TANZANIA: THE National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) has called on the public to observe the levels of waste allowed by law so that they do not become the source of environmental degradation.
The National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) Temeke Zone Manager, Arnold Mapinduzi, made the call over the weekend while speaking during the Demo Day of ClimAccelerator to award start-up companies focusing on increasing resilience and sustainable development by supporting locally developed adaptation solutions.
He gave an example of one of the ways to protect the environment by implementing the clean cooking strategy championed by President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Africa by abandoning the use of charcoal and firewood and switch to alternative and clean energy.
“This will help individual’s health and protect the environment. Similarly, for those who have industries, they should also observe the law on levels of industrial waste that can be emitted, if it is water or air then they should make sure that they are released at the levels allowed,” said Mapinduzi.
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Regarding the young people who participated in the Demo Day, he said that the council supports them by providing guidance and exposure so that people can see them and recognize their creative ideas, adding that the council is also tasked with researching various areas related to the environment, so creative ideas from the youth are useful to the council One of the participants, Richard Rafael, said during an interview at the event that they are dealing with the processing of coconut palms that they use to produce coco peat.
He added that the coco peats have many uses in the agricultural sector, especially in vegetable farming, and that their product aims to reduce the use of chemicals and thus help in enhancing sustainable farming.
Managing Director of Sahara Consult, the implementing partner of the initiative in Tanzania, Nancy Kiondo, said that they were pleased to see that 10 start-up companies made it to the Demo Day, out of which five would emerge winners and will be provided with cash prizes.
“Those who participated were able to show how they help the community in preserving the environment through various innovations that focus on climate adaptation and resilience,” he said.
In the competition, the first winner was Coastal Biotech who received 10,000 Euros (equivalent to 28,173,132/-), the second was Africa Harvest, the third Lima Africa, the fourth Kilimo Maendeleo and the fifth MOTO Poa who were all given a capital of 7,500 Euros (about 21,129,810/-).
