Municipal development cooperation

Jena and San Marcos have maintained an intensive and diverse town twinning relationship since 1998. The cooperation between the Jenaer Eine-Welt-Haus e. V. and the APRODIM association enables continuous contact between the citizens of Jena, schoolchildren, kindergartens and municipal institutions, so that a special bond has developed over the years. Issues of environmental protection, the sustainable use of resources and alternative energy generation are also present themes that are reflected in the various partnership projects.

In 2012, Jena took part in the "50 Municipal Climate Partnerships" project, in which the challenges of climate change were to be tackled at local and international level by 50 German municipalities and their partners in the Global South. The project was funded and supported by the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW), which is the competence center for issues relating to municipal development cooperation in Germany. Round tables on individual partner countries or regional conferences on partnerships with Africa, Asia and Latin America are organized on a regular basis, where municipal actors from Germany can exchange ideas and develop new projects.

The SKEW is a division of the Engagement Global - Service for Development Initiatives organization, which works on behalf of the German government and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In this way, the comprehensive climate project "Renewable energies and reforestation in Nicaragua" could also be realized by our city of Jena. Together with the city administration of San Marcos and the committed associations APRODIM and Eine-Welt-Haus e. V. Jena, climate protection measures began in 2013 in eleven rural communities in the Nicaraguan city.

The project focused on the installation of photovoltaic systems on municipal and private facilities, the construction of decentralized biogas plants and the reforestation of urban wasteland and public areas in San Marcos.

Thanks to the"solar home systems", 20 families from rural urban areas could be supplied with electricity, which was not possible before. The small monthly fee paid by the families is used to maintain the solar systems.

The six installed biogas plants ensure a significant reduction in the climate-damaging gas methane in the air, as organic materials such as animal dung or organic waste are processed in the plants instead of rotting in the open air. 17 biogas-powered stoves can also be used by families with small farms for a small fee. This saves them a lot of money, as less wood - for example for cooking - has to be used.

The reforestation of ornamental and useful plants on an area of 18 hectares of public green spaces, such as parks or roadsides, ensures an improved microclimate and a reduction in soil erosion. The 8,550 meters of newly planted hedges, which are also intended to curb grass fires, achieve the same benefits. Young adults and children received further training in sustainable gardening during the project and were introduced to the problem in a practical way by planting 12 home gardens. The newly acquired knowledge can now also be applied in school gardens.

In addition to an ecological hiking trail or nature trail in and around San Marcos, old water reservoirs in the town are to be repaired and put back into operation. Five newly built reservoirs on land belonging to smallholder families are also already helping to overcome the long dry periods in the Nicaraguan region.

Our partner city Beit Jala in Palestine also receives support as part of Jena's municipal development cooperation. Projects here are also carried out within the framework of Engagement Global's Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW).

In November 2014, a meeting of German-Palestinian municipal partnerships in Palestine took place, which was organized by the SKEW. Ten German and Palestinian mayors came together in Ramallah under the leadership of former Lord Mayor Dr. Albrecht Schröter, and later formed working groups in Bethlehem with other municipal representatives to discuss ideas for renewing the tourism infrastructure of Palestinian cities and their waste management.

A year later, another German-Palestinian partnership conference was held in Jena, where presentations and discussions again focused on wastewater and waste management as well as tourism development in the municipalities of Palestine. At that time, all seven German-Palestinian municipal partnerships took part in the meeting. Today, there are already 13 partnerships of this kind.

Several times a year, there is also a seminar on regional and intercultural training for German-Palestinian municipal partnership work, which is organized by the Service Agency. In August 2017, employees of the city administration who support municipal projects with Beit jala and local actors with a commitment to Palestine came together in Jena to take part in the seminar.

There are firm plans to continue strengthening the relationship between German and Palestinian municipalities in the future, to implement development policy measures in Palestinian territories and thus improve the living conditions of local people. Detailed information will be provided in German cities in order to raise awareness of the problems and living conditions in Palestine.

Jena will continue to exchange experiences with Beit Jala regarding development policy and strengthen cooperation with the Bethlehem region in order to implement joint projects in tourism and municipal services of general interest. Workshops, working meetings and conferences in the municipalities of Beit Jala and Jena will help with this.

As part of a funding program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, municipal relations between German municipalities and host municipalities of Syrian refugees in the Middle East can be promoted. The aim is to strengthen the capacity of host municipalities to provide public services in the partner countries.

Kommunalservice Jena (KSJ) became aware of the possibility of supporting such projects through an appeal by the Association of Municipal Enterprises (Verband kommunaler Unternehmen e. V.) to support a workshop in Amman in November 2016. The workshop focused on the planning of integrated waste management projects in Jordanian municipalities.

KSJ quickly decided to contribute its expertise and experience and presented itself at the event 'Establishing the separate collection of waste' in Jena, organized by Connective Cities - an international city platform for sustainable development. During the workshop, the Jordanian municipalities in attendance also discussed the areas in which help is particularly needed.

In March, the Jordanian colleagues traveled to the Cologne area to visit waste disposal facilities and to discuss specific topics for possible partnerships during a workshop. It was already clear here that the KSJ's expertise could be used most effectively in the municipality of Deir Alla. In May 2017, two representatives from the company took part in a study trip to Jordan. As a result, a final decision was made to cooperate with Deir Alla and funding was applied for to implement specific measures. Deir Alla did not yet have a sound waste management plan. For this reason, the Jordanian colleagues were initially supported with examples from Jena of how such a plan could be designed and provided practical help in drawing up the plan.

As a further measure of cooperation, the organization of a workshop in Jena was planned. In November 2017, seven guests from Jordan were welcomed to the city on the Saale for a week. In addition to the mayor, the head of the Garden Department, who is responsible for waste disposal in her city, was also present. The head of the partner municipality's workshop and a driver of a waste disposal vehicle were also guests in Jena. The workshop program included discussions and an exchange of experiences on the topics of route planning and the use of technology, the operation and maintenance of waste disposal vehicles and the preparation of a waste analysis. Activities to advise children on the subject of waste were also presented. The guests had the opportunity to experience a live tour of a children's group. They were able to visit many areas of the KSJ company and exchange experiences on the organization of waste management with the employees. One highlight, for example, was the guided tour of the organic waste collection.

In order to determine further data as a basis for waste planning, an initial household waste analysis was carried out on site in Deir Alla at the beginning of December 2017 together with a commissioned engineering firm. The local partners had provided all the material required for the analysis in accordance with the specifications and a total of 10 sorting staff, some of whom were Syrian, were available. First of all, the respective urban areas from which the sample containers were to be tipped were determined together with the local colleagues. An area with a rather low and a rather high income structure, an area with a very high volume of organic waste and an area with small commercial facilities, such as stores, were selected. A total of 18 containers with waste were sorted.

A second analysis took place in April 2018 in order to record the seasonal fluctuations in waste composition. This time, a total of 20 samples from 1,100 l containers were collected and sorted. The Jordanian colleagues worked largely independently and required much less help in distinguishing the individual types of waste. Both analyses revealed a very high proportion of biowaste (in some cases more than 50%), meaning that further cooperation with Deir Alla will focus on the separate collection of biowaste and its recycling. In autumn 2018, another workshop is planned in Jena with Jordanian guests on the possibilities of biowaste recycling.

The project is seen as a contribution to better solving problems that arise in Jordanian municipalities in connection with the influx of refugees from Syria and to providing direct help on the ground. The project is to be continued in 2019.