advanced kids. They worry about their future after school, and they are under pressure to earn money, not least because they want to buy mobile phones and trendy clothes.

Thousands of youth from West Bengal migrate to other states to work as con- tractual labourers before completing their

school education. The state government Samiran Nandi

36 D+C e-Paper June 2016 leaders who are affiliated to political par- primers for that purpose. Santal music and certainly not make teachers’ demanding ties and prioritise other policy issues than myths, dance, folklore and history are part work any easier. education. Especially in rural areas, the of the curriculum. In our eyes, heritage is governmental school sector would benefit important, especially in a fast-changing from better coordination among teachers, world (see my essay in D+C/E+Z e-Paper, Conclusion parents and committee members. 2015/07, p. 21 f.). Our work is supported by charitable German donors. At the primary level, formal education UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scien- must be treated as an isolated issue. Rural tific and Cultural Organization, published I personally know several other NGO communities certainly need education, a Global Monitoring Report in 2015 to schools all over India, since I have vis- but their life is interwoven with many evaluate the EFA achievements. Its assess- ited them in the past few years (see box social and cultural issues that must all be ment is that India has made tremendous below). Typically, they have been operat- taken into account. UNESCO is right to progress, but still has a long way to go. ing for more than two decades, so they are argue that an integrated approach with The report highlights persisting inequal- time tested. They are all “non-formal”. In a holistic view is appropriate. ity. Some Indians are rich, but masses are India, this term means that a school does very poor. Various population groups are not make its pupils memorise the govern- India is still facing huge challenges. marginalised due to caste, race, faith or ment syllabus by rote. Rather, non-formal Non-formal approaches should not be other reasons. They normally struggle to schools take into account children’s needs repressed. They are appropriate for the get quality education. and interests, and they apply a broad multi-language and multi-cultural fab- range of didactical methods and resem- ric of the nation. The experience of non- ble government schools in rich nations in governmental schools should serve as the Non-formal schools this respect. Experience shows that India’s basis for drafting future education policies. non-formal schools deliver better results, Apart from governmental schools and pri- even in formal terms, than the govern- Money is not the problem, by the way. vate-sector schools, India also has a great ment schools do. This is especially true In the financial year of 2011/12, the SSA number of innovative schools that are among disadvantaged communities. only spent 43 % of the funds it was allo- managed by non-governmental organisa- cated. More than 50 % remained unspent. tions, trusts or philanthropic individuals. It is profoundly irritating that many Such sums should be used prudently. What They are neither mainstream schools nor non-formal schools are now being put India really needs is well-trained, moti- religious institutions. Many are based in under pressure to conform with formal vated and sensitive teachers who have the the villages and reach out to the people rules of the Right to Education Act of passion and zeal to serve the people. who are least likely to get a good educa- 2009, though regulations concerning the tion. size of windows, appropriate clothing or Boro Baski teachers’ salaries do not make much sense works for the community-based organisation One of them is the Rolf Schoembs Vid- in the context of non-formal rural schools. Ghosaldanga Adibasi Seva Sangha in West yashram, the school in our village that Some NGOs are plainly overburdened. Bengal. The NGO is supported by the German I have previously described in D+C/E+Z There is some opposition to an overly NGO Freundeskreis Ghosaldanga und (print edition 2012/09, p. 333 f.). We teach strict enforcement of the law, but work- Bishnubati. in Santali and have produced our own ing under the threat of legal action does [email protected]

Setting the right example

The Sita School in Silvapura village is near The Vidyodaya School is situated in the Bangalore. It was founded and is run by Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu. The pupils are Jane Sahi. The school teaches children to mainly tribals and children with learning get competent in language, practical disabilities. It is a government-recog- mathematic, clay work, tailoring, printing, nised school with a curriculum of its first aid, home remedies, kitchen garden- own. Beside regular education, emphasis ing, theatre and art. It inculcates positive is given to handicrafts. Typically, human values and emphasises personal a teacher supervises small working experience over textbook learning. It nur- groups.

tures a spirit of excellence in the broad dem sense. The pupils come from the villages Khelaghar choir in 1996. Khelaghar is an non-governmental nearby, and most are first-generation orphanage near Kolkata. The word literally learners whose parents are illiterate. has its own fields and rubber-tree estate means “play house”. It provides free shel- where children learn to tap latex. They ter, food and education to children in There is also a school for the children of visit the forest regularly with their teach- need and distress. Classes are held in the the Wynard tribals in Kerala, founded by ers and learn by doing. They are also open, under majestic trees, without the K J Babby and Shirly George. The school involved in vegetable and rice farming. confines of walls.

