LocationsYouth leads efforts to protect the environment and create livelihoods
October 6, 2024
Some of the products young people make from recycled waste.
With invaluable support from the GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), young people in Eswatini are leading and spearheading efforts to protect the environment and create sustainable livelihoods for themselves and women in their communities. To raise awareness and mobilise additional support for environmental initiatives aimed at reducing plastic waste – often found in rangelands and aquatic spaces, where it poses health risks to both humans and livestock – the Youth Sustainable Development Centre (YSDC) organised a field day at Millennium Park, Manzini, on October 03.
It brought together various youth- and women-led community organisations, and civil society organisations, all united in their commitment to showcase their innovative waste management initiatives.
YSDC is one of 20 NGOs benefiting from a $20,000 GEF-SGP grant received by the Coordinating Assembly of NGOs (CANGO), aimed at building the capacity of local organisations to tackle plastic pollution using a circular economy approach. The GEF-SGP, established by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 1992, supports communities and local civil society organisations (CSOs) in addressing critical environmental challenges. In Eswatini, the GEF-SGP was launched in 2021 and has since disbursed USD 635,000 to support 20 projects and develop the national programme strategy. UNDP has partnered with GEF to provide oversight and administrative support for the SGP.
Nokuthula Mamba
Through the GEF-SGP grant, the YSDC is mobilising communities, especially the youth and women, to embrace waste management practices, including reducing, recycling, and reusing. Speaking at the event, YSDC Executive Director Nokuthula Mamba expressed her gratitude to the GEF-SGP, CANCO, and UNDP for supporting community-based organisations in driving innovation and waste management.
“This is encouraging because Eswatini is one of the countries lagging when it comes to innovation, especially among the youth,” she said, adding: “I’m also happy that school learners are also interested in waste management initiatives, and we have seen the products they have created from waste.”
UNDP Resident Representative, Henrik Franklin, (right) with partners at the event.
Speaking at the same event, UNDP Resident Representative Henrik Franklin said the campaign is relevant because Manzini is the hub of Eswatini regarding population and economic activity. He added that the city should keenly monitor and manage to safeguard the environment and protect livelihoods.
“Therefore, it is encouraging that young people have joined hands with municipalities and the government to address the critical environmental issue of our time — pollution,” he said.
He said the grassroots approaches tend to be sustainable because ownership results from solutions the people have developed.
CANGO Director Thembinkosi Dlamini urged participants to think creatively about their role in reducing plastic waste. He encouraged them to develop innovative solutions that enhance plastic waste management, minimise pollution and carbon emissions, and promote circularity in plastic use.
“The solution models must be environmentally sustainable, economically viable, technically feasible and socially beneficial,” he said.
He said waste management is not just an environmental issue; it’s also an opportunity for women, especially in impoverished communities, to be empowered.
Models showcasing outfits made from recycled waste.
The Municipal Council of Manzini Chief Health Inspector Musa Sibandze, who was standing in for the Chief Executive Officer, Lungile Dlamini, echoed the same sentiments. Sibandze said the municipality actively engages with the youth and other stakeholders in waste upcycling programmes.
“I’m glad to further mention that the municipality has already established other running programmes to end plastic pollution which includes the existence of a buy-back centre and waste segregation at source,” he said. He further urged other stakeholders to support and collaborate for the sustainability of these initiatives.
Belusile Mhlanga from the Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA) urged partners to support the youth and women by ensuring that they create sustainable livelihoods through quality products that can be exported. She was representing the EEA Executive Director, Gcina Dladla.
“Let us introduce quality control to these products so that they meet the required standards,” said Mhlanga. UNDP, in collaboration with the Eswatini Standards Authority, are in the process of developing and piloting a local standard to support to support local small businesses.
EEA and UNDP collaborated in the design and implementation of the Phatsa Sakho Nawe campaign which led to a 60% reduction in the single-use shopping plastic bags in the country. Subsequently, the government banned single-use shopping plastic bags as of 01 December 2024.
Some of the participants listening to speeches at he event.