Environment
Waste treatment in the nomadic communities of Kham
Situation
In this region no refuse collection, sorting or recycling infrastructures exist. So household wastes and hospital wastes are left by the roadsides, at the gates of the villages, in the rivers, in the fields or sometimes in open-air collection stations.
This non-management of wastes has some dangerous impacts on health, on economy and on environmental protection. About 65% of the inhabitants of Sershul are nomads; so they depend on their herds to stay healthy and they are particularly vulnerable when it comes to environmental changes.
Objectives, strategy
The objectives of Norlha are:
- To make the local population aware of waste issues.
- To implement a waste sorting settlement and means of transport to recycling or incineration centres, by exploring the possibility of selling wastes (PET, glass, metals). A sustainable approach allowing earning a little income for the project and making the system progressively and partially autonomous.
Means of intervention
The implementation of the project will start in a few villages as pilot projects; after an evaluation and the defining of possible improvements the project will be applied in other valleys.
Sensitizing, information and documentation/education
Norlha produces and shares teaching aid concerning hygiene, health and wastes issues.
In each village participative community debates and workshops about health and waste are organised.
2007: production and distribution of an informative short film concerning household waste and its handling: PET, glass, plastic, metals, batteries, chemical products, etc. in a local language (khampa dialect).
2008-09: production and distribution in schools of an illustrated count designed for children to sensitize them to waste and environmental issues, produced in collaboration with Unipoly.
2009: production of explanation sheets (picture below) for schools in Sershul and area: explaining 5 main themes to understand the environment and to limit human impacts on nature: bioaccumulation, water cycle, atmosphere and global warming, photosynthesis and finally waste sorting.
2010:
• Training of local waste management staff
• Sensitization workshops involving 700 adults and 820 children
• Collection of recyclable and non-recyclable waste in 3 villages
• Awareness raising in schools, distribution of awareness materials
• Improvement of waste management, technical advice on the future location of landfills and the necessary technical improvements
• Dialogue with local authorities
• New initiatives for the collection and cleaning were done at the initiative of schools and local groups.
Partners
This project is supported by the Fedevaco ; it was developed in collaboration with Unipoly, an association for sustainable development of the UNIL (University of Lausanne) and the EPFL (Federal polytechnic institute of Lausanne).
Project managers: Alexandra Florin and Diane von Gunten
Links & resources
> Unipoly
> Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China
> Environmental protection & community development in the Tibetan Plateau region of China
> “La fonte des glaciers du plateau du Qinghai-Tibet inquiète les scientifiques chinois"