The Minister of State in the Vice-President's Office (Environment), Dr Binilith Mahenge (centre), opening the RECP national dissemination seminar in Mwanza. He is flanked by the Executive Director of Cleaner Production Centre of Tanzania (CPCT), Prof Cleophas Migiro (right) and the Director of Water Resources in the Ministry of Water, Mr Hamza Sadiki. PHOTO/MICHAEL JAMSON
In Summary
Since July 2010, the CPCT in collaboration with other National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) in the East African Community (EAC) member countries has been promoting the adoption and implementation of resource efficient and cleaner production techniques and technologies in industries and other business enterprises within the Lake Victoria Basin under the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP II).
By Lucas Liganga
Mwanza. A good number of industries within the Lake Victoria Basin in Mwanza, Kagera and Mara regions have started embracing the concept of resource efficient and cleaner production aimed reducing pollution in Lake Victoria—thanks to the Cleaner Production Centre of Tanzania (CPCT).
Since July 2010, the CPCT in collaboration with other National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) in the East African Community (EAC) member countries has been promoting the adoption and implementation of resource efficient and cleaner production techniques and technologies in industries and other business enterprises within the Lake Victoria Basin under the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II (LVEMP II).
LVEMP II being implemented by the five riparian countries sharing the Lake Victoria Basin, namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, is a follow-up of LVEMP I which was implemented by three EAC member countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 1997 to December 2005.
The main objective of the project is to promote cleaner production technologies under LVEMP II and reduce pollution loads into the Lake Victoria Basin emanating from operations of enterprises by promoting efficient utilization of resources through application of cleaner production techniques and technologies including on-site pre-treatment, recycling and re-use of waste.
The project in Tanzania started in August 2010 focusing mainly on industries located in Bukoba and Musoma municipalities, and in Mwanza city.
Over 100 participants, including policy makers, enterprises, industry associations, institutions of higher learning, the media, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations, gathered in Mwanza on June 30 to hear success stories and challenges faced towards the implementation of RECP.
The national seminar on the implementation of RECP in enterprises within the Lake Victoria Basin under LVEMP II provided a platform for dissemination and sharing of experience with regard to RECP implementation.
Prof Cleophas Migiro, the Executive Director of CPCT, set the ball rolling when he told of success stories from Musoma Textile Mills Limited, Nile Perch Fisheries Limited, Nyanza Bottling Company Limited, Serengeti Breweries Limited (Mwanza plant), Tanganyika Instant Coffee Company, Tanzania Breweries Limited (Mwanza plant), Vicfish Limited – Bukoba and Vicfish Limited – Mwanza.
From the economic point of view, Prof Migiro informed the participants that the eight enterprises have invested a total of about $7.7 million (Sh15.4 billion) towards the implementation of cleaner production while the total savings amounted to about $3.2 million (Sh6.4 billion) in terms of reduced water, materials and energy use. “The pay-back period for the implemented options in the enterprises ranged from 0 to 7 years,” said Prof Migiro.
He said the enterprises registered significant environmental benefits in terms of waste water, solid waste and air emission reduction, adding that these enterprises also recorded improved quality of waste water discharged into the environment.
Businesswise, apart from the mentioned economic and environmental benefits, implementation of RECP has enabled these enterprises to improve the quality of their products, enhance their corporate social responsibility contribution, environmental compliance and corporate image both locally and internationally, and ultimately improving their competitiveness.
“On our (CPCT) part, we believe these case studies will act as a vehicle for sharing information and subsequently sensitize more enterprises to join the project and/or adopt the RECP measures,” said Prof Migiro.
Prof Migiro told the participants that so far 82 enterprises, including industries and hotels, in Bukoba, Musoma, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Ukerewe have been trained in the RECP concept.
Out of these, 44 have already conducted detailed assessment of their operations for purposes of identifying alternative measures to increase resource productivity and reduce environmental pollution.
He said implementation of the identified options in the various enterprises was at different levels.
The success stories on the RECP concept aside, participants were told a number of challenges that were making implementation of RECP difficult, including reluctance by business enterprises to implement it.
Ms Jane Nyakang’o, Cleaner Production Regional Coordinator and Director of Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre (KNCPC), said RECP has mainly been promoted in the manufacturing industry.
However, she said, immense opportunities exist in agriculture, natural resources, and service industry, adding that the promotion in manufacturing industry was just the entry point.
Ms Nyakang’o, nicknamed as the East African cleaner production lady, said RECP was being promoted as a voluntary tool in industry and not a mandatory requirement.
“A dissemination seminar like this is important not only to hear what the industries have achieved, but also to draw the attention of other partners and rally their support,” she said.
She added: “This means that government should be able to go and interrogate its policies whether they are sufficiently supportive of cleaner production.”
At regional level, Ms Nyakang’o said, slightly 507 industries were mapped for intervention in the five east African countries out of over 2,000 industries and other businesses in the Lake Victoria Basin.
However, only 294, an equivalent of 58 per cent, have been trained and out of these just 138 industries were implementing cleaner production.
“The question is why are some industries not implementing resource efficient cleaner production?” she asked.
Ms Nyakang’o said from her experience in promoting resource efficient and cleaner production in Kenya and the region for the last 13 years, it does not work if it was just made “voluntary” or “discretional” as it was now, adding: “That is why there is such a low uptake level of 27 per cent.”
She said developed countries, including the United States, Canada and Europe, and developing countries such as China have made cleaner production a compulsory tool of environmental compliance.
