Waste management in the case of Bahir Dar City near Lake Tana shore in Northwestern Ethiopia: A review

Abstract

Urbanization is a global phenomenon with more pronounced consequences on waste management in developing countries. The rate of infrastructure development is mostly outpaced by the rate of waste generation. Bahir Dar city, as a rapidly urbanizing city in the southern part of Lake Tana, is not an exception. On top of production of more wastes, the waste management practice is challenged by low prioritization of waste management, limited revenues for financing waste management with the ever-increasing population of this city. This paper reviewed the current waste management system in Lake Tana basin taking Bahir Dar as case. The mechanism of Bahir Dar municipality to coordinate the public and private sectors in the city has played a vital role in waste management. However, the daily monitoring of waste management by the community development section has not been sufficient. It is also observed that the liquid waste has an effect on the lake and its resources. Effective involvement of both private and public sectors should improve waste management and provide door-to-door collection and facilitate drainage disposable canals. Therefore, an integrated solid and liquid waste management practice should be implemented for the City Lake Tana basin and also for the surrounding environment. This has to include development plans for improving sustainable sanitation and disposal of the sewage system, and adopt the best practices of waste management for the City-Lake Tana basin ecosystem.