I’m very happy to share that our team obtained a grant from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) for our project titled “Developing Capacity for Post-typhoon Disaster Waste Management in Coastal Cities in Fiji and the Philippines.” The project was officially launched in Makati, Philippines on October 2, 2019 and in Lautoka, Fiji will be on October 24, 2019.

From January 15 to 16, 2020, we had our Training of Trainers on Disaster Waste Management at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Philippines.

On January 17, 2020, we conducted our Face-to-Face Training on Disaster Waste Management at Makati City Hall. There were more than 50 participants. Most of the participants had earlier completed the online course of the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit titled “Disaster Waste Management: Best Practices and Tools.”

On March 24, 2021, I and other members of our Disaster Waste Management (DWM) project team provided training to new staff of Makati City. I gave a presentation on forecasting the types and amounts of wastes that can be generated by typhoons.

In April 2021, we had our first webinar featuring the disaster waste management experience in Fiji, Japan, Nepal, and the Philippines. We had 245 registered participants from 19 countries.

The recording of the webinar can be seen on Youtube.

To help Makati City staff formulate their disaster waste management contingency plan, we had a mentoring seminar on June 18, 2021. (collage from Makati DRRMO)

Here’s the list of project team members:

Principal Investigator: Glenn Fernandez (Philippines), Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

Gretchen Kalonji (USA), Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

Mahmood Fayazi (Iran), Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

Yuyan Chen (China), Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

Mahesh Pradhan (Nepal), United Nations Environment International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP-IETC), Japan

Qing Xu (China), United Nations Environment International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP-IETC), Japan

Hongtao Wang (China), Associate Professor, UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD), Tongji University, China

Shalend Singh (Fiji), Chair of Pacific Regional Disaster Waste Management Technical Working Group, Lautoka City Council, Fiji

Misuzu Asari (Japan), Associate Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan

Sainimere Veitata (Fiji), Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan

Noralene Uy (Philippines), Department of Environmental Science, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

Liza Velle Ramos (Philippines), Makati Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Philippines

Patrick Lawrence Alzona (Philippines), Quezon City Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department, Philippines

The project website can be accessed using this LINK.