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Environmental Legacies of Major Events. Solid Waste Management and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda

by Mersharch W. Katusiimeh & Arthur P.J. Mol

Abstract

Important political, cultural, or sports events can accelerate improvements in environmental policy and performance. This study investigates whether environmental improvements–and especially those related to solid waste–materialized during the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, Uganda, and whether these improvements lasted well after that event. A quantitative survey was used to investigate the state of solid waste management before, during, and after CHOGM, measured through the perceptions of urban residents. Interviews and documents were used to interpret survey results. The study concludes that additional resources and institutional changes in solid waste management in the lead up to CHOGM, resulted in considerable improvements. Some of these effects on solid waste management lasted up to at least one year after hosting the CHOGM event. In addition, CHOGM lifted the differences in perceptions of solid waste management between the city center and peripheral divisions.

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Mesharch W. Katusiimeh is a Lecturer in Political Science and Public Administration at Uganda Christian University. Arthur P. J. Mol is a Professor and Chair, Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), the Netherlands

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