Background and objectives:

The scale of the destruction in the South of Lebanon due to the events of July-August 2006 was extraordinary with about 12,000 housing units completely destroyed.  In the aftermath of hostilities, the challenges facing the national shelter recovery programme were immense and complex because of the following legal, architectural and structural factors:

• Absence of reconstruction regulatory frameworks.  
• Lack of proper urban planning rules and regulations.
• Inaccurate documentation of housing.
• Poor community awareness and know how to manage the reconstruction process.

A cooperative strategy was developed in order to respond to reconstruction challenges.  Proposed interventions are shaped around three main objectives:  

• To strengthen capacities of local authorities and Union of Municipalities (UoM) to plan, guide, monitor and control the design and physical construction of totally destroyed houses in the villages.
• To develop the capacities of affected communities manage the reconstruction process of their totally destroyed houses.
• To strengthen capacities of municipalities and community members to mainstream governance in reconstruction operations.

Activities:                     
The main activities include:

• Develop necessary guidelines for the consistency of Regional Technical Office (RTO) operations and define tasks and responsibilities for RTOs and municipalities in the recovery and reconstruction process.
• Launch an information campaign through public workshops to share project activities. 
• Establish RTOs and support reconstruction process. 
• Provide continuous in-service training on RTO operation to municipality staff.
• Document relevant information related to the houses to be rebuilt
• Develop appropriate model plans for houses that could optionally be adopted by affected homeowners. 
• Provide the homeowners with necessary reconstruction documents
• Assist homeowners to enter into contractual arrangements with sub-contractors.
• Engage municipal and community representatives in the data collection, analysis and report production of Rapid Urban Sector Profiling for Sustainability (RUSPS). 
• Provide equipment for one pilot urban observatory and train municipal staff in establishing, running and maintaining
• Agree with the union of municipalities and community members on reconstruction indicators.
• Prepare capacity-building action plan for improving local governance for recovery and reconstruction of demolished properties. 

Results:
The main results achieved have been:          

• Regional Technical Offices established and functioning.
• Affected communities assisted in the reconstruction of their destroyed houses.
• Communities’ awareness increased on reconstruction-related issues.
• Capacities of municipality and community members to plan, guide, monitor and document reconstruction process enhanced.
• Delivery of basic urban services improved.