On May 1, 2023, Professor Nishara Fernando, Researcher, and Mr. Malith De Silva, Junior Researcher, of the project ‘’Transformation of waste management practices and policies in South Asia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on gender equality and sustainability.’ made a joint presentation at the Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne, Lausanne. They were invited to present by Professor René Véron, the Principal Investigator of the project as part of a “Bouillon d’idées” event.
The presentation, titled “Learning from Post-Crisis Municipal Solid Waste Management in Sri Lanka: A Case Study of Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council and Boralesgamuwa Urban Council in Colombo,” elaborated on the findings of the project, focusing on the collapse of the Meethotamulla waste dumping site in Colombo. It discussed the subsequent impacts on institutional, policy, social discourse, labour force, and practices of solid waste management in selected local councils in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The meeting was attended by faculty members, doctoral and master’s students, who received the presentation well. A significant number of questions were raised during the Q&A session, primarily focusing on waste disposal methods in Sri Lanka and their implications for sustainability and gender equality.
Furthermore, the session served as a platform to distribute findings from the r4d project titled “Challenges of Municipal Solid Waste Management – Learning from Post-Crisis Governance Initiatives in South Asia.” Specifically, the presentations focused on the outputs “Municipal Solid Waste Management in Sri Lanka” and “Waste Management in Badovita,” contributing to the broader discourse on waste management practices and policies in the region.