1. Clearing the garbage
situation in Nepal
A memo written by Adrien Dubuisson
To the attention of Mrs Pramada Shah and related stakeholders
2. A bit of context in the Nepal of today
An uncontrolled garbage emission
–
Rising economy with a market opening to more industrial goods with large use
of packaging.
–
High level of water pollution in big city rivers, especially Kathmandu…
–
An alerting situation in remote areas where acess is made difficult : Khumdu
valley, Annapurnas…
•
The garbage issue not viewed as a top priority at the moment
–
Instable political situation nationwide : lack of governmental reaction
–
Insufficient support from associations, NGOs and private actors
•
The absence of a structured recycling industry in the country
–
Waste of economic potential and bad habits for the populations
3. The risks associated to this situation
(around contaminated areas but not only)
•
For populations :
–
Water supply issues
–
New diseases with a multiplication of nuisibles (insects, infections, allergies...)
–
Social discontent
•
For visitors :
–
Negative reputation back home
•
For entire economy :
–
Loss of control of the consumption chain (in exponential growth)
–
Improper environment for achieving in higher living standards for future generations
–
Plausible loss of touristic attraction in future years (with direct impact on Nepal GDP,
highly depending on tourism)
5. About the Clear Waters project
•
A private initiative, under the form of an association or NGO,
aimed at bringing local support for a better management of
garbage emissions and the setup of a structured recyling
industry working on the long-run.
•
Why the waters?
–
Because in the end, it all goes back to the waters !
7. Why Nepal as a first theater of operations?
An anomalistic situation
●
Nepal has a lot of potential in some key industries of the future, such as eco-tourism and
environment. There is nothing today that justifies the fact the Nepal is not a leading
country in these areas. It is a priority for this country to fight for a cleaner soil.
A perfect field of experimentation
●
Thanks to its specific geography and culture, Nepal should be able to demonstrate quick
enhancement in the Garbage issues of today : small populated areas, active ethnic
groups, low wage.
A higly symbolic land
●
Thanks to the world fame of the Everest and the vivid Sherpa culture and its network of
supporters, the Khumbu Valley would be a perfect test-action scene. A perfect place to
raise awareness on the recycling cause, not only in Nepal and also internationally.
8. Clearwaters Everest Challenge :
How does it operate?
1. By monetizing the collection and treatment of garbage
2. By attracting, powerful endorsers around the project
3. By implicating all the stakeholders : from the local minorities to the firms
involved in the pollution.
4. By implementing concrete solutions based on solid scientific studies
focusing on long-term impacts and recylcling opportunities specific to the
local garbage market.
NB : these 4 points are further discussed in the exhibits, at the end of this
document. For more details, meet you on page 13.
9. Models of inspiration for CWn
The Epode Program : fights against childhood obesity in France and now abroad.
More details at : http://www.epode.fr
or http://www.epode-european-network.com/
● Specificities of this program :
● An innovative public-private partnership, involving in the same project local
actors of the childhood sphere in more than 150 cities in France and some food
industry leaders who support financially the association.
● An autonomous orgnization able to initiate and coordinate long-term actions
focused on obesity reduction.
NB, my relation to the project : I've been working on the project for about a year,
establishing most of the content strategy applied online today.
10. A good timing for launching?
● 2011 : « year for tourism » in Nepal.
A perfect occasion to draw attention on specific Nepal environmental issues
and solutions for the future. A perfect occasion for launching publicly the
Clear Waters Nepal project on the international scene.
13. Exhibit section
● Exhibits 1 : Cwn Everest Challenge modus operandi
● 1A / Identifying the sources of pollution
● 1B / Actions already undertaken in the valley
● 1C / The principle of monetizing the garbage
● 1D / Differenciating the sources of financing
● 1E / How to involve corporations and why should they participate?
● 1F / Concrete setup in the Valley
● 1G / Spotting the endorsers
● 1H / Having the scientific studies produced
● 1I / Some additional ideas
● Exhibit 2 : Cwn on the long-run
● The four phases of development
14. 1A / Identifying the sources of pollution
● A quick observation along the Khumdu Valley allows
to say that the local touristic industry relies on four
main actors, sources of damage at different levels.
