Juba, 23 November 2009
- On Monday, Salva Kiir, President of Southern
Sudan, launched a major clean-up initiative
in Juba, declaring
a public holiday. He was accompanied in
picking up the first pieces of litter by
His Excellency the Minister for the Environment
of Southern Sudan, and the UK Ambassador,
Dr Rosalind Marsden.
Over 16,000 volunteers
are taking to the streets to tackle the
growing health hazard caused by public dumping
of waste in the town. The clean-up has attracted
enthusiastic support from all major organisations
based in Juba, including the Sudan People's
Liberation Army (SPLA), wildlife, police
and prisons services, all UN agencies and
UNMIS, as well as the students and residents
of Juba themselves.
With the rapid growth
of the city and the absence of a sustainable
waste management system, the people of Juba
have endured repeated fatal outbreaks of
cholera, waterborne diseases and malaria.
This clean-up is the first step towards
creating a safe and healthy environment
in which Juba's citizens can live and work.
The clean-up is part
of a £1 million UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) project, funded by the UK's Department
for International Development (DFID). It
constitutes the first step in building a
sustainable waste management system for
Juba.
Ambassador Marsden said,
"I am delighted to be here to launch,
and take part in the clean-up of Juba today.
The UK is playing a leading role in addressing
climate change internationally, but we also
recognise the importance of supporting national
and local initiatives to improve management
of the environment here in Sudan. Juba's
growth in the last few years has been impressive,
but the systems to improve waste management
have lagged behind. I am delighted to see
the commitment of so many people in Juba
today to making Juba a better and healthier
place. And I look forward to seeing this
good work taken forward in the coming months."
Speaking from UNEP headquarters
in Nairobi, Achim Steiner, Executive Director
and UN Under-Secretary-General, said "UNEP
thanks the United Kingdom and DFID Sudan
for supporting the environmental agenda
there. The Juba clean-up marks the start
of a broader and more far-reaching effort
aimed at boosting the management of economically-important
natural resources and delivering sustainable
development to the people of the region.
It also takes forward UNEP's collaboration
with Sudan to improve environmental management
as a prerequisite for sustainable development."
Notes to Editors:
After the signing of
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)
in January 2005, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) was requested to conduct
a Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment
of Sudan. The report (http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/UNEP_Sudan.pdf)
assesses water, agriculture, forests, desertification
and natural disasters, wildlife, the marine
environment, industrial pollution, the urban
environment, environmental governance and
the role of environmental pressures in Sudan's
conflicts.
Building on the recommendations
from this assessment, DFID is funding a
three-year, £20 million programme
with UNEP and UNOPS to support efforts to
build peace on an environmentally sustainable
basis and to improve the management of natural
resources. The programme will fund activities
across Sudan, including:
Technical support to
the Government of South Sudan to manage
its forestry and other valuable natural
resources sustainably.
Improving management
of water resources in Darfur. UNOPS will
build or rehabilitate six dams, benefiting
300,000 people.
A city-wide clean up
campaign in Juba on 23 November 2009, involving
16,000 volunteers. This will be followed
by putting in place waste management capacity
for the long term.
Robin Bovey, UNEP Programme Manager
