Offering new perspectives to long-lasting cooperation

After a request for assistance in tackling a waste management and treatment challenge of the municipality of Ziniaré (Burkina Faso), Evolis 23, already partner of the municipality, applied to CONNECT. Let’s discover what happened during this CONNECT exchange, which showed a new side of CONNECT mechanism: to make existing collaborations flourish.

CONNECT exchange

From 14 to 18 January, a Burkinabé delegation consisting of the mayor of Ziniaré, Pascal Campaoré, his second deputy-mayor, and two technicians, visited their partner’s region (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France) and learned about how waste is managed and treated there. As both Evolis 23 and the delegation from Ziniaré were already well acquainted with the exact needs for improvement in Ziniaré, the visit could focus on these specific areas.

Existing partnership

Before the two local authorities applied to CONNECT, previous collaborations on waste management already took place between the regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (France) and Plateau-Central (Burkina Faso). Those regions were awarded with the second prize of the first edition of the PLATFORMAwards.

Located only 35 km away from the capital Ouagadougou, Ziniaré is – with 85,000 inhabitants – among the largest Burkinabé municipalities. Evolis 23, based in Noth (France), is a public body operating particularly on waste management in more than 100 municipalities located in the north-west of Creuse department.

A different perspective

For both parties which were already familiar with each other and the challenges faced, this participation in the CONNECT exchange enabled them to change perspectives. This time, the representatives of Ziniaré visited the surroundings of Limoges in order to see how the French partner has tackled similar challenges to the ones that are now urgents in Ziniaré. Just before this exchange, representatives of the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Evolis 23 visited the region of Plateau-Central in Burkina Faso.

Challenges in Ziniaré: 5,000 tons of waste per year

Since he was elected in June 2016 for his first electoral term, mayor Compaoré is committed to tackle the challenges of household waste management. The municipality has elaborated in a ten-year strategic plan, concerning 26,000 inhabitants and 5,000 tons of waste per year. The Burkinabé delegation was particularly enthusiastic about the model of “intercommunalité” (inter-municipality model) of Evolis 23: «We are at an embryonic stage, with two people working on waste management in our municipality. Getting 140 technicians like Evolis23 is a utopia, but it’s an example for us,» the Mayor said.

Communicating to citizens

In an interview for the local newspaper La Montagne, Jean-Bernard Damiens, vice president of Evolis 23, who was earlier involved in the establishment of the cooperation between the two regions, points out that Ziniaré has various priorities that need to be addressed. However, he insists that waste management is an issue that, when neglected, can have negative effects on health or food security. For instance, when farm animals eat plastic waste, they get ill, which creates food loss. These risks need to be clarified and communicated locally, explains the deputy mayor of Guéret.

Programme of the week

During the CONNECT exchange, the group visited Syded 87 centre in Limoges, the underground «column» waste container system of the agglomeration of Grand Guéret, composting facilities near residential buildings, and finally Evolis 23 in Noth. The delegation also had various meetings with elected officials, technicians and local media in Bessines and La Souterraine.

Next steps

In Ziniaré, an awareness campaign on waste has just started in schools. The 20th anniversary of the cooperation between Plateau-Central and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (the partnership was set up by the former Limousin region) will be celebrated in February in Ziniaré, with a visit of the president of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

More information?

For more information, please visit the CONNECT website, learn more about the Plateau-Central/Nouvelle-Aquitaine partnership and discover press articles on the exchange (La Montagne; L’Echo de la Creuse; Africazine.com; Sidwaya.info).