December 27, 2024
South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bhutan signed a partnership agreement on 17th December 2024 to provide technical assistance to the Royal Government of Bhutan.
The SACEP-implemented and World Bank-funded Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) project, under Component 2, requires SACEP to support the development of enabling Policies, Strategies, and Action Plans and develop a database for plastic life cycle analysis through Technical Assistance (TA) to the Governments of the Member States.
To this end, SACEP and UNDP Bhutan will jointly implement the “Nationwide GIS Mapping of Waste Facilities, Data Collection of Waste Streams Inclusive of Plastic Waste, and GHG Emissions from the Waste Sector” to generate the following outputs:
The findings will be utilized to update Bhutan’s NDC 3.0 by conducting GHG emissions assessments in the waste sector up to 2050.
Under this partnership, SACEP will finance up to a total amount of United States Dollars Fifty-One Thousand Eight Hundred Seventy-Two and Forty Cents (US$ 51,872.4), as well as provide qualified staff and other required inputs for the successful implementation of this Agreement and the intended outputs.
This SACEP-World Bank-UNDP Agreement is an example of coordinated and synergized efforts by development Agencies, avoiding duplication of efforts, as identified and recommended by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MoENR) during the High-Level Round Table Discussion on Plastic Waste Management held on 8th October 2024. This Partnership aims to fulfil our shared interest in reducing plastic pollution in Bhutan and begin fruitful collaboration and partnerships in other potential areas in future.
