Reports from Union of African Population Studies / L'Union pour l'Etude de la Population Africaine Num. 17, 1995

Union for African Population Studies, Rapport de Synthese / Summary Report, 1995

SMALL GRANTS PROGRAMME ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPEMENT

INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION IN MALI : THE ISSUE OF WASTE IN THE BAMAKO INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

Mahalmoudou Hamadoun

Code Number: uaps95007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Summary
Introduction and problematic
Objectives
Methodology
Conceptual Framework
Results
Characteristics of the Bamako Industrial Estate (ZIB)
Waste in Industries
Waste in Households
Impact of Waste on People and the Environment
Recommendations
Conclusion
Table
Bibliography

SUMMARY

The study was conducted in the Bamako Industrial Estate, one of the most affected areas by insalubrity and environmental degradation. In fact, as from the country's independence in 1960, with the population movements Bamako has experienced, various causes have led to disruptions in the traditional environmental management systems, the mechanisms into force made obsolete and brought out the inadequacy of the means available. It is therefore necessary to find the means to help these populations and decision-makers to better manage this space which is the main pillar of the Malian economy.

The objectives of this study are to identify economic actors operating in the Bamako Industrial Estate, to describe in detail their action on the environment, to make an estimate of the waste produced, their collection and disposal modes and to evaluate the impact of this waste on the Environment.

The results of this study have highlighted the following observations : in addition to industrial enterprises, other economic actors (garage owners, herdsmen, dyers and vegetable gardeners) intervene in the space, to which residential housing should be added. Waste production both at the level of industries and households is influenced by several internal and external factors.Collection, disposal and reprocessing activities are also influenced by factors such as the inadequacy and maladjustment of infrastracture. The impact of waste on people and the Environment is a reality recognized by all these actors, even if the actions undertaken did not make it possible to resolve the problem.

The study advocates the strengthening of infrastructure and waste collection structures as well as the adoption of a real policy for environmental management, training and sensitization of the populations.

INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEMATIC

As from 1960, the date marking the country's accession to independence, Mali has had several types of light industries, going from food processing to the Textiles, through chemical industries, building materials as well as mechanical energy. These enterprises can be legally divided into three sectors: State (34), Mixed (36) and Private (116), or 186 in total in 1988. Moreover, more than 6.8% of infrastructures are located in the Capital Bamako alone, the greater part of which lies in the industrial estate of Commune II.

Obviously, at the beginning, the low level of achievements did not make it possible to foresee the significance of the impact or the degradation of the Environment and the living conditions of the neighbouring populations. But after 32 years of national industrial life, the observations are very bitter and can be translated into : Extensive insalubrity of the Bamako industrial estate which not only sags under the weight of industrial waste, but also under that of household waste and rainwater during the rainy season ; Waste whose collection raises major difficulties because of their diverse nature (solid, liquid and gaseous), the inadequacy, even non-existence of highway maintenance and appropriate collection networks, unorganized collection, lack of appropriate materials and inadequate personnel, and finally a mismanagement of the structures involved, which compounds the situation.

Furthermore, the extension of the industrial estate into residential areas, especially precarious housing, raises such serious problems that it is not exaggerated to wonder whether this area is really intended for industry or residence. All this is compounded by the existence of undeveloped roads, ponds during the rainy seasons and ordinary rubbish dumps next to which "cemeteries" of old cars and garages shoot up everywhere. The implantation of cattle pen as well as the settlement of vegetable gardeners alongside the railway line further complicate the dynamics of space occupation and make it a real rural area in the midst of an urban centre.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives assigned to this study are the following ones:

METHODOLOGY

On the methodological front, this study went through three phases:

- The initial phase which made it possible to make a first typology of the industrial estate on the basis of the review of the documents read and the results of observations on the ground.

- The second phase which consisted in collecting data made it possible to make a sampling on the basis of the preliminary assessment, and to prepare survey questionnaires. We then started training investigators, testing questionnaires and conducting the survey (Mali, June, July 1993).

For the survey proper, the collection of information was carried out by means of questionnaires followed by a checklist and form to fill, some of which were directly registered (households, vegetable gardeners, dyers) and the others through correspondence (industrialists).

Four types of questionnaires were drawn up:

. a questionnaire for households.

. a questionnaire for vegetable gardeners.

. a questionnaire for dyers.

. a questionnaire for industrialists.

The types of information collected can be distributed as follows:

. Industrialists: identification, production, collection and processing of waste, perception of the environment;

. Households: identification and characterization relative to the household, its head and the other members ; waste production and collection, industrial pollution and environmental perception;

. Vegetable gardeners : identification, impact of industrial activity and vegetable gardening, constraints experienced in the industrial estate, cohabitation of industrial activities and vegetable gardening;

. Dyers: identification, products used (nature, quantity), production of liquid waste, disposal sites and mode of processing, impact of products on people and their Environment.

Concerning the information procedure, two techniques were adopted:

. Direct registration by means of questionnaires (Questions- answers) and a form to fill for households, vegetable gardeners and dyers.

. Collection through correspondence or deposit by means of a questionnaire followed by a form to fill and an information letter.

