Holistic Waste Management Strategies and Wastewater Treatment Technologies for Sustainable Cities
2 November 2015, Jeju, Republic of Korea – UNITAR’s affiliated training centre CIFAL Jeju convened officials from central, state and local governments, NGO leaders and private sector representatives from nine countries in the Asia-Pacific region for a four-day workshop on "Holistic Waste Management Strategies and Wastewater Treatment Technologies for Sustainable Cities." CIFAL Jeju, in collaboration with UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC), held the event from 5 to 8 October 2015 at Jeju International Training Center (JITC).
Countries represented in the workshop included Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka. The event provided a platform to build capacities in managing waste and wastewater and implement a strategic approach to all stages of waste and wastewater management. The event also provided a venue for foreign government officials and private sector representatives in the waste sector to meet their Korean counterparts to discuss about environmental technologies and supporting funding available.
The workshop was led by five experts on waste and wastewater management, technology transfer and funding mechanisms. The experts included Dr. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Memon from UNEP IETC; Mr. Mohammad Fadly Mohammad Nor from Iskandar Regional Development Association (IRDA), Malaysia; Dr. Mr. Jeong-in Kim from Chung-Ang University, Republic of Korea; Dr. Mr. Suil Kang from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea; and Mr. Jonghyun Kim from Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC).
The lectures focused on key topics including holistic waste management; Sustainability Assessment of Technologies (SAT); financing of technology transfer; green and sustainable cities through green energy; and wastewater treatment in the Republic of Korea.
The workshop was highly dynamic including a “knowledge fair” in which Korean representatives had an opportunity to introduce their environmental technologies to foreign participants. Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) officers also presented strategies and ideas to enhance the effectiveness of technology transfer by providing up-to-date information on how to secure funding. The workshop concluded with technical visits to the Saekdal Sewage Treatment Plant, the Smart Grid Information Center and the Seongsan Ilchulbong (UNESCO World Natural Heritage) in Jeju-do.
Photo 1: Participants present at the workshop
Photo 2: Lecture during the workshop