D+C e-Paper June 2016 37 International sports Glow time

Cycling is slowly recovering from doping scandals, while Russian Culture of deceit athletics is now stuck in a mire. The World Anti-Doping Agency Doping has similarly tainted other sports. (WADA) has been forced to tighten its rules. In a TV documentary broadcast by the German ARD network in late 2014, Hajo By Theresa Krinninger Seppelt, a journalist, depicted Russia’s sophisticated doping system. Based on There are three rules to avoid getting sports. An athlete’s stamina depends on this programme, WADA ordered an Inde- caught: wear a watch, always have how much oxygen the body absorbs, and pendent Commission to investigate. The your mobile phone at hand and know your the more red blood cells there are, the bet- result was a 300-page report which was “glowing” time. That is what Tyler Hamil- ter the oxygen flows in the body. Until he published in November 2015. ton, formerly a professional cyclist, states blew the whistle, Hamilton was a member in the 2012 book he co-authored on the in the “brotherhood”, using illegal sub- The offenses listed in the report were cycling mafia and its dirty business. stances to enhance his sporting perfor- so serious that the International Asso- “Glowing” in his language means that per- mance. A year after his Olympic victory ciation of Athletics Federations (IAAF) formance-enhancing substances can be in 2004, the International Cycling Union decided to suspend the All-Russian Ath- detected in the body. He elaborates in (UCI) grounded him for two years. He had letics Federation (ARAF) for the time great detail how his team avoided controls been tested positive for blood doping. being. The Commission also suggested for years. Being accepted into a professional team to ban five athletes, four coaches and one proved difficult afterwards. medical doctor for life. When this essay Hamilton assesses the full extent of was finalised in May, it was unlikely that systematic doping in professional cycling Hamilton’s report includes the key any Russian track-and-field athlete would from the 1990s until 2000. The US citizen role played by professional cyclist Lance be allowed to compete in the Rio Olympics writes about a network of corrupt doctors, Armstrong. A longtime training part- in August. unscrupulous team bosses and corrupt ner and second cycler in Armstrong’s laboratory staff. He recalls red testoster- team, Hamilton witnessed systematic The Commission noted a deeply rooted one pills, hormone erythropoietin (EPO) doping first hand. He was later called to culture of deceit, which to some extent being kept in refrigerators and blood give testimony in investigations against was criminal. The leaders were Valentin transfusions in hotel rooms. Armstrong. In 2012, the UCI striped Arm- Balaknichev, the former ARAF leader, Ser- strong of his seven Tour de France victo- gey Portugalov, ARAF’s chief physician, EPO, which stimulates red blood cell ries as well as other titles attained since and Grigory Rodchenkov, the head oft he production, is still relevant in endurance 1998. WADA-approved laboratory in Moscow. Dejong/AP Photo/picture-alliance In 2012, the UCI stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories as well as other titles attained since 1998.

38 D+C e-Paper June 2016 AP Photo/picture-alliance Ekaterina Koneva of Russia, the reigning world indoor triple jump champion, has been suspended for doping before. Now, the whole track and field team is excluded from international competitions.

