Financial constraints are among the most important barriers to proper municipal solid waste (MSW) management in the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. The reform of fiscal measures and the adoption of economic instruments could help local governments by increasing revenue, causing MSW management authorities in the region to attempt to recover costs by levying fees for their services. However, the polluter pays principle is not easy to enforce in countries where the population has never paid the actual cost of public services aimed at mitigating environmental damage. Since it directly affects their available income, local people often do not understand why they should pay for these services while at the same time, rising public awareness of environmental issues is making it more difficult to implement low-cost solutions, such as the creation of new disposal sites. The fermentation of waste in open dumps and landfills generates landfill gas (LFG), a major component of which is methane, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG). Proper management of MSW which includes utilizing this LFG, can thus contribute to climate change mitigation. Opportunely, a new financing instrument became available on 16 February 2005: the clean development mechanism (CDM). One of the three “flexible mechanisms” of the Kyoto Protocol, it allows developing cities to obtain financial resources and state-of-the-art technology from industrialized countries in order to mitigate their GHG emissions. Incineration, biogasification and landfill gas recovery are the main types of waste treatment that can mitigate GHG emissions and could be promoted in developing cities through CDM projects.
