The Urban Unit along with the World Bank, Korea Environment Institute (KEI) and Ernst Basler & Partners organized a kick off workshop on September 04, 2006 at Town Hall Lahore. The workshop was chaired by Mian Amer Mahmood, District Nazim Lahore, and other participants were key sanitation staff from nine cities, expert from the private sector, World Bank specialists, NGOs, academia and donors. The objective of this workshop was to inform the key stakeholders about the goals and objectives of the study and expected outcomes for future integrated solid waste management system in nine cities of Punjab.

This 1st training program was arranged by the Urban Unit (UU) in collaboration with the World Bank, KOICA, SWM experts from Korea Environment Institute (KEI) and Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corp (SLC). It was held in Lahore from 15th -18th January 2007. This training was presented in order to transfer operational knowledge about and experiences of Korea in SWM. The training was focused on general and theoretical concepts/ knowledge transfer about SWM with lectures from Korean experts and presentation/ participation of SWM officers in Punjab.
The aim of the training program was to:

• Develop Understanding of SWM among waste managers
• Build Capacity of Waste Managers
• Learning from the Korean experience in SWM practices in the areas of technical, economic and financial aspects, public education & participation
• Review present status of SWM in Punjab with suggestions for improvements

The Urban Unit in collaboration with the World Bank held a workshop on Solid Waste Management in Punjab. The main objective of workshop was to develop coordination between M/s Ernst Basler (Pvt.) Ltd + ICEPAK and KEI, the consultants for SWM studies. The workshop was arranged to encourage stakeholders’ consultation on the SWM related issues. In order to achieve this objective the stakeholders from CDGs / TMA’s, Cantonment boards and private sector were invited to share their views and experiences so as to apprise the consultants about prevailing situation vis-à-vis SWM in Punjab.

The purpose of the stakeholder meeting was to explain the prepared SWM plan to the Union Council Nazims. This meeting was arranged on the request of District Coordination Officer (DCO) Faisalabad.
The objective of the meeting was stakeholder consultation. The stakeholder consultation has been an important aspect for successful project completion. The key benefits of the stakeholder consultation are:

• Improved project design by drawing on local knowledge to ensure that designed project accurately reflects stakeholder priorities and needs.
• Means of verifying the relevance and appropriateness of proposed interventions.
• Greater willingness to share costs leading to improved project services.
• Opportunity to foresee and/or resolve potential obstacles, constraints and conflicts.
• Means to identify and address potential negative social and environmental impacts involved in project implementation.
• Capacity-building of stakeholders and local institutions (including their capacity to analyze problems and initiate other development activities).
• Strengthened working relations between stakeholders and the government.

Two presentations were given to the participants by the Urban Unit in Jinnah Hall, Faisalabad. One on the general SWM and the second was about the comparison between the existing and the proposed system. Participants were given general information about the composition, types, sources & components of solid wastes

The 2nd training workshop was held in Seoul, Korea from April 9th -13th, 2007. The workshop aimed at the transfer of practical knowledge and technology with respect to SWM practices that has been developed in Korea during the recent decade. This training Program can be regarded as one of the concrete step of Provincial Government of Punjab towards capacity enhancement of City District Governments (CDGs), Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMA’s), Defense Housing Authorities (DHA), Cantonment Boards and private sector organizations. The training program was presented by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and its consulting team that consisted of Korean SWM experts from Korea Environment Institute (KEI) and Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation (SLC), both of which are among the key organizations of environmental management, founded by the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Ministry of the Environment.

The Urban Unit organized a focus group discussion to discuss the final reforms and proposals for the SWM by the two consultants i.e., Korea Environment Institute (KEI) and Ernst Basle