The objective of the assignment is to undertake a comprehensive review and revision of Bhutan’s National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS) 2019 to ensure that it remains relevant, forward-looking, and it is aligned with the national development priorities, emerging waste management challenges, climate change targets, upcoming NDC 3.0, and international best practices. The revised strategy should provide pathways to address changing waste landscape, including increasing volumes and types of waste, growing urbanization, technological advancements, and the need for inclusive and sustainable waste management.

The assignment will involve identifying gaps in the implementation of the current NWMS, assessing institutional arrangements, evaluating financing mechanisms, and proposing actionable strategies for waste prevention, resource recovery, recycling, treatment, and disposal. The revised strategy will outline goals, targets (short, medium, and long-term), roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, monitoring frameworks, and cross-cutting considerations such as gender inclusion, private sector participation, and community engagement. The consultant will also provide guidance on the upcoming work to develop a Roadmap for Zero Waste. The roadmap will constitute the implementation action plan for the revised National Waste Management Strategy. The update should also incorporate Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Circular Economy principles.