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Transformation of waste management practices and policies in South Asia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on gender equality and sustainability

  • Funded by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
  • Total publications:0 publications

Grant number: 201368

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Key facts

  • Disease

    COVID-19

  • Start & end year

    2022
    2025

  • Known Financial Commitments (USD)

    $534,495.26

  • Funder

    Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

  • Principal Investigator

    Véron René

  • Research Location

    Switzerland

  • Lead Research Institution

    Institut de géographie et durabilité Faculté des géosciences et de l'environnem. Université de Lausanne

  • Research Priority Alignment

    N/A

  • Research Category

    Secondary impacts of disease, response & control measures

  • Research Subcategory

    Other secondary impacts

  • Special Interest Tags

    N/A

  • Study Type

    Non-Clinical

  • Clinical Trial Details

    N/A

  • Broad Policy Alignment

    Pending

  • Age Group

    Unspecified

  • Vulnerable Population

    Unspecified

  • Occupations of Interest

    Unspecified

Abstract

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has been transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the one hand, MSWM has been declared as an essential service showing the dependence of cities on functioning systems; on the other hand, waste collection, transportation, recycling and treatment have been identified as potential vectors of viral transmission. This project investigates MSWM systems in Nepal and Sri Lanka during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; its gendered impacts on formal and informal waste workers, their livelihoods, health and stigmatization; and its gender and sustainability effects on household waste practices. It also examines longer-term impacts on changes in waste policies and discourses. The comparison between Nepal and Sri Lanka aims to contribute to a better understanding how the pandemic shaped social practices, gender relations and waste policies in view of sustainability, urban resilience and gender justice.