Rodchenkov, Portugalov and coaches sons becoming IAAF advisers. Moreover,­ responded by withdrawing the Moscow were said to have taken bribes from ath- Diack is said to have asked his lawyer, lab’s license and revising its Anti-Doping letes in exchange for ensuring they would Habib Cissé, to personally check all ath- Code with which all sports federations and not test positive. Portugalov, according lete passports of Russian athletes. WADA anti-doping agencies must comply. to the Commission, was the link to the introduced these passports in 2009, and national doping programme, but other they serve to document blood and urine Sometimes, parties concerned are not physicians as well as lab staff supported tests long term. According to the report, timely informed of important rule changes. doping too. Cissé did not only cover up several positive For example, WADA put the heart medi- tests, but also took bribes from athletes. cine Meldonium on the prohibited list in The IC proved that the Russian Anti- January 2016, but several Doping Agency (RUSADA) was guilty of According to the Commission, cor- athletes, including Rus- Tribune more malpractice. For instance, RUSADA ruption was facilitated by Valentin sian tennis star Maria staff announced tests early on to coaches Ba­lakhnichev among others. Balakh- Sharapova, claim they and athletes. WADA rules demand that an nichev was accused of taking advantage of did not know. WADA is agency always knows the whereabouts being president of the ARAF and treasurer considering a pardon for of athletes, but RUSADA was not strict of the IAAF at the same time. He and Cissé anyone who was tested with less than one about it. The Commission found that staff kept each other briefed on what was going microgramme of Meldonium in their body accepted wrong IDs and permitted sus- on and cooperated to keep things secret. prior to March 2016. Critics, however, say pended athletes to compete in relevant He had resigned from both posts soon that WADA is not doing anyone a favour by sports events. after the broadcast of the TV documentary. granting pardons. Even the top anti-doping­ agency is thus facing controversy. The second part of the Independent All in all, the broadcast did not make Commission’s report was published in much of a difference in Russia however, References January 2016. Its findings weighed heav- says Seppelt, the journalist. Shortly after Hamilton, T., and Coyle, D., 2012: The secret race. ily against former IAAF President Lamine the revelations, Russian Sports Minis- New York, Bantam. Diack, who had resigned in August 2015 ter Vitaly Mutko stated that all parties WADA: Independent Commission Reports: after the French judiciary had started involved had been fired. In a second ARD https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/search?f[0]=field_ investigations. The authors argued that report of mid-2015, however, Seppelt topic%3A109&f[1]=field_resource_type%3A115 Diack and his “closed inner circle” had showed that suspended coaches were still actively supported corruption, nepotism active and still promoting the use of perfor- Theresa Krinninger and the concealment of doping. He was mance enhancing substances. The TV doc- is a freelance journalist. succeeded by Sebastian Coe from Britain. umentary also pointed out that Anna Ant- seliovich, the newly appointed RUSADA According to the IC, Diack was so influ- executive, had cooperated with athletes ential that there was no opposition to his to define dates for doping tests. WADA [email protected]

D+C e-Paper June 2016 39 Comment “Do not close the camps” Kenya’s government has announced it will close the two refugee indeed issued a statement in which it camps of Dadaab and Kakuma. The residents of Dadaab have been appeals to Kenya’s government to recon- sider its decision. The UNHCR points out told to return to their home countries or move to a third country that “Kenya has played an extraordinary by the end of May 2017. The refugees are devastated, and non-gov- role over many years as one of the world’s ernmental organisations warn of a “humanitarian catastrophe”. frontline major refugee hosting nations, and that inevitably this has had many By Peter Okello consequences for the country and its pop- ulation.” Accordingly, Kenya should get According to Karanja Kibicho, Ken- nothing.” He does not know where to more international support for its efforts, ya’s principal secretary for interior take his family if they cannot stay in the but should not close the camps. In view of affairs, the camps have a negative impact camp. some 60 million people around the world on security in the country. He argues that who have been forcibly displaced, the the Somali terror organisation Al Shabaab The vast majority of the refugees feel UNHCR argues, “it is more important than and related outfits get support from people similar despair, and they are offended ever that international asylum obligations in the camps. Moreover, the government by the implication that they support ter- prevail and are properly supported.” speaks of economic constraints. Kenya rorism. According to Anne Cham, who is has suffered terror attacks in recent years, originally from Ethiopia and now lives in Non-governmental aid agencies sup- and the government is struggling to get Dadaab, “refugees are not terrorists.” She port this stance. In a joint declaration, a grip on Al Shabaab (see D+C/E+Z says: “It is peaceful here – no violence, no 11 organisations, including World Vision, e-Paper 2015/09, p. 28 ff.). killing, no forced landgrabs and no harass- Oxfam and the Refugee Consortium of ment.” She left her country due to conflict Kenya, warn of a “humanitarian catastro- Kenya is currently hosting about and emphasises: “We don’t kill people.” phe in the region” should the two camps 600,000 refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma. She appreciates that her child can go to be shut down abruptly. They state that Dadaab is believed to be the world’s larg- school in Dadaab and that there is free refu­gee laws and asylum regimes are est refugee camp. It was first established food. She says that Kenya’s government under attack, especially in Europe, and in 1992. The government wants to see it should look for terrorists in other places. that Kenya should not “follow that path”. closed by the end of May next year. A dead- Her message to the government is: “Do Like the UNHCR, the NGOs want the inter- line for Kakuma (see D+C/E+Z e-Paper not close the camps.” national community to do more on behalf 2016/02, p. 23 ff. and D+C/E+Z e-Paper of refugees in general and in support of 2016/03, p. 36 f.) has not been set so far. Some camp residents say that the Ken- refugees in Kenya in particular. yan government has the right to disman- The people in the camps are devas- tle the camps, but most of the refugees Statements like these make sense to tated. Deng Malual is from South Sudan simply do not know where to go. They the people in Dadaab and Kakuma, but and only arrived in fear they will be killed if they try to return many of them are not informed. Unfortu- Debate Kakuma with his family home, and getting there would be very dif- nately, moreover, one may have doubts of eight a few weeks ago. ficult anyway. Moreover, the refugees do whether the international community or “We are in a safe place not have access to other countries. the Kenyan government will actually heed here,” he says, adding the advice, though more international that violence and need Some camp residents say they feel support would probably make a difference haunt his home country. “My children forgotten by the UN Refugee Agency to the Kenyan government. were almost starving; there was no food, (UNHCR). However, the UNHCR has Links Children go to school in Statement issued by 11 non-governmental organisations: Dadaab camp. http://www.rescue.org/press-releases/media-advisory- government-kenya-reconsider-intended-closure-refugee- camps-30899 Statement issued by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): http://www.unhcr.org/57308e616.html

