Urban and industrial environmental management programme - Management and reuse of contaminated sites

Project details
Country: 
Mexico
Beneficiary: 
Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources
Donor organisation: 
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Associated enterprises: 
ERM GmbH
Department: 
Architecture & Urban Development
Project volume: 
1,689,812 €
Currency: 
€
Value of services: 
1,351,850 €
Start of project: 
January, 2010
End of project: 
January, 2013
Project description: 

The significant economic growth and industrial development in Mexico in recent decades have caused a series of environmental problems, such as poor waste management and a considerable soil contamination.

 

Almost 30% of municipal solid waste and 80% of hazardous waste are not disposed adequately and out of the thousands of contaminated sites only about 30 of them have been treated.

 

Compared with other Latin American countries, Mexico has an exemplary environmental legislation and advanced strategies for environment protection. However, these legal provisions, especially at the municipal level, are not implemented and monitored with enough strictness.

The lack of technical skills and management, and the difficulties to finance the infrastructure and the absence of appropriate concepts for it foundation, hampers the efficient enforcement of environmental laws.

Service description: 
  • Encourage the exchange of knowledge and experiences between municipalities, states, the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT, by its Spanish acronym) and other public institutions, and with the private and academic sectors;
  • Management of the Latin American Network for the Prevention and Management of Contaminated Sites - RELASC, for its Spanish acronym;
  • Incentives for research programs;
  • Increase the efficiency of institutions at federal, state and municipal levels; development of comprehensive environmental concepts for remediation and revitalization of contaminated sites for selected municipalities; development of technical guidelines and procedures; and
  • Implement appropriate instruments for environmental management, e.g. extension of the information system of contaminated sites.
Objectives: 

Objective of the Programme: Increase the efficiency of the urban and industrial environmental management, especially in areas of solid waste management and revitalization of contaminated areas.

Objective of the component: Management and reuse of contaminated sites have improved in the respective levels of government management.

The approach of the component will be to reuse the contaminated sites after its treatment as an opportunity for urban development. ("Revitalization of contaminated sites")

Currency: 
€