Project 5/12: Châtellerault (France) – Kaya (Burkina Faso)
For the second time, PLATFORMA has decided to reward the best city-to-city and region-to-region international cooperation projects. Twelve projects have been shortlisted out of 26 applications. Every day, we are presenting one new project (sorted by alphabetical order). This is how the town of Châtellerault in France is presenting its partnership with Kaya in Burkina Faso.
«The towns of Châtellerault (France), Herzogenaurach (Germany) and Kaya (Burkina Faso) have been working in partnership on the management of household solid waste since 2016. The involvement of the municipalities relays the associative initiative of twinning committees active in this field since the 2000s. This cooperation is supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
To specifically improve public hygiene and the health of populations and contribute to the reduction of GHG, a first innovative multi-partner project was set up to organise solid sanitation in the urban part of Kaya – 68,000 inhabitants. This programme, which started in 2017, has made it possible to draw up a waste management plan, to rally round and start building the capacities of stakeholders, to equip collection organisations and to mobilise a first financial instrument dedicated to the setting up of waste management works and infrastructures.
The programme applies participatory methods aimed at setting up a solid waste management (SWM) system adapted to the technical and financial capacities of a municipality. It draws and builds on the experience gained from the Support Project for Municipal Waste Management in Secondary Cities (PAGDM/VS) rolled out by the NGOs CEAS Burkina (Burkina Faso) and Autre Terre (Belgium). A first step has made it possible to consolidate the partnership between the 3 twin cities and CEAS Burkina, tasked with assisting the project owner.
The French local authority of Châtellerault was a pioneer in implementing a legal instrument allowing it to mobilise up to 1% of its waste budget to support development projects abroad. This dual practice has led to the sharing of experiences, organised by the regional multi-stakeholder solidarity network SO Coopération.
These exchanges drew interest from several authorities in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region who also wish to get involved in waste management:
– the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the Plateau Central region had carried out a preliminary study on waste management, creating links between Evolis 23, SYDED 87 (two inter-municipal waste management syndicates) and the town of Ziniaré;
– the Chauvigny twinning committee, in partnership with the municipality of Banfora since 1976, had been engaged in SWM actions since 2017.
The consortium of local authorities from Nouvelle-Aquitaine, headed by Châtellerault in France and Kaya in Burkina Faso, is benefiting from new funding from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (Sustainable Cities in Africa). The project comprises four actions, the first three of which are taking place in Burkina-Faso, the fourth, in France, focusing on raising awareness of waste issues in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and around the world.
The first three actions of the project contribute to improving the living conditions of the populations of medium-sized towns in Burkina Faso through better solid waste management. The project thus contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.»
