The hub, which debuted in the city on November 11, aims to help talented peoplewith innovative projects in improving solid waste treatment and promotingsustainable consumption in communities in central Vietnam.
The Da Nang Circular Economy will select environmental ‘messengers’ to joingreen avenger programmes within the framework of the Da Nang EconomicCirculation Network project.
It is estimated that between now and 2050, the total amount of solid waste inurban areas worldwide will increase by about 70 percent, while the amount ofplastic waste dumped into the sea would overtake the number of fish.
Sitara Syed, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam, said: “Da NangCircular Economy Hub (DCEH) will focus on people and resources for sustainabledevelopment and circular economic practice in the central region, as well asdevelopment of current solid waste treatment systems and advocacy for greenconsumption. From there, we will see the positive benefits for the environmentand the community of this system in the future."
Nguyen Tuan Luong, a representative from UNDP, said: “In 2020, the world andVietnam have suffered many natural disasters, especially the most recent is thehistoric flooding in the Central region. The DCEH will be a platform fordedicated people, connecting projects and creating innovative solutions for theenvironment to cope with the current situations.”
“In the distant future, DCEH promises to become a powerful network thanks tothe enthusiastic individuals who commit to work for the sustainable developmentof Da Nang, thereby spreading inspiration in the central region."
The selection programme began on October 21 and will run until November 6, and30 selected attendees will participate in five days of Boot Camp and plan topursue the project for six months with the guidance of UNDP Accelerator Lab.
Projects selected through the programme will have a project implementationperiod until mid-2021 to spread the impact to the community, and this visionwill be the foundation in forming a community network for innovative projectsfor environmental sustainability in the central provinces.
According to a report in 2016, Vietnam's urban solid waste totalled 11.6million tonnes (an average of 0.33kg per person per day), which is forecast todouble, to around 22 million tonnes by 2050.
The amount of plastic waste in the sea of Vietnam is currently ranked 4th inthe world, with more than 1.83 million tonnes per year. The above problems havegreat pressure on the economy, and require it to change the development model.Therefore, an economy that is cyclical (a circular economy) is considered to bethe best way to break the longstanding bonds between economic growth andnegative environmental effects.
The circular economy helps promote economic development with reducing bothresource extraction and waste to the environment.
The Accelerator Lab (AccLab) in Vietnam had helped build up a model of friendlygarbage classification at living quarters in Cẩm Lệ District, and studying theinformal waste collection ecosystem and the impact of COVID-19 on bottles.
Da Nang's business start-up ecosystem, which debuted in 2014 as a base for theyounger generation to begin their careers, helped produce 300 start-up projectsfrom the ecosystem’s co-working space.
In 2017, the Song Han Incubator Centre, which was the first private sector incubator,was founded as a consultancy for young people starting businesses.
The centre has supported 40 start-up projects in tourism in Da Nang and HCMCity./.