A decade after the passage of Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as the Philippine Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, an in-depth and year-long analysis of its successes and remaining gaps is undertaken. The National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) has gathered experts and practitioners to document the status of compliance to the law by local government units and diagnose the issues and barriers affecting its implementation. With support from Solid Waste Management for Local Government Units (SWM4LGUs) Project being implemented by AHT GROUP AG on behalf of the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the NSWMC has developed the National Solid Waste Management Strategy for the years 2012 to 2016. The Strategy consists of ten (10) components, namely: Bridging policy gaps and harmonizing policies, Capacity development, social marketing and advocacy, Sustainable financing, Creating economic opportunities, Knowledge management on technologies and innovation, Organizational development and enhancing inter-agency cooperation, Compliance monitoring, enforcement and recognition, Good governance, Caring for vulnerable groups, and Reducing disaster and climate change risks. Each is defined by key initiatives, which are further elaborated with objectives, indicative actions, justifications, responsible entities, time frame, target groups and resource requirements. This paper describes the processes involved in strategy development, including the review of policies, situational analysis, issue categorization, validation of strategic issue statements, elaboration of strategic components, and prioritization of key initiatives through factor analysis and stakeholder management tools. (C) 2012 Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Asia and the Pacific and National Center of Solid Waste Management, Ministry of Environmental Protection of China.
