Through the PLEASE Project, SACEP extends its commitment to working closely with its member states, ensuring well-coordinated and mutually reinforcing efforts to amplify impact and contribute to the global fight against plastic pollution. The PLEASE Project supports its Member Countries to reduce plastic waste and facilitate the transition of the region to a more circular plastic economy through leveraging Public and Private Sector Engagement and Solutions: Component 2. As of June 2024, the PLEASE Project is implementing three Technical Assistance activities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Maldives.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE INITIATIVES IN PAKISTAN

PLEASE Project is providing Technical Assistance to Pakistan for “Development of National Plastic Waste Management Plan and establishment of IT-Based Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism for Pakistan.” The TA activity aims to create an extensive national plastic database for recording, monitoring, and reporting plastic-related data that will allow the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment Coordination (MoCC&ED) and relevant stakeholders to make informed decisions on plastic management in Pakistan. The PLEASE Project Implementation Unit (PIU) is actively overseeing progress, and ensuring that all milestones are met. 

The Consulting Firm Project Procurement Institute (PPI) and Techlogix Joint Venture are implementing the TA activity in close coordination with the MoCC&ED. An official kick-off meeting was organized on 06 June 2024. Ms Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Climate Change, has inaugurated the kick-off workshop. The kick-off workshop was attended by participants from Federal and Provincial Environmental Protection Agencies, Waste Management Companies, plastic industry association representatives, academia, and NGOs. With the approval of the Inception Report, the TA activity is progressing well towards data collection and analysis. 

Ms Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Environment

Participants from Government Organizations, Industries, and Academia who attended the workshop. Photo credit: Project Procurement Institute (PPI)

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE INITIATIVES IN MALDIVES

PLEASE Project is providing technical assistance to the Maldives in the Design and Development of an end-to-end smart waste management system. By leveraging advanced technologies, this TA activity aims to create a robust, user-friendly, and intelligent system for monitoring and tracking solid waste management processes and ultimately optimizing the processes for waste collection, transportation, and disposal. Through this TA, PLEASE Project is also providing provisional fund support for procuring the required IT infrastructure (server) to the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment, and Energy of Maldives (MCCEE) to host the smart waste management system developed and ensure post-sustainability of the system developed. 

The Consulting Firm X.O Concepts Pvt. Ltd. and XDOTO Concepts PTE Ltd have submitted the Inception Report, and currently developing conceptual design finalization (Blueprint).