What is the project about?

Overall objective of the project is to contribute to the social cohesion of Syrians under temporary protection and host communities in the Southeast Anatolia Region and build resilience at local level through fostering municipal service delivery capacities in waste management. The Project aims to strengthen recycling capacities of municipalities and local communities to improve resource recovery, including community based and participatory waste collection models. The Project, therefore, will support development of a collective model covering full recycling value-chain for increased resource recovery in Kilis and Şanlıurfa provinces.

The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization with technical support and expertise of UNDP with finance from by the United States Bureau of Population and Refugee Management (USBPRM) of 3 million dollars.

The project is primarily focusing on reducing the volume of waste ending up in land fill sites through support to source segregation and recycling. Therefore, load reduction of the landfills where solid waste is currently being dumped, will be an important outcome for the project and contribute structurally as well in the solution of environmental and health related problems in those regions.

On the other hand, one of the objectives of the project is to reduce social tensions, ease risk of further pressure between Syrians and their host communities due to underserving of the local public services, such as waste collection. Unserved or underserved communities are likely to be posed to escalating social tensions and further risks, a deterioration of social cohesion and integration.

Finally, the project will also provide trainings in relevant areas, to ensure informed and trained recyclers have the potential to be environmental stewards for the local community.

What has been the situation?

Turkey hosts the largest refugee population in the world and has demonstrated strong national ownership of the refugee response. The Government of Turkey provides a rights-based legal framework through the Temporary Protection regulation, which offers access to education, health care, employment and social security to Syrians.

Currently, out of the 3,6 million registered Syrians under Temporary Protection more than 2,6 million Syrians live amongst Turkish host communities[1]. 45% of the 3,2 million Syrians under Temporary Protection are concentrated in 4 provinces in the South East. Within these provinces, there are four municipalities in Turkey that are particularly impacted, each hosting more than 100,000 Syrians. In these cities, the ratio of the Syrian population to that of host communities is higher than 15%, including Kilis, Hatay, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa.[2] Populations have either reached or exceeded 2023 population projections. Kilis, for instance, hosts almost as many Syrians as its local population. Therefore, Turkish urban areas are under pressure due to sudden and unexpected population growth. Municipalities, with their already strained capacities, even before the arrival of the displaced Syrians, are trying to cope with basic public service delivery; such as waste, waste management, firefighting capabilities.   

What is our mission?

The project aims to contribute to the Zero Waste program of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization by initiation of community-based source segregation of recyclables in Kilis and Şanlıurfa provinces. This is aimed to provide sustainable livelihoods opportunities thorugh bringing Syrians and host community members together over common economic and environmental interests, to improve social cohesion and local economic development.

How are we doing this?

UNDP has developed a comprehensive Solid Waste Management Strategy that guides overall support to the Government of Turkey, when responding to the Syria crisis. In line with the Solid Waste Management Strategy, the project will strengthen the municipal capacities for more efficient and effective waste management services. This will be achieved through increasing social cohesion by participatory waste management, creating new and dignified livelihoods opportunities through bringing Syrians and host community members together over common economic and environmental interests and to increase the municipal service delivery capacities of Kilis and Şanlıurfa-Haliliye Municipalities.

Within the scope of the project, direct involvement of communities into waste management eco-system will be provided through awareness raising around the importance of a clean environment that commonly benefits all, including new economic gains both for Syrians and host community members, through a community-based recycling effort which actually is a common and shared interest.

How will Turkey benefit?

Project activities include establishment of recycling eco-system and ventures to be organized with both host communities and Syrians as a collective effort. Through this project and in line with Zero Waste Programme of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, local and regional markets will be strengthened in their capacities to reuse and recycle relevant materials.

[1] Mostly in the South East, particularly Gaziantep, Kilis, Sanliurfa, and Hatay

[2] DG of Migration Management, TURKSTAT (DGMM 2017)