Some happy,others sad: exploring environmental justice in solid waste management in Kinshasa,The Democratic Republic of Congo

This paper explores the concept of environmental justice (EJ) in solid waste management (SWM) in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It evaluates the extent to which EJ occurs in SWM and discusses the factors accounting for this state of affairs. The paper examines the relevant theoretical framework(s) and mechanisms that would facilitate the attainment of EJ in Kinshasa. It is argued that solid waste (SW) often ends up in the poorest and least powerful communities in the cities of the DRC. A qualitative research methodology, which includes exhaustive critical review of the literature, system analysis, reflections from best practices through case studies and discussion with stakeholders, was used for this study. Findings revealed that SWM in Kinshasa is a duty entrusted to publicly-funded municipal authorities. There are evidences of a clear divide between the rich and poor neighbourhoods in the manner SW is managed. This is an inequality that has only recently begun to be recognised as injustice practices in SWM. It is argued that a politico-cultural mechanism on remedying SWM inequities could enable changes that will address EJ in Kinshasa. Such a solution will go directly against the prevailing notion “some happy, others sad”.     

Municipal solid waste management in South Africa: from waste to energy recovery through waste-to-energy technologies in Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

“Waste-to-energy” (WTE) technologies have been presented as one of the avenues to improve the management of solid waste whilst promoting clean and healthy urban environments through the recovery of waste and generation of energy. Research suggests that with the right investment in technologies and institutional changes, waste can potentially become a resource that can contribute to the socio-economic development of cities. It is in this context that this paper presents a review of the literature on WTE technologies and their implications on sustainable waste management in urban areas. The paper particularly contributes to our understanding of WTE technologies and its potential on Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is estimated that the city of Johannesburg’s landfills airspace will be completely depleted by year 2023. This projection becomes a motivation for the identification of suitable WTE alternative avenues to manage waste in the city. The paper argues that WTE technologies can contribute significantly to sustainable waste management, economic growth, ecological and environmental well-being.     

Migration as an adaptive strategy to climate variability: a study of the Tonga‐speaking people of Southern Zambia

There is increasing consensus that the effects of extreme weather conditions in the form of drought, flooding and extreme temperature will have increasingly devastating impacts on those who depend on climate‐sensitive resources and ecosystems for their livelihoods. The most affected will be the poor in developing countries who have a low adaptive capacity to climate change due to high poverty levels. Despite these projections, there are, to date, insufficient empirical studies linking the relationship between climate change and migration, particularly in the context of southern Africa. Using field‐based data collected from two study locations in Zambia, this paper examines the complex relationship between extreme weather events and population movement. It is envisaged that the findings presented in this paper will contribute to current discussions on the complex relationship between extreme weather conditions and population movement specifically in the context of sub‐Saharan Africa and other developing countries.     

Sustainable solid waste management in sub-Saharan African cities: application of system thinking and system dynamic as methodological imperatives in Kinshasa,the Democratic Republic of Congo

This paper is based on a review of the methodological approaches associated with solid waste management (SWM) in the context of sub-Saharan African (SSA) cities. Using Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as a case study, the paper proposes a new way of looking at solid waste in the bid to come up with alternative methods to improve the plight of SWM. A combination of qualitative research methods and system analysis have been employed to evaluate the causal relationships observed in contemporary SWM systems in Kinshasa. This paper argues that there is an absence of coherent and broad-based approaches to SWM in Kinshasa as is common in other SSA countries. Empirical evidence suggests that contemporary SWM strategies and approaches developed on a global scale which have increasingly been adopted by the Congolese national and local government authorities have proven inadequate to address the SWM realities on a local level. Using system thinking and system dynamics, this paper attempts to develop a feasible methodological framework focusing on the formulation of an appropriate approach to improve SWM in Kinshasa. It is argued that new ways of approaching the complexity that exists in SWM will facilitate the adoption of technologies and innovative ways of thinking and managing solid waste in a more sustainable, socially, and environmentally accepted manner.