“They have cleaner production laws. In the case of the EAC countries, they only ‘encourage’ the adoption of cleaner production in industries,” she said.
Ms Nyakang’o added: “So industries in EAC do not have to adopt cleaner production as it is just an encouragement and not an obligation. This is where the problem lies.”
She said the other problem was that environmental regulatory authorities such as the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) in Tanzania, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in Uganda and Kenya, and the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) in Rwanda have not embraced cleaner production in their mandates.
“Although it may be contained in the legislations that established them, they have not made commensurate effort to promote cleaner production,” she said.
She recommended the need to mainstream resource efficient and cleaner production in national and regional policies and legislations and make it mandatory for businesses. “It shouldn’t be made discretionally,” she added.
Ms Nyakang’o also said there was need to reform regulatory institutions along ecological lines so that there can be a unit of resource efficient and cleaner production within NEMC, NEMA and REMA to coordinate and partner with national cleaner production centres so that cleaner production can become an “official” tool of environmental compliance.
“Within EAC, make source reduction of pollution and resource efficiency, the preferred policy approach for environmental management,” she said.
None enforcement of RECPs by manufacturing industries and other business enterprises was also observed by Ms Jane Kibassa, a representative from the World Bank in Tanzania.
Ms Kibassa said RECP was mostly being implemented on voluntary basis but it was very beneficial.
“Cleaner production technologies are very important in reducing pollution in Lake Victoria,” said Ms Kibassa, commending CPCT for running RECP in the Lake Victoria regions of Mwanza, Mara and Kagera.
Ms Anna Masasi, LVEMP II National Project Coordinator, said RECP was highly appreciated as the benefits it brought to both the entrepreneurs and environment if well understood and put into practice was advantageous.
“This concept is very crucial in protecting the rich, delicate, and the complex Lake Victoria ecosystem,” she said.
However, she said implementation of cleaner production technologies has indicated general slow adoption due to non-binding optional provision to register.
“On the other hand many have not realised its benefits therefore many tend to neglect,” said Ms Masasi.
The Minister of the State in the Vice-President’s Office responsible for Environment, Dr Binilith Mahenge, tasked NEMC to take on all enterprises that have not yet been responsive to the RECP concept through LVEMP II.
“As a government representative, my concern for those that have not yet embarked on RECP is whether this is out of sheer lack of management commitment for voluntary engagement, or lack of understanding of its importance,” wondered the minister.
Dr Mahenge said proactive environmental management strategies such as RECP should be promoted in all sectors in the riparian states in order to prevent or minimise pollution in the Lake Victoria Basin.
“Unless the society changes the unsustainable production and use of resources in the Lake Victoria Basin, the sustainability of the lake and its catchments will be at great risk,” said Dr Mahenge.
He said the Lake Victoria Basin was facing a number of developmental and environmental challenges, including deteriorating water quality due to pollution from different activities in the basin such as agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, transportation, fishery and energy production.
NEMC Director General, Eng Bonaventure Baya, said it was increasingly becoming apparent that the world was currently faced with resource scarcity to meet the ever-increased demand of the growing population without jeopardizing the ability of the future demand of the next generation.
“This challenge calls for the application of pragmatic and innovative approaches such as resource efficient and cleaner production,” he said in his statement read on behalf by Dr Vedast Makota, NEMC Director for Environmental Information, Communication and Outreach.
He said in the current trend where there was less environmental awareness on environmental problems, their causes and how to mitigate them, there was need to shift towards sustainable consumption and production and take it very seriously as a means to enhance better livelihoods for communities.
“Moreover, there is greater recognition that, unsustainable consumption and production mainly in aspects of inefficient and wasteful natural resources use lies at the heart of the key environmental challenges we face, including climate change,” said Eng Baya.
He said sustainable consumption and production was urgently needed to manage available meagre resources and subsequently increase health, income and quality of life, while reducing wasteful resource use, pollution, waste and impact on nature.
In recognition of the need for promotion of sustainable consumption and production, NEMC has launched the National Guideline of Education for Sustainable Consumption and Production which can be used in basic education systems, by civil society organizations and influential people in influencing change of lifestyle choices and behaviours.
Eng Baya said this guideline was intending to influence change of consumption and lifestyle choices among the general community by having sustainable consumption and production, particularly among the youth who form majority of the Tanzanian population.
Eng Baya said NEMC was responsible for overseeing environmental management in Tanzania as provided for in the Environmental Management Act (EMA) of 2004.
The law provides for application of different approaches that aim at reducing impact to the environment.
Section 81 of EMA 2004 states that, it is obligatory to undertake Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to all new projects or development activities that might be of impact to the environment before starting to implement them; whereas section 101 is about carrying out Environment Audit for all projects or development activities which were established before enactment of EMA 2004.
In addition, Section 79 of the EMA 2004 states about promotion of cleaner production and sustainable consumption of goods and services.
“In this regard, NEMC would like to call upon all stakeholders of the LVEMP II to adhere to these provisions as stipulated in the EMA 2004,” said the NEMC boss.
In the course of discussions, the participants said there was need to amend laws to make implementation of cleaner production mandatory and to create a cleaner production unit with appropriate budget and policy.
They also said there was need for establishing RECP incentives such as tax exemption and/or rebates on cleaner technologies in order to encourage business enterprises to adopt the concept.
They said implementing RECP should be a collaborative effort between government and private sector by giving incentives to green industries.
They added that there was need for having a platform for sharing experiences on RECP implementation to encourage more enterprises to implement the concept.
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