On October 8, 2024, the last High-Level Roundtable Discussion on Plastic Waste Management Challenges and Solutions at the national level was held at Terma Linca Resort, in Thimphu, Bhutan. The event brought together key government officials, international development partners, plastic waste management practitioners, environmental experts and the private sector to discuss critical issues surrounding plastic waste management in Bhutan.

H.E. Lyonpo Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, opened the session and congratulated the inauguration of the new Director General of SACEP, Norbu Wangchuk. Bhupinder Aulakh, WHO Country Representative and Acting Resident Coordinator for the United Nations in Bhutan, Adama Coulibaly, the World Bank Country Representative, and Charlie Callanan, Director of the UNOPS South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), provided the opening remarks.

Key discussants included representatives from the Department of Environment & Climate Change, Waste Management Division of the Department of Environment & Climate Change, National Waste Management Committee under His Majesty’s Secretariat, Thimphu Municipality, District Education Office, Wangdue District Administration, Bhutan Construction & Transport Authority, Department of Energy, and Bhutan Trust Fund for Environment Conservation.