FOREWORD
 The report A Profile of Sustainable Human Development in Lebanon is the first such endeavor to be published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Lebanon. It marks the publication of the third Arab country report on the subject, after Egypt and Iraq.
The report comes at a particularly opportune moment, as Lebanon rises to the challenge of reconstruction and rebuilding the country's economy and institutions, and the far-reaching changes and transformation at the regional and global levels. The publication of the report also comes at a time when the debate on the priorities of development has intensified, and the Government has declared its intention to accord the social and environmental aspects of development increased intention.
The preparation of the report has been undertaken as part of a wider effort in the context of a joint project of the Council for Development and Reconstruction and UNDP aimed at operationalizing sustainable human development through raising awareness and promoting a process of policy dialogue and action towards building broad national consensus on a strategy and approach to development that is people-centered and sustainable over time.
Both the project and the present report reflect a conviction and a commitment on the part of UNDP to put people at the centre of development - a concern that is highlighted by, and finds expression in, numerous UNDP publications, but especially in the annual Human Development Report which it has produced since 1990.
What distinguishes the Human Development Report from much of the literature on development is its embrace of the sustainable human development concept and approach, with its emphasis on people as being the real wealth of a nation; its perception of human development as a process of broadening people's choices, and enabling and equipping them to participate in decisions affecting their lives and well-being; and, its concern not only with generating growth, but also with the equitable distribution of its returns.
The report A Profile of Sustainable Human Development in Lebanon seeks to inform about the situation and issues involved in sustainable human development in the country on the basis of available data. The report attempts to examine the facts in an objective manner and to present a balanced view. As such, however, the report does not necessarily reflect the views of UNDP. A priori the report does not propose solutions, but hopes to make a modest contribution in bringing about debate and action towards solutions. In doing so, it is hoped that the report will stimulate official and public awareness and concern and thus contribute ultimately to wider and better informed involvement of people in the process of sustainable human development.
The report throughout draws heavily on the country experience during the war period, which explains many of the present difficulties and challenges. With respect to the latter, specific reference is made here to the impact of the continuing occupation by Israel of parts of South Lebanon and to the imperative need to ensure the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 425. To match the formidable challenges it faces, the country has a number of basic assets and strong fundamentals which underpinned the impressive achievements made in recent years by the Government. Of course, much remains to be done and many problems remain to be overcome.
The strength of recent experience warrants optimism about the ongoing programme and achieving the country's considerable potential, particularly as the focus of government action increasingly shifts towards capacity development. The outlook cannot but be improved when action to increase economic productivity is matched with action to raise social productivity. Both are based on, and will require full support for, the formation of human and social capital - areas where there is considerable potential to be tapped.
A major obstacle that permeated the entire process of preparing the report was the paucity of data and low reliability of statistical and other information, sometimes anecdotal. It is hoped that ongoing and planned efforts by the Government, in cooperation with UNDP and other international organizations, to fill the statistical and information gap pertaining to basic parameters of economic and social development, will contribute significantly to remedy this deficiency. Two important endeavors were completed in October 1996: first, the population and housing survey implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs with financial and technical support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); and, second, the maternal and child health survey implemented by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, with financial support from the Arab Gulf Fund for the United Nations (AGFUND), UNFPA, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). A number of other important surveys are under way: buildings and establishments census, labor force and employment survey, national household survey, living standard measurement survey, agricultural census, and national accounts estimates. All these are expected to be completed in 1997-1998.
The additional information resulting from these efforts will facilitate the preparation of an annual series of national human development reports with a thematic focus, an objective which UNDP has assigned to all country offices. UNDP and other organizations of the UN system will assist in the preparation of such reports and in carrying out surveys and studies to map out and measure the basic parameters and indicators of economic and social development in Lebanon.
Sustainable human development presents a new paradigm of development. It is based on people - women and men, individuals and groups - which constitute the country's principal asset. Sustainable human development depends on developing the capacities of people - the motor of development - and on their active participation in development.
Ross Mountain
Resident Representative
United Nations Development Programme
January 1997
The views expressed in this Report do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations Development Programme
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Lebanon
