| Overview : Since the beginning of 2013, the UNDP Jordan Country Office has been implementing a programme to improve livelihoods and create employment opportunities for host communities affected by the influx of Syrian refugees, as well as to enhance basic service deliveries through supporting the municipalities. The objective of this project, “Mitigating the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on Jordanian vulnerable host communities” is to support vulnerable Jordanians in the host communities of the Northern governorates of Irbid, and Mafraq.
The overall programme is designed to respond to urgent needs of crisis-affected people in a timely and efficient manner, with emphasis on Jordanians in host communities, to increase their absorption capacity and mitigating any possible tensions between Syrian refugees and hosting communities, through two pronged approach:
• To invest in interventions for rapid employment creation and support to basic social services, that are geared towards sustaining stability, in particular in the Northern governorates of Mafraq and Irbid– Pillar I; and
• To strive to translate this into longer-term gains and durable solutions to contribute to some of the issues addressed in national development plans and strategies, in particular with regard to sustainable employment creation, enhanced capacity for service delivery and local economic development – Pillar II.
Solid waste management (SWM) was identified as one of the highest priorities (identified by local actors and partners alike) that the crisis-affected municipalities are facing due to the influx of the Syrian refugees. Around 2.13 million tons of wastes are produced with already increasing by around 3 % annually, and it is estimated that an additional 10 % is added due to the influx of the refugees. While immediate assistance can be provided, for instance, provision of compactors and containers to the municipalities, it is equally important that the support provided be aimed at offering durable solutions for improvement of SWM as a whole including improving the capacity of Alakedir landfill on solid waste disposal in linking to livelihoods and employment creation.
Using a market-led approach, interventions within pillar II helps analyse needs and emerging opportunities of a selected number of high-impact sectors and sub-sectors related to municipal solid waste that are aligned with national priorities with the highest potential for employment creation in particular for the poor, as well as women and youth. Doing so will support their entry into viable markets and expand commercial activity in northern governorates on MSWM with a focus on Mafraq and Irbid under the host community programme (through 2015).
The objective is to identify and support appropriate market linkages within the MSWM sector that will allow to:
- foster commercially viable activities related to the collection and processing of waste;
- strengthen capacity of relevant MSMW actors
- expand access to financial services and support business development service (BDS) that focus on waste processing
- develop stronger enabling environment to foster growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME’s)
Given that less than 5 % of solid waste is recycled and around 60 % of the waste is organic in Jordan, recycling, using, composting, and bio-gas products will be of economic value to the local economy and offer an opportunity to create income generating opportunities. With respect to recycling, there is an informal work force of waste pickers which recovers secondary materials. However for a waste picker to become a middle man or agent would require access to capital for investment in storage and transport facilities, as well as access to the network of end users. To most waste pickers, becoming an agent would be impossible without external assistance or collective action (i.e. through trainings and formulation of a cooperative). Sustainable improvement must involve enabling the market place to offer environmentally acceptable working conditions (including conditions acceptable for women to work) and adequate income to workers at every level of the recycling system. Therefore an analysis of the market for recyclables is required, including an identification of specific entry points for the creation of (self-) employment opportunities for women and youth and the factors which affect market demand, market price, and price stability.
Therefore, the UNDP Jordan intends to conduct an in-depth value chain analysis on Solid Waste under pillar II of the UNDP Host Community Programme to:
- support livelihoods opportunities and improve access to markets for female and male entrepreneurs in the municipal solid waste sector;
- identify constraints and opportunities to the solid waste market system, in particular recycling, reusing and composting;
- design interventions that would enhance the functioning of the chain, including public-private-partnerships (PPP) and enhancing the private sector’s role in local development and employment creation with the due consideration of gender and diversity sensitivity. |
