Updates:
Beirut, 31 August 2006 - In the context of cooperation with the Lebanese government and towards an early recovery and a complete implementation of the reconstruction plan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is offering grants to the municipalities of Beirut Southern Suburb, with an overall amount of $200,000 (Two hundred thousands US dollars), distributed to the following municipalities: Al Ghobeiri – Al Shayah – Burj Al Barajna – and Haret Hreik, aiming at cleaning the rubbles out of the internal roads complementary with the rubble cleaning the Ministry of Public Works is conducting.
Stockholm Conference
On the 31st of August, donors pledged a total of $940 million towards Lebanon at the Stockholm Conference. This is almost twice the $500 million target set by the organizers to finance the Government of Lebanon’s national early recovery efforts based on needs assessments conducted in close cooperation with the UN. Adding previous pledges and commitments for longer-term reconstruction projects, organizers estimated that a total of $1.2 billion was pledged to bolster Lebanon’s early recovery efforts in the transition towards long term reconstruction.
Early recovery initiatives, as presented by the Government, would ensure measures to meet the immediate needs of the Lebanese people across 11 sectors namely displacement and shelter, mines and unexploded ordnance, infrastructure, water and sanitation, health, education, environment, employment, agricultural
production, industrial production, and assistance to the Palestinian refugee camps. The Government took the opportunity to present the steps envisaged for its longterm recovery and reconstruction efforts, which will be the subject of another international conference to take place later this year.
The conference gathered about 50 governments and representatives of UN agencies, the European Commission, the World Bank, IMF and other aid organizations. Participants express full support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon, recognizing the government’s ownership and leadership role of the process of early recovery.
Progress with Quick Delivery- High Impact Efforts
UNDP is working closely with the Government of Lebanon to initiate a number of critical recovery initiatives and has developed a package of quick delivery-high impact projects for this purpose. The Canadian Government has already pledged $2 million toward these projects and UNDP has allocated more than $3 million of its own resources. UNDP continues to work closely with donors to actively mobilize resources to close the financial gap estimated at about $40 million. In the meantime, progress has been made on several fronts:
• Repairing Municipal Infrastructure: Municipalities have already launched primary reconstruction efforts, targeting the reparation of roads and public buildings (schools and clinics), the restoration of basic social services including electricity and water, and the provision of public buildings to accommodate those citizens whose houses have been demolished. UNDP has primarily allocated $800,000 to revitalize 98 municipalities in Southern Lebanon and Baalbek, for them to lead the reconstruction process at the municipal level and facilitate the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs). An overall budget of $20 million is needed to cover municipalities in the Bekaa and Northern Lebanon areas in the second phase of the project.
• Clearing Southern Beirut Rubble: Work has already commenced in Southern Beirut to clean the rubble out of internal roads. UNDP has offered the municipalities of Southern Beirut a grant totaling $200,000 to complete the task at hand.
• Cleaning Up the Oil Spill: The Lebanese Ministry of Environment in partnership with UNDP, the EC, UNEP, REMPEC and IMO has launched a detailed assessment of the areas affected by the oil spill and its environmental impact, for immediate clean up of those areas. The bombing of the Jiye Power Plant has led to 10,000- 15,000 tons of fuel oil spilling across 150KM of the Lebanese coastline, with serious ramifications on health, biodiversity, fisheries and tourism.
• Recovering Fishermen’s Livelihoods: UNDP has provided $90,000 to support the Fisherman Associations in Lebanon to repair fishermen’s damaged boats, provide the latter with nets and engines and rebuild the fish market in Ouzai. The oil spill, compounded by Israel’s naval blockade, has heavily impacted the fishing sector, where an estimated 3,500 fishermen have lost their only source of income.
Early Emergency Relief Impact
UNDP has supported the Government of Lebanon’s humanitarian relief efforts throughout this recent crisis tapping into its extensive networks both at the central and regional levels. UNDP has mobilized its Policy Advisory Units based at the Prime Minister’s Office, and other key ministries, in turn enabling it to play a crucial role in supporting the government and coordinating with the UN family and its network agencies. UNDP was able to further capitalize on its field projects and sub-offices in Tyre, Chouf and Akkar in order to respond directly and immediately to the humanitarian crisis.
• Emergency Response Coordination: UNDP deployed a number of professionals to support the High Relief Committee, operating under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s office, in the different aspects of relief coordination and networking, including coordination with other UN agencies, logistics, data management and the organizational aspects of humanitarian relief.
• Emergency Relief Distribution: In total, UNDP was able to distribute non-food items (NFIs) to more than 180,000 IDPs in Beirut, its Southern suburbs, the South, and Mount Lebanon in a very quick and efficient manner. Contributing $500,000 of its own resources, UNDP set up a complete system of emergency relief distribution, which has enabled it to distribute NFIs (including family, hygiene and kitchen kits, mattresses and showers) to more than 69,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Chouf and Aley-Baabda regions. UNDP has also utilized its presence in the South to distribute tons of NFIs to major cities and towns,
through UN convoys with the support of the UNDP office in Tyre, where UNDP is the only UN agency with operational presence in South Litani beside UNIFIL.
• Information and Coordination: Building on its longstanding projects with ministries and local authorities, UNDP served as gateway for the newly deployed UN agencies and international NGO staff. UNDP undertook early and cross-ministerial planning for urgent recovery both through the Policy Advisory Units and by establishing and leading a UN Recovery Cluster, bringing together UN agencies and government representatives. As part of this system, UNDP compiled, aggregated and geo-referenced proper mapping of IDPs, while updating the map of IDP centers to enable proper mapping and to facilitate relief operations.
Lebanon
