Myanmar, the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia, has been facing considerable challenges with the management of solid waste in the recent past because of increasing income and consumption patterns, urban growth, and lack of effective waste management policies, treatment, and disposal methods. Waste management is also a crosscutting issue that touches on many aspects of social and economic development, and as such is widely associated with a range of global challenges including public health, climate change, poverty reduction, food security, resource efficiency, and sustainable production and consumption. This country chapter therefore presents an overview of the current waste management in Myanmar, discusses key challenges and opportunities, and identifies some policy recommendations towards its improvement.
TopIntroduction
Extending 677,000 sq. km (km2), Myanmar is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia based on land area. Strategically located between China and India (See Figure 1), Myanmar’s wealth of natural resources, abundant labour force and fast-growing consumer market signal that the country is positioned to become the region’s next “Asian giant”. Myanmar’s estimated population was 51.48 million in 2014 (Ministry of Labour Immigration and Population, 2015). More recent figures indicate that the population grew to 54 million in 2018, having increased by 0.71 percent annually, and may reach as high as 65 million by 2050 based on current birth rate trends (UNFPA Myanmar, 2017). A heterogeneous population made up of diverse ethnic groups speaking over 100 languages and dialects, one-third of Myanmar’s inhabitants reside in cities; the remaining 70 percent are located in rural areas and remain largely dependent on subsistence farming (UNDP, 2019).
Figure 1. A location of Myanmar in the context of southeast Asia
Myanmar is subdivided into one union territory (Nay Pyi Taw), seven states (Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan) and seven regions (Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, and Yangon) for administrative purposes. Myanmar’s smallest administrative unit is designated as a village. Several villages grouped together are classified as a township, of which the lowest division of government is generally stationed; as such, townships carry out many key public functions including birth and land registration, tax collection as well as the provision of some public services such as waste management. Clusters of several townships are organised into districts, which in turn form the states or regions. Districts thus comprise a middle tier of government administration connecting state/regional governments to townships (Nixon, Joelene, Chit, Aung & Arnold, 2013; Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, 2013).
A lower-middle income economy, Myanmar’s gross national income (GNI) per capita was 1,455 USD in 2017. However, the country is also one of the fastest expanding economies in the world, averaging about 6.4 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the period of 2016-2017, with expectations upwards of 7 percent for 2019-2020 (World Bank, 2018). Myanmar’s agriculture sector remains the backbone of its economy, contributing to 37.8 percent of its GDP and accounting for 25 to 30 percent of total export earnings; the sector also employs roughly 70 percent of the labour force (FAO, 2018). Nevertheless, the share of GDP accounted for by the country’s industrial sector has more than doubled over the past few years, reaching 25 percent in part because of recent market-oriented reforms including Myanmar’s opening up to foreign direct investment (FDI). This has precipitated rapid growth of the country’s industrial base, most notably concentrated around the continued expansion of natural gas exports. Myanmar’s market transformation has also attracted attention to the enormous potential of further developing its tourism and hospitality-related sectors as well.
However, underinvestment in urban infrastructure and associated services including access roads, energy, water supply, sanitation, drainage, wastewater, and solid waste management has resulted in significantly deficient public utilities throughout Myanmar especially in the larger cities of Yangon and Mandalay. Currently, Myanmar generates an estimated 20,000 tons of solid waste per day and this volume is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years due to urban growth. In many townships, typically one to two-thirds of generated waste remains uncollected. Residents frequently dump uncollected waste on the streets and in water bodies or resort to openly burning it, subsequently polluting air, soil and ground water. On the other hand, waste that is collected by respective township development committees (TDCs) and city development committees (CDCs) is regularly transported to final disposal sites that are open dumpsites lacking environmentally appropriate controls. In addition, all major cities experience challenges with regard to managing industrial, medical, and other emerging waste streams such as e-waste and plastic waste, all of which are often disposed without proper treatment.