Most fast-growing cities in South Asia face waterlogging and water contamination from improperly managed solid waste. Extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, are expected to further aggravate the situation and impact water supply, drainage, and sewerage infrastructure. Protecting cities requires reducing waste and improving waste collection, investment in drainage, replacing riverside and wetland dumping with engineered landfills, and identifying sustainable mechanisms to finance waste management.

Flooding and extreme rain events are major threats from climate change in South Asia, particularly in cities. The effects of climate-driven heavy rainfall and storm surges are exacerbated in urban centres because of inadequate drainage systems for managing run-off, and improper dumping of municipal solid waste in the drainage system and surrounding areas. Vulnerable cities are at immediate risk of loss of lives, assets and infrastructure, and loss of productivity as a result of disease outbreaks caused by waterlogged drains and contaminated drinking water. To enable waste to be managed under circumstances of extreme or frequent flooding and heavy rainfall, cities will need to become more resilient.

Workshop Objectives

Against this backdrop, ICIMOD’s South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), in collaboration with the Asian Center for Development (ACD), Bangladesh, and Institute of Water Modeling (IWM), Bangladesh, is organizing a one-day review workshop of ongoing research at the ICIMOD headquarters in Kathmandu on 1 October 2018. A similar review workshop will also be held in Chitwan on 3 October, in collaboration with the office of the Bharatpur Metropolitan City.

The ongoing research on “The Economics of Solid Waste Management and Drainage: Sustainable Approach to Making South Asian Cities Climate-Resilient,” falls under the wider theme of “Climate Change and Cities (CCC).” The main objectives of this workshop are:

1. To review the main results of the joint research
2. To review the progress made so far
3. To review and revise the planned activities for remaining components of the research