Peter Okello is the son of a South Sudanese refugee and grew up in Kakuma camp. He works as a journalist in Kenya.

Schytte/Lineair [email protected]

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X + www.facebook.com/development.and.cooperation Comment Curiosity wins Populist leaders’ slogans often do not add up. That is why open them anyway. Hierarchy and conformity and critical debate is so important. People with authoritarian gives them a comforting sense of order. That is why authoritarian politicians leanings resent independent thinking. sometimes gain more than just a foothold even in advanced economies. It is scary, By Hans Dembowski for example, that Norbert Hofer, the candi- date of the right-wing FPÖ, came so close Donald Trump’s foreign policy pro- Feldman’s approach suggests that rich to being elected Austria’s president in May. posals obviously do not make sense. democracies are probably a bit better insu- For example, the presidential candidate of lated against authoritarianism than devel- Experience tells us, on the other hand, the Republican party promises to build oping countries, where respect for elders that authoritarians sometimes fail in a wall along the USA’s southern border and hierarchies tend to be emphasised developing countries. Sri Lankans recently and “make Mexico pay”. Though the idea is more. According to management con- elected Maithripala Sirisena instead of clearly absurd, some xenophobic US citi- sultants, young employees in Germany confirming Mahinda Rajapaksa as presi- zens appreciate it. increasingly want to be treated as auton- dent, who had become ever more dictator- omous, intelligent individuals and will like in office. In the Philippines, where pop- Depressingly, many of Trump’s other proposals are no better, and growing right-wing agitation in Europe tends to be just as incoherent. Germany’s AfD, for example, wants the country to leave the euro zone, but does not assess what a fast appreciating new Deutsche Mark would mean for exports. The economy would suf- fer due to the higher exchange rate. The AfD proposal is self-destructive.

Flawed reasoning is typical of authoritarian politics. The fewer peo- ple understand the underlying issues, the more dangerous populist rhetoric becomes. That is why authoritarian leaders tend to limit the freedom of expression when and where they can, as many people in developing countries know all too well.

