The countries in the United Nations system have agreed to development goals and targets
which require that people be allowed to participate in planning, designing, selecting and
implementing activities, projects, programmes which could contribute to their social and
economic development. In countries adjacent to important ecosystems like the Caribbean
Sea and the Mediterranean, appropriate SWM systems should be well established and
maintained. This is critical to pollution prevention and management of terrestrial and marine
environments. Everyone generates waste and all persons are therefore stakeholders in
SWMPs. In particular in the Caribbean where the countries are of smaller land masses,
SWM is a sensitive issue as there are thin buffer zones and the NIMBY concerns create a
major issue. SWM has become a national issue in the Caribbean as the planning and
establishment of SWM has been based on centrally planned Integrated SWM Systems. There
are limited roles for local government/councils. This is not the case in the Mediterranean
countries where the countries are much bigger countries and have decentralised SWM
systems. The NIMBY issue is a major concern in the Caribbean while in the Mediterranean
more emphasis has been on poverty reduction and socio-economic opportunities from public
participation in SWM activities.