The International Zero Waste Cities Conference and the Methane Action and Environmental Justice Summit

GAIA is organizing two significant events in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: the International Zero Waste Cities Conference, co-hosted with local member Nipe Fagio, from July 2-4, 2024, followed by the Methane Action and Environmental Justice Summit on July 5, 2024.

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The International Zero Waste Cities Conference (IZWCC) is co-hosted by GAIA and GAIA’s local member Nipe Fagio, will bring together government leaders, zero waste practitioners, financial institutions and philanthropic organizations to learn best practices and implementation successes in the zero waste world in a highly interactive environment for mutual inspiration and further replication. The program includes two days of conference plus a site visit to a zero waste neighborhood in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The IZWCC was first launched in Asia Pacific in 2009, and in 2023 the baton was passed to the Africa region, signifying the spirit of cross-regional exchange that forms the bedrock of this conference.

The Methane Action and Environmental Justice Summit will bring together key stakeholders working on methane mitigation in the waste sector to reflect on how we can advance our collective mission to cut methane emissions and spark a just transition towards a more equitable world. The conversation will be informed by GAIA’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Principles for Fast Action on Waste and Methane, which was produced by GAIA in collaboration with environmental justice advocates and zero waste practitioners from 41 different countries, and provides guidance to policymakers and key stakeholders on on how to craft programs and policies for tackling methane that can also help address interconnected equity issues, making sure to integrate and harness the expertise of community members and waste workers into the design and implementation of waste systems to ensure that climate solutions are fair, just, and sustainable.

For more information about the event click here.

Organisers:

About GAIA: GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 1,000 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries, who together hold a diverse range of expertise in zero waste advocacy, policy, and implementation on a local, regional, and international level.

Our members have long been at the forefront of zero waste efforts around the world, and our work has been instrumental in the growing recognition of the waste sector’s powerful role in mitigating climate change, particularly through methane reductions. Through policy, finance, and narrative shifts, GAIA creates enabling conditions for systemic support of zero waste strategies. Mobilizing our vast global network of members and allies, we advocate for zero waste policy and finance, focusing on: 
International and local funding of zero waste systems; 
Zero waste roadmaps and regulatory frameworks that support their implementation; Inclusion of zero waste goals in local and national climate plans, such as Nationally Determined Contributions and methane reduction roadmaps.

About Nipe Fagio: Nipe Fagio, a GAIA member based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is co-hosting the International Zero Waste Cities Conference. This local organization has been building cooperative-led zero waste systems in Tanzania since 2019, and sees great potential in the formation and formalization of waste collection cooperatives in reducing the city’s waste and carbon footprint. For example, Wakusanya Taka Bonyokwa Cooperative Society’s contribution to separate collection helped to divert more than 80% of the waste generated in a low-income sub-ward of Bonyokwa, in the Ilala district in Dar es Salaam through composting, reuse, and recycling