Stanley Feldman, a social scientist from the USA, has found a way to find out

who appreciates authoritarian leaders and Brynn Anderson/picture alliance/AP Photo who does not. The four questions he uses Trump supporters in Florida. are not about politics, but about parent- ing. What is more important for a child to leave if they feel they are mere underlings. ulist leader Rodrigo Duterte has just been have: respect for elders or independence? Similar trends have been noticed in other elected president, people’s power move- Obedience or self-reliance? Good manners advanced economies. Of course, people ments twice swept strongmen from office. or curiosity? Do they want children to be who do not show much regard for formal In Burkina Faso, a popular uprising toppled well-behaved or considerate? hierarchy at work are unlikely to obey despotic Blaise Compaoré. The movement authoritarian demands anywhere else. It was driven by young people who were tired Those who opt for the former terms is worth pointing out that the young peo- of being told what to think. have authoritarian leanings. They appre- ple are neither lazily shying away from ciate hierarchy, conformity and order. It is challenges nor rudely upsetting bosses. Hans Dembowski worth pointing out, moreover, that Feld- They want to be taken seriously. is editor in chief of D+C Development and man’s questions do not imply in any way Cooperation / E+Z Entwicklung und that good behaviour or respect are not It is worrisome, on the other hand, Zusammenarbeit. desirable. The point is that being consid- that some people know perfectly well that erate and independent matters even more. populist slogans are nonsense, but accept [email protected]

42 D+C e-Paper June 2016 Comment Troubled legacy Shortly after the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Steps remain to be taken to com- Russian town of Sochi, Thomas Bach, the president of the Interna- pensate for the damage done in Sochi. It is essential – and feasible – to avoid tional Olympic Committee (IOC), spoke of the events’ “many lasting such abuses in the future in the context legacies”. He was probably referring to the sports and other of Olympic Games. Even the IOC seems infrastructure that cost an estimated $ 51 billion. An honest to be waking up to this fact. Less than assessment, however, must include the track record on human a year after Sochi, IOC President Bach put in place potentially meaningful reforms. rights. The IOC wants host governments to perform better in the Starting with the 2022 Olympics, host city future. contracts will include more protections for the environment, labour rights and non- By Jane Buchanan discrimination.

There were many human-rights Another aspect that must not be for- Success will obviously depend on abuses in the context of the Sochi gotten is the harassment of environmen- how serious the IOC is about implement- Olympics. They included the exploitation of migrant workers, forced evictions as Labour migrants on well as harassment and arrest of activists their way to the and journalists who were critical of the building site of the government’s Olympic preparations. Olympic stadium in 2012. Human Rights Watch documented the abuse and exploitation of migrant work- ers employed on all major Olympic sites. Employers failed to pay wages and pro- vide employment contracts, they withheld passports, forcing workers to remain in exploitative situations, and they required excessive working hours.

Ample evidence of these abuses was

published by Human Rights Watch and Brent Stirton/Reportage by Getty Images for Human Rights Watch other human-rights organisations, but for years the Russian authorities failed tal activists and other critics of the Games, ing its commitments. It must assume full to hold employers accountable. The IOC including the imprisonment of Evgeny Vit- responsibility for ensur- stood by, reluctant to put pressure on the ishko, who was especially vocal. Moreover, ing human-rights protec- Debate Russian authorities. there were multiple incidents of interference tions in relation to Olym- with journalists who reported on social con- pic Games and respond Only a month before Sochi’s opening cerns and other issues related to the Games. to violations, including ceremonies, there finally was some reck- Most blatantly, the police pursued two Nor- ahead of the Summer oning for the workers. Dmitri Kozak, the wegian TV journalists and detained them Games in Rio a few months away. FIFA Russian deputy prime minister who was several times in November 2013. would also do well to learn lessons, not responsible for the Games, announced least because Russia will host the next that labour inspections in late 2013 had Sochi’s painful legacy also includes World Cup in 2018. Only when major uncovered that several companies had the forced eviction of dozens of residents sporting organisations take their respon- failed to pay employees a total sum equiv- who had to make way for Olympic venues sibility for human rights seriously may alent of more than $ 8 million. Kozak and infrastructure. Moreover, devastation there be a silver lining to Sochi’s troubled promised the money would be paid. caused by Olympic construction work in legacy. the sleepy mountain village of Akhshtyr Thanks to these inspections, many must be mentioned. Drinking water wells workers were paid who otherwise would were destroyed, and key road links were Jane Buchanan not have been. But it was far too little and severed. Many villagers could not get to is associate director for Europe and Central Asia much too late for thousands of workers work and school anymore. The IOC made at Human Rights Watch and led the who had toiled for years. Most had already some efforts to mitigate the damage, but organisation’s research into abuses linked to the left Sochi, and many had been deported by ultimately passed things on to local offi- Sochi Winter Olympics from 2009–2014. the Russian authorities before the Games. cials who proved reluctant to act. [email protected]

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