On the whole, the level of the answers was very satisfactory.

The third phase consisted in the exploitation of the data through the following actions:

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This study is based on two conceptions:

. The theory of decisions such as it is drawn up by behaviourism stipulates that the behaviour of people and their attitudes in their environment are guided by the cultural background from which they derive the image they have of their environment which eventually determines their attitude towards the environment or their personal space.

In the Bamako Industrial Estate, the practice of vegetable gardening or cattle-breeding or even waste disposal modes are so many rural practices transferred into town with the massive migration of rural populations. The latter bring with them their customs and creeds which they use in their daily attempts to meet their economic needs. The economic needs of these populations cannot be dissociated with their cultural backgrounds.

In their daily activities, people are not just motivated by their own rationality or by economic considerations. Subjective factors also come in.

. The theory of systems which stipulates that actions which take place in the natural space always bring in new variables which disrupt and modify the initial space. This amounts to saying that the economic actors operating on the space create an interface where they confront without excluding one another, and in their attempts to meet their needs they disrupt and modify the space (waste creation, environmental degradation).

These two theories make it possible for us to understand people's behaviour, their attutudes and the reasons behind their actions on their living environment. In order to better understand the objective factors (economic ones), but also the subjective ones (pertaining to their socio-cultural background).

RESULTS

Characteristics of the Industrial Estate

The Bamako industrial estate, like all other spontaneously settled areas, absorbs a large part of the district's floating population. Several ethnic groups live next to one another in households comprised of 6 children on average. Thus, contrary to what it was initially intended for, this area is a real melting-pot of various ethnic groups and activities in which each group of economic actors is trying to impose itself, and thereby contribute in its own way to environmental degradation. The waste produced in the Bamako industrial estate cannot be attributed to industrialists alone. Other actors also produce waste.

Waste collection and disposal facilities in the area are badly lacking. The same goes for households (lack of sinks, latrines, sceptic tanks, etc.), waste management in the Bamako industrial estate gets even more complicated.

Waste at the level of Industrialists.

Industrial enterprises implanted in that area are very diverse by their nature. Waste production, collection and processing modes vary from one enterprise to the other.

As for solid waste, industrial enterprises produce 10.5% of the district's production. Thus, the study revealed that agro-pastoral enterprises (slaughterhouse with refrigerating facilities), mechanical engineering and glaziery industries, printing presses, food and wood processing industries remain the biggest producers of solid waste.

Liquid waste is, however, the most polluting and most worrying in the area. Food-producing ages pastoral and leather industries, factories specialised in the production of chemical, para-chemical and pharmaceutical products and hydrocarbon depots are the industries from which the quasi-totality of waste emissions which pollute the river and underground waters in the area come. This is in fact the reason why all the wells in the industrial are infected today.

However, waste production in these enterprises is a function of several factors, among which that of the "nature of enterprises" is no doubt the most important one.

Regarding waste collection, processing and disposal, the enterprises studied have surely made several efforts, but waste collection is not done quite regularly. It varies according to enterprises.It can be carried out on a daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis in some enterprises. Concerning waste processing, very few enterprises process their waste and 45% for liquid waste). Incineration and marshalling for solid waste and the decantation and purification of liquid waste are the main methods used in the industrial state.

The attitude of industrial enterpreneurs towards the environment is guided by objective an subjective reasons:

. Their willingness to reduce recurrent charges related to waste management;

. Non-compliance with environmental laws and the norms governing the setting up and operation of these enterprises (with financial reasons as the main objectives).

Waste in the Households

Within households, waste production is considerable. According to our estimates, each household produces 2.4 tonnes of solid waste and 3 cubic metres of liquid waste per year on average. Solid waste is mainly made up of ashes, dust, kitchen remnants and leaves, straws, wood.

As regards waste collection, the study has revealed that 87% of the households covered by the survey have dustbins and 62,5% have sceptic tanks. The disposal of solid waste is done on a daily basis for 80% of households and on a weekly basis for 22% others, but only 35% use official rubbish dumps created by the DSUVA. Factors such as the residence duration, modes of accumulation, the level of education of women, the marital status of household heads and the size of the households towards their environment, but do not explain everything. Some attitudes adopted by these populations can only be explained by their ethnic, social and cultural backgrounds.

Impact of waste on People and the Environment.

The impact of waste on people and the environment is very visible in the Bamako industrial estate. Industrial waste is no doubt the most harmful, but household waste is not devoid of dangers either. Thus, for several diseases recorded in the district's health centres, the Bamako industrial estate comes on top of the list or, at least, among the five leading ones.

In addition to air and water pollution, these waste have harmful effects on the vegetation. Because of household waste heaping up in the streets, flies, mosquitoes and other harmful beasts proliferate.

This insalubrity is well-known to the other economic agents operating in the industrial estate who, despite everything, recognize their responsibility in this insalubrity.This does not prevent them, however, from calling upon the Malian state and in particular the authorities charged with environmental management to whom they reproach the lack of infrastructures for waste collection and disposal.