● Porters are the ones who carry the loads of goods
that will be sold or transformed higher in the
mountain. Their level of education is usually low,
their work is amazingly painful and they are the
grand losers of the recent economic boom.
– Their pollution implication is direct as they
drop almost all they consume in the nature
(essentially due to lack of garbage bins on site
and education on the subject).
– Their added contribution is significant.
– Their revenue is as low as 20 Nepali roupies
per kilo per day of carrying (own
calculations)
– They are key in the process as they serve as
vehicles for all the goods consumed.
15. 1A / Identifying the sources of pollution
● Guest-house owners centralize 90% of the tourists consumption on site. The
collection and destruction of their garbage loads is random. Their participation
level in prevention campaigns of any kind is close to 0. Most of them collect the
garbage in large holes behind their accomodations.. Some is supposedly taken
down, some is burnt in summer. Most of it is lost in nature (due to winds and
mansoon rains).
16. 1A / Identifying the sources of pollution
.
● Guides and porter guides are the ones who accompany tourists along the path.
Usually well paid and more educated than average, their direct implication in
garbage emission is low. Nevertheless, their contribution to the prevention
messages is low too. Sensibilisation fo the toursits and local guest-house owners
might be enhanced through their implication.
● Tourists who come in the Khumdu valley are usually sensitive to environment
issues. Nevertheless, they are the ones who consume and create indirectly the
major flow of goods to come up in the mountain. Their support to the local
campaign is key as it might help enroll a large number of guest-house owners in
a better waste management. They might also participate directly through the
collection « on way » of the garbage and financial donations.
17. 1B / Actions already undertaken in the Valley
It is to be noticed that some actions are already undertaken in the area.
Unfortunately most of them are not coordinated and based on old prevention
methods that have proved inefficient over time. Existing solutions are quite poorly
designed.
● Two great examples :
● Rules billboards : unsufficiently disseminated in the National Park they are
misunderstandable for most visitors and simply hard to read. These message are
unable to lead to any change in behavior. They lack of practical value.
● Garbage bins are very insufficient along the paths. One can walk for an entire
day without locating any, especially between Namche Bazaar and Lobuche.
When existing, these bins are simply poorly designed : either their emptying is
very complicated or they simply have holes at the bottom, releasing all the
garbage deposited into nature.
18. An example
of billboard
« You should segregate burnable and non-burnable garbage.
Dispose burnable garbage properly at permitted area »…
20. 1C / The principle of monetizing the garbage
● Due to the amount of visible pollution already existing and the growing proportion of
emissions every year, there is no doubt that an effective action can not go without
paying for the collection and treatment of the garbage created.
Sponsoring what is seen as none value today, and developing a process aimed at
financing this action in the long-tun is what is referred as monetizing the garbage
in this document.
● Goods go up but garbage rarely comes down. The reasons are easy to understand.
Porters who are the vehicle of all goods carried along the Valley are not
financially motivated. Not only do they take part in one of the most difficult jobs
ever but moreover, their wage is so low that it is hard, under these conditions to
ask them for an additional effort.
● By sponsoring the garbage taken down, not only would we see the amount of
rejections in nature dramatically diminished but we would also offer a way for
porters to gain substantial money. A way on the long-run to enhance their living
conditions and therefore, their awareness of the environmental issues.
● Under this perspective it makes no doubt that porters are key constituants of this
project.
21. 1D / Differentiating potential sources of
financing for the Cwn Everest Challenge
● Individual contributors (essentially visitors and tourists)
● Through donation boxes on-site but also at the airport.
● Through the website
● Through joint communication actions (with other associations or NGOs)
● Fund raisers
● Through the tradictional Environment Lobbying Sphere
● Through related fondations
● International agencies and other NGOs (UNDP, etc.)
● For prevention purposes and the construction of the accomodations needed
.
● Private corporations whose products are involved in the pollution process. (either
directly or through their fondations). More details on the next page.
22. 1E / How to involve corporations and why
should they participate?
● Corporate communication has become a sensitive subejct over the last 10 years. The
emergence of this new media called Internet and the level of awareness about
environmental risks by the world population, made more popular and powerful the
messages of involved associations (Greenpeace and WWF among others).
● Key issue of the present day, big corporations are now aware that a substantial part
of their communication budget has to be devoted to what is called Crisis
Communication. The recent cases of Bhopal and Coca-Cola in India are perfect
examples of this threat combining social protests and governmental actions.
