DESMA Center as Keynote Speaker in the Regional Dissemination Workshop of the ASEAN Municipal Solid Waste Management Enhancement (AMUSE) Project
Author: Siti Nur Hasbiyana, Programme Associate and Outreach
Tourism is a vital sector in ASEAN, contributing significantly to economic growth and job creation. However, it also generates large volumes of waste, particularly single-use plastics. In many tourism destinations, waste management are already under pressure, and the additional waste generated by millions of tourists each year further challenges local governments in maintaining cleanliness, attractiveness, and environmental sustainability in urban areas.
To address these challenges, the ASEAN–German cooperation project ASEAN Municipal Solid Waste Management Enhancement (AMUSE), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, aims to improve solid waste management in selected tourism destination cities across ASEAN. Through capacity development and pilot cities in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam, AMUSE supports governments, the tourism sector, and local communities in implementing sustainable and gender-sensitive waste management practices.
As an implementing partner of the GIZ-AMUSE project, DESMA Center, represented by Dicky Mardyan, Co-Founder and Director of DESMA Center, and Dr. Baskoro Lokahita, Expert at DESMA Center, attended and served as keynote speaker at one of the sessions of AMUSE Regional Dissemination Workshop held in Jakarta on December 4, 2025. The event aimed to present and review the achievements and knowledge gained from the GIZ-AMUSE project. The workshop was conducted through plenary sessions, talk shows, and an exhibition, and concluded with discussions on the application of concrete actions derived from project lessons learned for future initiatives. In addition to DESMA Center, other GIZ-AMUSE partners attending the dissemination included the Vice Governor of Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and the Urban Development and Administration Authority of Lao PDR.
The closing of the AMUSE Regional Dissemination Workshop marked the conclusion of the ASEAN–German GIZ-AMUSE cooperation project, which was implemented regionally from April 2022 to December 2025. The project is expected to serve as a model that can be replicated across tourism destinations in the ASEAN region, supporting ASEAN vision of green, inclusive, and sustainable tourism.
