GEOG @ GSAL: January 2010

Sunday 31 January 2010

Waste Disposal in Nairobi - Kenya

Waste recycling is an important part of the everyday economy in Nairobi. Both formal and informal workers benefit froma wide variety of programmes the majority of which are community based and NGO driven. Summarise the following two schemes which demonstrate the key peinciples of sustainability by thinking globally and acting locally.

http://www.cityfarmer.org/NairobiCompost.html
http://www.pasmand-co.com/main/upload/generalwaste/Managment/29.pdf

Waste Management in the LEDW - The Zabbaleen

The Zabbaleen Environment and Development Program: Cairo

The Concept of Integrated Sustainable Waste Management refers to a waste management system that best suits the society, economy and environment in a given location, a city in most cases. The concept of ISWM not only takes technical or financial-economic sustainability into account as in conventionally done, but it also includes sociocultural, environmental, institutional and political aspects that influence overall sustainability of waste management. ISWM also stands for a strategic and long-term approach. Waste management is seen in the ISWM approach as an equity and public health issue, which means that everybody has a right to a regular waste collection and proper sanitation.

In the context of ISWM 'sustainable' can be described as:

appropriate to the local conditions from a technical, environmental, social,
economic, financial, institutional, and political perspective, and;
capable to maintain itself over time without exhausting the resources it needs

'Integrated' refers to the integration of:

different aspects of sustainability (technical, environmental/public health financial, etc.)
different collection and treatment options at different habitat scales, i.e. household, neighbourhood and city level (operational interaction)
different stakeholders, governmental or non-governmental, formal or informal, profit- or non-profit oriented (co-operation, linkages, alliances, economic and social interaction)
the waste management system and other urban systems (such as drainage, energy, urban agriculture, etc.)

In Cairo, a partnership formed by local, national, and international organisations has successfully transformed a community through the Zabbaleen Environment and Development program. Since the program began in 1981, quality of life has improved in a formerly neglected community; thousands of jobs have been created as an improved municipal waste collection and recycling system has been implemented. At the intersection of poverty and the environment, the Zabbaleen Environment and Development program fashioned productive solutions.

Greater Cairo generates thousands of tons of solid waste per day. The municipal sanitation force shares management of the waste with a traditional, private-sector collection system run by two poor social groups, the Wahis and the Zabbaleen. With more than a century in Cairo's garbage trade, the Wahis control the collection routes and contracts with homeowners. The Zabbaleen pick up waste and transport it to their settlement on the city's fringe, where it is sorted and recycled, or used for animal fodder.

A community with little or no organization or power, the Zabbaleen enjoyed few basic services when the program began almost 20 years ago, and suffered from environmental devastation, little economic opportunity, lack of education, and a host of other problems endemic to urban slums. The Zabbaleen Environment and Development Program has made significant improvement in this community.

The ZEDP had two primary objectives: to improve the living conditions and build the capacity of the Zabbaleen; and to create a more efficient solid waste management system for Cairo. Today the most visible transformation is the community's physical appearance, resulting from substantial government improvements in community infrastructure. There are now approximately 1,500 houses in the settlement, many of which are multi-story, concrete-block structures, more than double the some 700 one-story shacks in the area in 1981. The number of inhabitants has almost tripled over 12 years, rising from 5,881 in 1981 to 16,600 in 1993.

New infrastructure, clean-up projects and the organization of a composting plant are all ZEDP projects which have helped to improve the overall cleanliness of the settlement. In turn, public health has improved, with infant and child mortality decreasing from 240 per thousand in 1979 to 117 per thousand in 1991.

Health and environmental benefits initiated in the ZEDP have had wider effects in greater Cairo. The Route Extension Project, funded by the NGO, Oxfam, brought 8,000 more homes into the Zabbaleen collection system, helping to create a much cleaner city overall. Recycling programs born of ZEDP have significantly reduced the environmental burden of waste disposal. The ZEDP composting plant mentioned above now produces fertilizer that is free of chemicals and harmful contaminants.

The economic benefits are also numerous. Household income has increased twenty times over the past ten years. Recycling activities and projects created a diversified urban economy and additional income. Women and children have been relieved of the long and arduous process of sorting, and are free to engage in various other income-generating, educational and recreational activities.

The driving vision behind the PEDP, as with the ZEDP in Cairo, is to create a sustainable community for the waste pickers, while simultaneously integrating them into a more effective waste management process for the city.

Further information

Cairo Insight - also good info on Traffic Issues here:
http://www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/curriculum/social_sciences/sec_geography/resources/metropolises/cairo.html

Zabbaleen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23780270
http://www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Zabbaleen_-_May08.html
http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/cairo-finding-its-own-way-in-waste-collection
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/standard/display/slideshow.php?ftrv_id=64259&slide=1

Interesting articles here on tradition v modern practise in waste management in Cairo
http://www.eldis.org/id21ext/U6wf1g1.html
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/969/sc1.htm

Saturday 30 January 2010

Ageing Population - The increasing cost of Social Care

The increasing ageing population in the UK continues to cause problems for those involved in Social Care and Welfare. Recent reports highligh the concerns many have for the future:

Follow this link to the BBC story and then explore the links from this page. You will find some excellent material to support your notes on Ageing Population.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8488219.stm

Friday 29 January 2010

Future town centre retailing

The Government have set their agenda for town centre retailing in line with the SSP1 objectives. Check this link for further background information.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/local-shops

See other Blog links on Retail - and Out of Town Shopping Centres

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Rich and Poor Gap in UK wider than 40 years ago

A report out today highlights the key factors behind the apparent widening gap beteween the rich and the poor sectors of UK scoiety. The gap between rich and poor in the UK is wider now than 40 years ago, a government-commissioned report says.

"Deep-seated and systemic differences" remain between men and women and minority groups in pay and employment, the National Equality Panel found.

It said in areas such as neighbourhood renewal, taxes and education, policy action was needed to limit inequality.

Follow the links below for further information and as A Level studenst you need to be making notes from these two sources

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8481534.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/27_01_10_inequality.pdf

Thursday 21 January 2010

Guildford Townscape Assessment

Everything you need to know about the built environment of Guildford.

Follow the link:
http://www.guildford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9639A6DE-6C24-417C-A55F-5FD73020B11F/0/TownscapeAssessmentMastercopy.pdf

For the Environment Agency Floodmap type Guildford into the search - zoom in and pan around - look at the location of the tow path cycle routes.
http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/

Sunday 17 January 2010

Links to Schools

Using the Links to Schools Case Studies as a template review the GSAL Travel Plan and write a synopisis of the plan's implementation and impact in terms of cycling:

What improvements were made?

What monitoring took place and how was this carried out?

What were the Benefits?

What were the wider community benefits?

For more background check out the links on the previous Blog (Mon 11), together with the links from the url below:
http://www.schooltravelplans.org/links.asp#5

Monday 11 January 2010

Guildford Council Response to A Level Enquiries for Geog 4b

China One Child Policy - Gender Imbalance Issues

The changing population structure of China has once again hit the headlines.

Follow the link below for more background information

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8451289.stm

Follow the See More links from this page - some excellent information for your notes

Happy Snow Day - again!!!

Wednesday 6 January 2010

Population Control in the UK!

Population Growth continues to be a major concern across the world and the UK begins to face its own crisis. Check out these links?

Make notes on the key details and add them to your notes on Optimum Population.

What would the Neo Malthusians make of this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8442662.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8356226.stm