Lebanon

Human development in Lebanon has been significantly eroded by armed conflicts and political instability (see table below). The country has suffered the devastating effect of several armed conflicts, including a 15-year civil conflict (1975-1990), which caused tremendous human, physical, economical and psychological impact.

Furthermore, in recent years, there has been an increasing vulnerability to natural disasters in Lebanon. There has also been an increase in the potential for industrial accidents, pollution and chemical poisoning.

UNDP has been working in risk reduction for many years. For instance, UNDP is currently assessing disaster management capacities in the country, supporting national capacities for mine risk reduction and promoting some peace building initiatives.

Years	Key events/ characteristics
1975-1990	Civil war
1978-2000	Israeli occupation of South Lebanon
2005	Assassination of prime minister Hariri and political instability
2006	Israeli July/August war
2007	War between the Army and the salafist group Fatah- al-Islam

Lebanon could be said to be recovering from four conflict events in two decades, for which recovery work is still ongoing: The 1975-1990 (Civil War), the 2000 Israeli withdrawal, 2006 (Israeli "July War") and 2007 (crisis of Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp).

UNDP has been supporting Lebanon's recovery efforts for two decades, in order to quickly recover lives and livelihoods in the affected areas, while paving the way for political stability and the achievement of the MDG by promoting good governance (public administration, economic reform, social policies, peace building initiatives).
Following the 2006 July War, UNDP supported ad hoc humanitarian interventionsand collaborated closely with the government, local NGOs, and other UN actors. After the end of the hostilities, UNDP's support in the areas of "Early Recovery" enabled more than 200 municipalities to clear rubble and quickly repairs roads, public buildings and basic infrastructure to re-establish the delivery of social services. Other early recovery initiatives are still underway, such as cleaning of oil spill, supporting use of renewable energies, supporting affected fishermen, and repairing key public administration equipment.

While supporting early recovery interventions on the ground, UNDP is also strengthening the government's own post-conflict aid coordination mechanisms, based in the Prime Minister's Office. These include(i) a transparent and effective donor contributions tracking system, accessible at: www.dadlebanon.org (ii) the Lebanon Recovery Fund designed to channel international assistance rapidly to recovery projects (iii) the revision of the Social Action Plan from the Paris III Conference, (iv) and the preparation of important socio-economic assessments. In addition, UNDP has also engaged actively with civil society, supported the coordination of activities to clear unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and is currently preparing a programme of support of national and local capacities for natural disaster management.

During the armed conflict in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el Bared camp (May-September 2007), UNDP has supported national efforts through the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC), based at the Prime Minister office. UNDP has also actively supported UNRWA's coordination efforts as well as the planning of early recovery interventions. UNDP is currently involved in several actions on the ground covering capacity building, small scale infrastructure, livelihoods, environmental protection and electricity.

Click on Image to enlarge
9 July 2005	9 July 2005, 1 July 2007 & 2 August 2007	2 August 2007
Palestinian refugee camp Nahr a-Bared- 1 Dec 2007	Palestinian refugee camp Bedawi - 1 Dec 2007	From Tripoli to Bednine Municipality - 1 Dec 2007
Palestinian refugee camp Nahr a-Bared- 1 Dec 2007

"UNDP's participation in Lebanon's recovery in the aftermath of the July 2006 war"

The document entitled "UNDP's participation in Lebanon's recovery in the aftermath of the July 2006 war" highlights UNDP's participation in Lebanon's recovery since the end of the July war. It provides an integrated look at UNDP's contributions to the management and coordination of post-conflict development resources and illustrates UNDP's value at the upstream and downstream levels. The substantive focus of UNDP's interventions aimed at restoring lives and livelihoods, with "downstream" interventions documented in terms of tangible results for beneficiaries. In brief, this document provides an integrated account of the many recovery accomplishments, including the programmatic and operational considerations.
download report (pdf 4.38 MB)