● « Coca-Cola was India's leading soft drink until 1977 when it left India after a
new government ordered .... blaming the company for causing water shortages
and pollution »
● Moreover, a new logic is getting born in industrialised countries which states that
corporations are reponsible for the garbage they initiate. Most of these companies
today are legally tendered to participate in the reduction of their garbage emission
through taxes or direct actions like financing the recycling industry. Most of them
are also involved in charity actions (most of the time through tax deductible
donations) that they use as corporeate communication material to demonstrate their
level of ethics.
23. 1E / How to involve corporations and why
should they participate?
● That is why, the Cwn project should include to take deals with corporations whose
products appear as garbage in the Valley, offering them the ability to turn this
criticizable situation into a positive action they could communicate on.
● The threat of communication campaigns lead by the Cwn association that might
include direct naming and contests of photographies online if these corporations
refuse to participate is not to be excluded. Governmental action (such as the creation
of a tax) should be examined as a last resort as it could damage the economic rise of
the local business.
● Is it necessary to remind that almost every person on earth knows the Everest. Thus
it is a very valuable communication material that would be offered to these brands.
An opportunity for their communication and lobbying departments to ally their
image with the most impressive creation of Nature (Strong appeal).
MAIN BRANDS TO BE INVOLVED (among others) :
-The Coca-Cola company (Coke, Sprite and Fanta, + mineral waters brands)
-Pepsico Inc. (Lays chips and Cheetos, + mineral waters brands)
-Procter & Gamble (Pringles chips)
-Mars Inc. (Mars, Snickers, Twix, Bounty...)
-...
25. 1F / Concrete setup in the Valley
CREATION OF A GARBAGE MARKET
● Based on preliminary observations, the collection and treatment process of garbage
should include the porters as key constituants of the process. Nevertheless, it does
not exclude local non-porter population whose contribution would be thanked under
the same conditions.
● Any local who brings garbage in one of Cwn's facilities, either it is collected
inside the guest-houses, in the bins or elsewhere along the paths will be offered
a money retribution corresponding to the amount of garbage taken down.
● The value given to garbage should equal or exceed the minimum price paid to
porters for carrying goods up in the valley (20NRps minimum per kilo)
26. 1F / Concrete setup in the Valley
SETUP OF A WAREHOUSE IN NAMCHE.
● In order to function properly, and upon all the Valley, a mid-altitude warehouse
should be setup at 3,500m in Namche Bazar, main economic center and nartural hub
in the region.
● All the garbage collected at higher altitudes shall be brought at this place in order to
receive a coupon that will grant access to retribution once a month.
● The constitution of this warehouse should lead to the creation of one permanent job
with the following missions :
● collect and store the garbage,
● account and distribute the coupons
● grant access to the money payments (once a month)..
27. 1F / Concrete setup in the Valley
SETUP OF A MINI-RECYCLING CHAIN IN LUKLA
● Another warehouse should be created not far from Lukla airport. This second
facilitaty will have the same attributes as the one in Namche where will be collected
all the garbage collected at lower altitude (<3500m).
● An additional mission will be to filter the garbage and separate it for recycling
purposes :
● Plastic bottles
● Plastic packagings
● Paper packagings
● Bottle plastic caps
● Miscellanuous plastic wastes
● After reorganization, the process includes the shipping of the waste back to
producers who will benefit from a ready-to-use material at low cost.
● Two jobs could be created to maintain this facility
28. 1F / Concrete setup in the Valley
MONEY PAYMENTS
● Shall be effective once a month, in order to be able to account the exact amount of
garbage collected and prevent the organization from leaks or misusages of the
money.
● It will allow the creation of a ranking, bringing the best contributors an additional
incentive (goods, food or financial incentive).
● It will also prevent tourists whou would bring some garbage down from asking
retribution as their action shall only be motivated by non-financial purposes.
● Eventually, it will make the accounting of the association easier by reducing the gap
between the date of collection and the date of shipping at the producer's facility.
