ABSTRACT
The rapid economic growth in Myanmar, combined with urbanization and industrialization, has led to significant waste management challenges, particularly concerning the lack of proper waste handling infrastructure. Hluttaw representatives, as key stakeholders with legislative power, play a crucial role in addressing these challenges by enacting relevant legislation focused on municipal solid waste management. This research assesses the awareness and interest of Hluttaw members elected in 2020 concerning environmental conservation, with a specific emphasis on solid waste management. Data was collected using questionnaires containing six sections with the total questions of 29 through social media platforms such as Facebook, Telegram and by email. We collected the responses from 33 elected Hluttaw members within a month. The results showed that 90% of the elected Hluttaw members demonstrated good awareness in solid waste management, scoring above 23 out of 46, with the highest awareness in the solid waste collection sector (93.94%) and the lowest in waste management processes (54.55%). Notably, 63.64% had a solid general understanding of waste, 84.85% were knowledgeable about waste separation, but only 4 members were aware of international agreements related to waste.
Overall, the findings reveal that Hluttaw members show strong interest in environmental conservation, particularly in waste collection and separation, though there is room for improvement in broader waste management practices. To improve waste management in Myanmar, better data collection and specific information on waste generation are essential. It is also recommended to provide waste management training and workshops on international conventions for Parliament members, while engaging the public through extension programs and environmental education from an early age. Additionally, parliamentarians should propose policies that support transforming waste disposal systems into energy production and adopt a bottom-up approach for more inclusive waste management strategies.
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, the world is facing several environmental problems (Kyaw, 2019), many of which cannot be resolved, even though the environment is very influential in all aspects of life and its impact is very significant for human life (Kollmuss J., Agyeman J., 2002). Some of the notable problems of the environment can be identified as (1) land, air and water pollution (2) population growth (3) urbanization and (4) industrialization (NIOS, 2008). In this study, we will focus on land pollution, specifically waste problems.
After decades of isolation, Myanmar’s economy is experiencing rapid growth exceeding 6% GDP every year, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia since a series of political and economic reforms in 2011 (ADB, 2018). According to UNFPA (2019), there is an estimated population of about 51.1 million in Myanmar in 2019. As the environment and human societies are closely related (Shin, 1997), the rapid economic growth with urbanization and industrialization has led to significant challenges with the management of waste in Myanmar. Typically, between one-third to two-thirds of generated waste in many townships is not properly managed, causing pollution to both surface and groundwater (ECD, 2018).
Nowadays, waste management is considered a central part of the concept of sustainable development. Waste is referred to as something that poses a negative impact towards the environment. Meanwhile, sustainable waste management refers to the activity of utilizing natural resources more efficiently (Saat, 2014). In developing countries, characterization of solid wastes are unfavorable economic, institutional, legislative, technical and operational constraints (Imam, 2008). In the case of Myanmar, as one of developing countries, there exists no accurate and reliable data on the total waste generation in the country. Traditionally, waste collection and disposal in Myanmar were the responsibility of respective township development committees. However, the recycling activities in many cities are mostly carried out by the informal sector, including scavengers, waste collectors, and waste dealers. At present, waste collected by the township development committees is transported and dumped to designated disposal sites located within their territories, without any further waste management processes. To cope with this issue, the National Waste Management Strategy and Master Plan is set as the first initiative in relation to waste management in Myanmar in 2020 (ECD, 2018). However, the implementation of this plan is still challenging at the local government level.
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