As regards the other actors who contribute to environmental degradation such as vegetable gardeners, dyers, garage owners and herdsmen, the former do not have the feeling they are responsiblefor the industrial estate's insalubrity. The latter, as for them, are not unaware of the harmful effects of the products they handle (especially caustic soda). Garage owners and herdsmen are also aware of the estate's insalubrious state, even if they have undertaken no action geared towards environmental protection.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The study recommends:

. The strengthening of waste collection facilities by multiplying authorized dumping sites with a view to getting them closer to the users, as well as sewage water collection gutters. It is also necessary to revitalise environmental management structures and coordinate their actions which, very often, are disparate.

. The adoption of a real policy of environmental management, training and sensitization of the populations. This supposes that the state provides the structures involved with the means required by their actions with a view to enforcing compliance with environmental laws. Moreover, it is necessary today to relieve the pressure on the industrial estate by redeploying the most harmful enterprises towards new sites.

As far as the populations are concerned, they must essentially be sensitized, informed and trained to comply with environmental protection rules. To help in the creation and promotion of private waste management structures, economic interest groupings (GIE), NGOs and other non-profit associations operating in the environmental field.

CONCLUSION

In the Bamako industrial estate, waste does not come only from industrial enterprises. Households and other economic actors operating in the area also produce waste and contribute to environmental degradation in the area.

By and large, waste production and the attitude of economic operators towards the environment in the industrial estate depend on several factors, namely economic ones (at the level of industrialists with a view to minimizing recurrent charges related to waste processing and disposal) and subjective ones (socio-cultural factors of the households living in the area).

Efforts have surely been made by economic actors operating in the industrial estate without overcoming the problem of insalubrity. The State, through its technical structures, is also attempting to get the phenomenon of insalubrity in the estate under control, but waste production by far goes beyond the collection and disposal of waste by the relevant services. Moreover, there is no coherent urban policy, capable of judiciously mobilising the financial, material and human means necessary for a sound environmental policy. Collaboration between the state and other private or voluntary environmental management structures (GIE, NGO, Associations) is more than necessary to cope with insecurity in the Bamaco district.

Industrialists should be made to comply with environmental protection rules and the norms for the setting up and operation of enterprises. As for the populations, the battle for environmental protection cannot be won without a change of attitudes, for socio-cultural factors contribute to these populations'environmental management.

Table 1 :Volumes of waste produced by industrial enterprises

ENTERPRISES	Volume of solid waste in cubic metres/year	Volume of liquid waste in cubic metres/year
EFAG	2,190	-
SONATAM	180	10
SMECMA SA	7	-
TOLMALI	-	-
GMP	24	270
SADA SA	3,120	12
UMPP	1,277.5	10,000
ULB	1277,5	17,520
SEGMA	272.5	-
SOMAPIL	84,0	-
Abattoir Frigorifique	1,825	1,825
SOMEPAC	1,085	730
SIMOREV	18,250	-
Scierie Sylla	710	-
ENT-S SOBANSKI	1,095.O	365
UCODAL	12.O	266
Total	13,177.75	30,998

Source: Mahalmoudou (May-June 1993)

Table 2 :Composition of household waste in the city of Bamako (in percentage of the weight)

Composition in weight	Proportional average in %
- Paper, map, carboard box - Plastic - Metals - Glass, ceramics - Leather, rubber - Cloths, textile - Leaves, straws, wood - Coal - Kitchen remnants - Ashes, sand, dust - Others (bones, batteries...) - TOTAL % Volumetric weight	3,5 2,0 3,5 1,0 - 1,0 17,5 2,0 17,5 51,0 1 100% 955g/litre

Source : SWEN Widing, 1984

Table 3 :Prevalence of some diseases per commune in Bamako in 1991

Disease	Amoebiasis	Diarrhoea	Malaria	Bilharziasis	Conjunctivis	Cough
Commune
Commune I	103 5.72	1,260 9.74	2,406 7.91	56 1.09	126 6.70	1,318 7.37
Commune II	324 18.01	3,083 23.84	6,136 20.18	339 8.10	550 24.89	4,011 22.44
Commune III	633 35.18	535 19.61	8,327 27.38	646 15.44	643 29.10	4,465 24.98
Commune IV	359 19.95	2,211 17.10	5,316 17.48	1,088 26.01	420 19.01	3,229 18.06
Commune V	222 12.34	1,717 13.28	3,613 11.88	327 7.81	203 9.18	2,216 12.39
Commune VI	158 8.78	2,121 16.4	4,608 15.15	1,736 41.51	207 12.08	2,635 14.74
Ensemble	1,799 100	12,927 100	30,406 100	4,182 100	2,209 100	17,874 100

Source :Regional division of Social Affairs, Annual Register 1991, Bamako.

Table 4 : Perception of the environment by the populations

	Status of the area			Insalubrity of the area		Those responsible for the insalubrity
	R	1	R + 1	Yes	No	Res. pop.	Industrial Garage-owners	Refuse-collection	Pop. area	Officials	Municipality	State
Household number	12	4	58	67	7	34	14	23	1	3	4	1
%	15	5	72,5	83,75	8,75	42,5	17,5	28,75	1,25	3,75	5	1,25

Source: Mahalmoudou surveys, May-June 1993

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Copyright 1995 - Union for African Population Studies.