1- Opening of the National Operations Room - May 27, 2015 (Source UNDP Site)
UNDP Lebanon- Opening ceremony for the national operations room
With the presence of his Excellency Prime Minister Mr. Tamam Salam, the opening of the Disaster Risk Management Room was held in the Grand Serail, on the 27th of May, in collaboration with the UNDP disasters management project, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Germany.
Attending the opening were the minister of social affairs Mr. Rashid Derbas, minister of environment Mr. Mohammad Machnouq, and minister of information Mr. RamziJreij, Secretary-General of the Supreme Commission for Relief General Mohammad Kheir, Swiss ambassador Mr. Francois Barras, German ambassador Christian Clages, and the ambassadors of Belgium and Japan, UNDP country director Mr. Luca Renda, as well as representatives from the Lebanese army, Internal security forces, Civil Defense, Lebanese Red Cross.
Prime Minister Tamam Salam assured that, “Risk reduction is the responsibility of the Lebanese Government, and Lebanon is working on all level to establish a work mechanism to achieve that. We assure our commitment to risk reduction and would like to thank the UNDP, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Swiss, German, Italian and Turkish embassies.”
Swiss ambassador Francois Barras stated that, “Switzerland highly appreciates the commitment of the Lebanese Government and the progress on the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) file in parallel to the huge responsibility it is undertaking to coordinate the Syrian refugee response in the Country.”
He added, “to date, Switzerland has contributed around CHF 5 million on disaster risk reduction projects in Lebanon and continues its support to national, regional and global DRR initiatives. Through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Switzerland works to support government institutional capacities to ensure a strong basis for implementation of national DRR plans.”
German ambassador Christian Clages said, “It is my understanding that in the process of this work, the emphasis shifted from relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction to prevention and risk reduction, in close cooperation with the UNDP and other international partners of Lebanon. The objective was and is to minimize the impact and consequences of disasters when and wherever in country they occur. I am proud that my Government could support these efforts with 830.000 Dollars via the Lebanon Recovery Fund.”
Luca Renda, UNDP country director, said, “ We gathered last December in this very room to present the “Lebanese Crisis Response Plan”, under the auspices of HE PM Salam. We, the United Nations, in partnership with the international community, reiterated our commitment to provide maximum support to Lebanon in these challenging times – and in particular, to increase our support to central government institutions. The establishment of the Operation Room today falls within the scope of Plan, and is aligned to its central objective of preserving the country’s stability.”
At the end, Secretary-General of the Supreme Commission for Relief General Mohammad Kheir announced the launching of Disaster Risk Management Room inside the Grand Serail, and demonstrated the role of the Lebanese Army, The Internal Security Forces, Civil Defense, and Lebanese Red Cross in containing the risks, aiding the people and minimizing the damages. Also he showed the role of the ministries of social affairs, interior, health, and public work in providing safe shelters and rebuilding.
After that the attendees took a tour inside the National Operation room of Disaster Risk Management Room where they were introduced to work system it follows. They were shown how it covers Environmental Monitoring, humidity, rain, winds, temperature, snow level, and rain level. It also gives statements in case of floods, fires and the vegetation and humidity in the area of fire to foresee the movement of fire and to where it could expand.
It is worth to mention that the project strategy was set in 2013 in collaboration with international organization and data collection about the distribution of Civil Defense and Red Cross, hospitals, and most endangered areas.
2- Press Clipping Host Nation Support training: 14-17 September 2015
Disaster unit defies political boundaries for Lebanese’s safety .NazihOsseiran| The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Despite the Lebanese authorities’ total failure in addressing the garbage crisis, which has triggered massive popular demonstrations, some facets of government institutions seem alive and well, up to the tasks entrusted them by the nation’s citizens.
One institution claiming this accolade is the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Unit, which promises to fulfill the tasks identified by its name if ever Lebanon is subject to a devastating disaster.
The unit, whose headquarters are located in the Grand Serail, was the product of the UNDP’s Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Capacities in Lebanon project launched in 2009 in collaboration with the office of the prime minister.
The endeavor aims to develop and strengthen the Lebanese government’s disaster-management and risk-reduction strategies.
With Lebanon already having feeble infrastructure and being overwhelmed by economic and security challenges, any disaster, be it earthquakes and tsunamis or even floods, forest fires, landslides and droughts, could have destructive effects.
The unit, established under the first phase of the project, focuses on developing and establishing disaster-response systems at a regional level, in addition to raising public awareness on the proper response in the event of a nationwide catastrophe.