29. 1G / Spotting the endorsers
Among the non financial partners of the project, Cwn should try to involve :
● The Hillary family
● possible bridge for fund raising, and lobbying (in Europe)
● great figures among the Sherpas, they are able to accelerate the local support to
the project
● their venue once a year is a great occasion to organize a rally around the Cwn
Everest Challenge action and distribute prizes to the best contributors.
● Religious authorities (especially buddhists whose moral influence is powerful in the
region)
● to accelerate the local support and back internationally the organization
● The existing local organizations, the UNPD and NGOs operating in the valley
● For the creation of prevention booklets and posters among other things.
● The travel agencies and main Tour-operators
● For communication purposes, fund raising and international visibility
(accelerate the admission of sponsors for the project).
30. 1H / Having the scientific studies produced
Through the setup of a third kind of partnership (after the sponsors and the endorsers).
● These scientific partnerships might include either foreign universities,
environmental associations with scientific capacities, leading coporations in the
environment industries or all of them at once.
THE CASE OF THE CORPORATIONS SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION :
● Suez or Veolia for example are two organizations which might endorse the
scientific part of this project by sending one or two team-mates in Nepal for a
12 months research period with the objective of producing a consolidated report
at the end of their mission.
● Feasible under what is called the VIE protocol in France, the sending of two
professionals, or college graduates would be a small investment for these firms.
● In exchange of their human contribution, they could appear as partners of the
project and communicate on it.
31. 1I / Some additional ideas
PLASTIC BOTTLE CAPS IN FAVOR OF THE SHERPAS
● Plastic bottle caps are one of the most visible pollution on the Everest trek. It is
also one of the smallest, thus difficult to collect.
● An interesting case reveals how plastic bottle caps can be collected and used for
good purposes in France. The idea comes from an association that collects these
caps and resells them to the beverage industry,, making a revenue able to
finance their activity.
● This idea might be used in the Everest Challenge in order to bring support to the
defense and conservation of the Sherpa Culture. A good way to involve local
communities and animate the yearly rally when the amount of money collected
will be revealed and the check given from the hands of Sir Hillary Jr.
More about this idea : http://www.bouchonsdamour.com/
32. 1I / Some additional ideas
AN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CONEST
● Garbage bins are a major issue for Cwn. In fact in order to be effective, the
collection of garbage should go through the dissemination of these bins all
along the trek.
● But in order to be fully effective, these bins should be designed smartly. Their
conception should involve :
– A low cost of production
– The usage of local materials produced in Nepal
– An effective filling and unfilling mechanism that will help porters to use
them and carry their loads.
● This might give birth to an international online contest. This innovative
approach, with the help of other environmental and long established
associations might help the project to get known. It might also attract
universities among the partners of the project.
33. So that the Everest Valley remains a land of inspiration for future generations :
Clear Waters Nepal, The Everest Challenge
34. Exhibit 2 : Cwn development in 4 phases
BESIDES THE EVEREST CHALLENGE
35. Exhibit 2 : Cwn development in 4 phases
PHASE 1 : The setup phase
2010 - 2011
● Creation of a Bureau that will coordinate actions
● Drawing the Test-Program countours and validate them
● Contact potential partners and endorsers
● Unify other associations around the project
● Launch a first scientific and technical study
● Conception and setup of Website
36. Exhibit 2 : Cwn development in 4 phases
PHASE 2 : The ProgramPhase (Everest Challenge)
2012 - 2015
● Launching of the test-program in the Khumdu Region
● Measuring the bureau decision process efficiency
● Measuring (through feedbacks) the Test-program results
● Production of PR & communication materials
● Raise of international awarenes on the matter through press and partners (NGO
alliances)
37. Exhibit 2 : Cwn development in 4 phases
PHASE 3 : The ExpansionPhase (Kathmandu Challenge)
2015 - 2016
● Launching of the extended programs in new regions of Nepal, incl. Kathmandu
● Communication upon the Test-program materials
● Building of an international support community online and offline
38. Exhibit 2 : Cwn development in 4 phases
PHASE 4 : The maturation phase
2016 - 2020
● Measuring and taking corrective actions
● Addition of new missions to the extended program
● Maintenance of a PR and ePR level near potential
39. Thank you for your attention to this memo,
Adrien Dubuisson
http://www.adriendubuisson.com
Mob : +33(0) 6 74 62 64 95
Email : adrien.dubuisson@gmail.com
