Social participation in city governance and urban livelihoods: Constraints to the informal recycling economy in Aba, Nigeria

Abstract The informal sector in cities of the developing world is often analyzed from the prism of urban poverty, social exclusion and limited social integration, and lack of power. While such issues have commanded considerable attention in development literature, contribution of the sector to urban governance and barriers to its social participation in the urban governance process appears to have received relatively little epistemological treatment. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to critically examine the status of solid waste management (SWM) in urban governance and constraints to participation of the informal waste sector in governance of the city of Aba, Nigeria. The paper which is framed around the Global Campaign on Urban Governance is based on a survey and focus group discussions (FGDs) with informal waste workers, and key-informant interviews (KIIs) with environment and development policy experts. Findings indicate that the sector while making clear development contributions is not recognized in SWM policy and practice. It was also found that the sector lacks education, self-organization and knowledge of civil rights for an effective social participation process. The study while arguing that effective social participation requires a supportive environment and political will acknowledges the enormity of the barriers to the informal waste sector but suggests that social innovation initiatives can potentially counter trends of social exclusion and foster greater social inclusion of the informal waste workers. Interventions to strengthen solid waste governance and development by the informal waste sector in Aba, Nigeria are also suggested.