The second phase, running from 2013 through the present day, centers on finalizing work already begun and targeting specific sectors and localities, particularly highly vulnerable groups such as Syrian refugees.
The unit’s efforts have resulted in a broad array of measures, with the primary goal of reducing the fallout that vulnerable populations and their infrastructure could face as a result of a national disaster.
A workshop at the Riviera Hotel Monday saw a continuation of these efforts. An assortment of individuals representing a vast swath of government agencies and institutions gathered to partake in a workshop entitled Host Nation Support.
The workshop is being held in collaboration with the UNDP Disaster Risk Management Unit and Euromed PPRD South II.
Should a national disaster occur in Lebanon, all the represented agencies have a specific role to play in response.
“The primary aim of this program is networking between structures and people,” said Laurent de Pierrefeu, the disaster management expert administering the workshop.
“Once you have that half the job is done.”
Euromed PPRD is a partnership project established by the EU and Mediterranean nations, aimed at strengthening responses to both natural and manmade disasters.
The workshop is being held from Sept. 14 to 17.
It includes representatives of nearly every government institution and agency that might have some role to play in the event of national disaster.
Attendees included representatives from the ministries of health, transport and public works, social affairs, education, environment, agriculture, energy and water, telecommunications, information, economy, foreign affairs, and finance. Members of the Army and the Internal Security Forces were in attendance, as well as members of the Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense.
The workshop was opened by the secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Kheir.
Kheir stressed the importance of the work being done by the DRM Unit. “Our achievements speak for themselves, even if no one knows about them,” he said. Kheir also lauded the importance of interagency communication and cooperation. “Our aim is to have a national response team of the utmost preparedness ... a team who has knowledge of international humanitarian law,” he said during his speech.
Kheir soon departed, and Laurent was left to his own devices. Participants were asked to introduce themselves, sparking friendly banter as attendees exchanged jokes from one table to the next.
The gathered Army representatives were comprised of the Air Force and Naval Command’s top brass.
Most perplexing was the almost casual method in which members of different agencies were able to communicate complex matters and systems pertaining to disaster response.
For a nation that has not been able to collect the garbage piled up on its streets, the easy demeanor, professionalism and efficiency of government representatives seemed baffling.
“It is because no money is involved,” a security personnel said.
“When you don’t have money exchanging hands, you have no political hurdles and everything runs smoothly.”
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on September 15, 2015, on page 4.
3- Lebanon’s storm preparedness
A decade of efforts to better prepare and respond to disasters were highlighted when seasonal storm ‘Zina’ struck Lebanon in January 2015.
“We were waiting for this heavy storm to hit the country,” says Alexi Karim. “Throughout the year the local municipality came and conducted awareness sessionsabout earthquakes, tsunamis and flood preparedness, but I still didn’t expect the storm to be that heavy.”
Karim’s restaurant, in the town of Byblos sur Mer, was hit by flooding when Zina (as it is locally known) brought heavy snow and rain, as well as high winds and severe cold. While the restaurant itself was damaged, Karim is thankful that nobody was hurt and that damage was relatively minimal.
“This was not the first heavy storm to hit Lebanon, and I must admit I noticed this time that the whole preparedness and response system had really improved. Not only were the concerned agencies helpful, but also very well organized,” Karim added.
In the days after the storm, the Byblos municipality mobilized a team to assess the damages to Byblos sur Mer, as well as evaluate preparedness in the event that another storm struck. The assessment was carried out in part to determine reconstruction and recovery needs, and to reiterate the importance of stronger preparedness going forward.
“As one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, we consider that it is our duty to preserve it and protect the city’s residents,” says Toni Sfeir, a member of the Byblos municipality.
Exposed to natural hazards, such as landslides, storms and earthquakes, Byblos has worked with the Lebanese Government to enhance disaster risk reduction in the area. Sfeir says that following Zina, the municipality deployed a crisis disaster unit for the first time to support the local population. The unit is part of the Response plan for the Caza of Byblos and in line with the Lebanese National Response Plan for disasters, which is a result of the partnership between the municipality and UNDP.
The response to Zina exemplifies Lebanon’s commitment to disaster risk reduction and its efforts to meet the priorities and goals of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). Over the HFA’s ten-year period (2005-2015), Lebanon has increased disaster risk awareness by carrying out emergency drills in cities and municipalities across the country. It has also developed a website and mobile phone application that provide emergency information before, during, and after disasters, and has conducted workshops that have built up disaster response capacity in all sectors, private and public.
