Memoria anual GAIA América Latina y el Caribe

Esta memoria es un compilado del trabajo realizado por GAIA y sus miembros en América Latina durante el año 2023.

Magdalena Donoso, Coordinadora regional

2023 fue un año turbulento al que miramos con perplejidad, mientras nos volvemos a componer para enfrentar con realismo un mundo que nos sigue sorprendiendo con su belleza, el milagro de sus perfectos ritmos, y por el que resistimos las amenazas que lo destruyen.
Hace unos días escuchaba una canción que decía “me da miedo la enormidad donde nadie oye mi voz”. Y pensé que al leer las páginas de nuestra memoria, ese miedo se evapora decididamente porque en ellas está la constatación de que no estamos solos ni solas. Nos tenemos como movimiento y la energía se multiplica cuando la usamos en favor de nuestra causa común. Mientras más adverso el panorama, más fuerzas, más unión y más movimiento necesitamos para mantener vigorosas nuestras luchas. Mientras más difíciles las luchas, más ternura y confianza debemos forjar entre nosotros. Es parte silenciosa y fundamental de la fuerza que nos alienta.


Leer estas páginas no hace más que revitalizar la esperanza, esa fuerza que llena de luz hasta los más oscuros senderos, y colmarnos de gratitud por lo que somos, y por lo que todavía no somos y estamos construyendo. Démonos las gracias por el cuidado, el tiempo y el amor que destinamos todos los días a las luchas que nos unen y a este espacio que nos acoge, nuestra alianza, nuestra GAIA.

The EcoWaste Coalition emerged as a pivotal force in the Philippine environmental landscape, originating from the victory of the Clean Air Act in 1999, which banned incineration. Initially known as the Clean Air Coalition, it comprised various environmental groups, communities, and support organizations advocating clean air legislation. Its members included Greenpeace International, Mother Earth Foundation, and church-based organizations.

Driven by the success of the fight against incineration, the coalition shifted focus to solid waste management, particularly amidst the closure of the notorious Smokey Mountain dumpsite and proposals for incinerators. This transition led to the formation of the EcoWaste Coalition, unified by a vision of Zero Waste by 2020, aiming to counter landfill projects and mainstream sustainable waste management practices.

Key action points included stopping incineration, reducing garbage volume and toxicity, intensifying recycling, and developing recycling markets. Task forces were established to address various waste-related issues, leading to collaborations with international organizations like Greenpeace and GAIA.

Over its 22-year history, EcoWaste expanded geographically and thematically, engaging in campaigns beyond waste management. Structural changes and regional empowerment initiatives addressed challenges such as organizational growth, internal relations, and sustaining member participation.

Facing external threats from political shifts, the coalition remained resilient, adapting its strategies while maintaining advocacy for environmental and social justice. Operational improvements were pursued by institutionalizing planning and monitoring, ensuring accountability and efficiency.

The coalition’s success stemmed from its Unity Statement, providing a common agenda, and its inclusive structure, fostering meaningful member engagement. By leveraging collective strengths and addressing shared challenges, EcoWaste exemplifies the importance of alliance-building in achieving impactful social change in the Philippines.

Environmental justice is key to ensuring climate solutions that are fair, just, and sustainable in the future. Up until now, and despite its importance, there has been no central set of values and principles to guide decision-makers in order to ensure that the right steps are being taken to incorporate justice into national plans for methane reduction. The Framework includes a vision for systems change towards zero waste, climate justice, and quick action on methane reduction. Furthermore, it outlines five EJ principles for the waste sector. It is also complemented with guidance for policymakers and checklists for NDCs that are anchored to the five principles. Successful implementation of organic waste diversion in line with EJ principles builds community, waste worker, and local government buy-in and demonstrates the practical effectiveness of these strategies, including important co-benefits in livelihoods and environmental health.

Zero waste is both a goal and a plan of action. The goal is to ensure resource recovery and protect scarce natural
resources by ending waste disposal in incinerators, dumps, and landfills. The plan encompasses waste reduction, composting, recycling and reuse, changes in consumption habits, and industrial redesign. But just as importantly, zero waste is a revolution in the relationship between waste and people. It is a new way of thinking that aims to safeguard the health and improve the lives of everyone who produces, handles, works with, or is affected by waste—in other words,
all of us.

GAIA Asia Pacific, in partnership with Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) Philippines, has been conducting a capacity-building workshop to capacitate members of the network and government officials to implement a community Zero Waste program since 2017.

Called Zero Waste Academy (ZWA), the workshop is an immersive 10-day course aimed at capacitating members and other stakeholders on how to implement a Zero Waste program in their respective cities and communities. Putting emphasis on experiential learning, the course provides a well-thought out mix of lectures, hands-on exercises, site visits and community engagements, demo-sessions, and networking opportunities.

Thus far, five in-person ZWAs have been conducted from 2017 to 2019.

In 2020-2022, GAIA Asia Pacific and MEF conducted other iterations of the academy, albeit virtually because of the lockdowns imposed by governments. Yaksa Pelestari Bumi Berkelanjutan (YPBB) Bandung likewise held other Zero Waste Academies on their own to support AZWI members in implementing Zero Waste in their communities.

As in any workshop, an essential measure of success of the workshop is how the graduates apply in their own contexts the lessons and skills they gained from their participation. GAIA Asia Pacific is immensely proud that five years since the first in-person ZWA, and three years since the last one, many of our graduates continued to champion Zero Waste in their own communities and countries, and many of them even spearheaded innovative and impactful Zero Waste initiatives and/or led campaigns such as plastic-free and anti-waste-to-energy (WtE) campaigns.

This publication is an initial attempt to document our graduates’ work to understand the academy’s impact on their work and their communities. This volume is not exhaustive — our intention is to periodically check on our graduates to celebrate their success in their own communities.

May you be inspired by our initial offering. Our graduates, without a doubt, are making the world a better
place. But do not take our word for it; read the pages of our publication and see for yourself!

A publication highlighting the work and realities of waste pickers in India.

El presente informe se organiza en torno a tres beneficios generales que conlleva incorpora la estrategia basura cero a los sistemas actuales de gestión de residuos. Estos son: mitigación del cambio climático, adaptación, y beneficios sociales adicionales (también llamados cobeneficios). En el úlitmo capítulo, se presentan estudios de casos que exponen los beneficios de las estrategias de basura cero en ocho ciudades diferentes, demostrando que este sistema no solo es muy eficiente, sino también fácilmente adaptable a diferentes necesidades y circunstancias.

Waste is the third largest source of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas over 80 times as potent as CO2. Most waste sector methane emissions come from landfilling organic waste. This paper discusses how diverting organic waste from landfill is one of the fastest and most affordable ways to lower methane emissions.

A new report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) provides the clearest and most comprehensive evidence to date of how better waste management is critical to the climate fight, while building resilience, creating jobs, and promoting thriving local economies.

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