Key strategic actions to improve the challenge of hazardous waste management in Mozambique

Abstract

Waste management is an international issue with a global impact. Industrialised and emerging countries increasingly need raw materials to feed their industries: natural gas, oil, coal, precious minerals and metals. Most African countries are rich in raw materials, which they are powerless to trade on but eager to negotiate with. However, they have difficulty managing the negative effect that these trades produce, due to poor environmental regulations, inadequate waste disposal infrastructures, lack of technology and public bodies with little experience and resources. This situation makes it challenging for some African governments to manage the increasing quantity and types of waste, resulting from the extracting industries and growing urbanization. Furthermore, the benefits are not fairly distributed, whilst the negative impacts, both environmental and socio-economic, of a failing waste management system are widespread and global. We have studied the situation of hazardous waste management in Mozambique as a case study. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world, but is rich in natural resources, which are being exploited by several global companies in recent years, and with insufficient waste management infrastructure. After the analysis of the local condition, this paper aims to trace guidelines to support different stakeholders to make the first coordinated steps towards a better management of hazardous waste.