Throughout this process UNDP has partnered with the Government and has helped integrate disaster risk reduction into national, sectoral and local development and planning processes.
“Disasters affect everyone and thus have to be everyone’s concern”, says Nathalie Zaarour, Disaster Risk Management Unit Project Manager at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. “Lebanon is on track to build its resilience to disasters. Many future actions are planned that will continue to build up national capacities to prepare and respond to disasters, enhancing cooperation between all concerned agencies and stakeholders.”
4) Field Simulation on a Disaster Response Scenario in the City of Saida
A Field simulation covering a Disaster Response Scenario (response to a simulated earthquake) was carried out in Saida on Saturday March 28,2015 and was the result of a cooperation between the UNDP’s Disaster Risk management Unit at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the relevant governmental and local agencies.
The exercise, the first of its kind in South Lebanon following a preceding one in Byblos, is the result of a long and fruitful partnership between the UNDP and the Government of Lebanon and comes within the framework of the Response Plan for the Mouhafaza of South and the National Response Plan
The drill was built on the work already done by the city of Saida in relation to disaster management and is a key step towards strengthening national capacities in the area of disaster risk reduction and enhancing cooperation among all agencies and stakeholders.
5) Launching of Flood Risk Assessment and Mapping for Lebanon
According to the World Bank approximately 70 percent of all global disasters are linked to hydro-meteorological events. Flooding poses one of the greatest natural risks to sustainable development. Since 2013 UNDP and with the support of SDC has been working in partnership with CNRS in the development of flood hazard mapping. To complement the work already achieved in the area of flood assessment mapping, UNDP agreed with CNRS to assess the flood risk over Lebanese watersheds and to develop a comprehensive methodology for flood risk mapping in order to protect life and property, support emergency services, promote public awareness, and encourage the development and implementation of long-term, cost-effective and environmentally sound mitigation projects.
Within this context, the UNDP also signed an agreement with the CNRS in November 2014 to develop the "Flood Risk Assessment and Mapping for Lebanon" which aims at the:
•Prioritization of flood risk areas of hazardous rivers, analyzing the elements at risk, and building a flood events database.
•Development of a comprehensive field format and identify the vulnerability of the elements at risk.
•Building risk tables of the elements at risk and develop their damage assessment at 10%, 2%, & 1% flood exceedance probabilities.
•Development of flood risk maps at 10%, 2%, & 1% flood exceedance probabilities which allow assessment of the risk levels and estimation of the damage intervals and amounts.
•Making the maps available to the proper decision-makers, planners and relevant community stakeholders.
In the presence of Minister of Information H.E. Mr. RamziJreij, United Nations Development Programme Country Director Mr. Luca Renda, Secretary General of the Higher Council of Defense General Mohamad Kheir, Head of National Council for Scientific Research Remote Sensing Center Dr. GhalebFaour, The UNDP Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, in collaboration with The National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) of Lebanon launched the “Flood Risk Assessment and Mapping for Lebanon”, on Wednesday 25th of November 2015, at the Grand Serail- Beirut.
UNDP Country Director Mr. Luca Renda stated that “understanding and identifying risks is the most important step towards achieving preventing and mitigation. It is equally important for the development and implementation of appropriate preparedness and effective responses to disasters.”
General Mohamad Kheir said “The main objective of the project is the assess the risks of floods in the watersheds all over Lebanon, and to Develop a comprehensive methodology in determining the risks in order to protect lives, properties, support emergency services and raise awareness among citizens.”
“The announcement of the study and the scientific report is an essential step that we hope it will culminate into a leading role for the various sectors and governmental institutions concerned with this work. " Said Dr. GhalebFaour.
The main objective of the proposed subject is to assess the flood risk over Lebanese watersheds and to develop a comprehensive methodology for flood risk mapping in order to protect life and property, support emergency services, promote public awareness, and encourage the development and implementation of long-term, cost-effective and environmentally sound mitigation projects. The deliverables of the project covered the evaluation of damage to the agriculture areas, residential, non-residential structures, and refugees’ tents, roads and Bridges, population, and Vehicles.
6) DRR and Sustainable Development Curriculum
Within the objective of integrating DRR within key public sectors including public servants and the Lebanese Armed Forces and part of UNDP's objective to raise national capacities UNDP developed in 2013 a draft DRR curriculum on mainstreaming DRR within the public sector. In 2015 UNDP finalized the curriculum based on previous recommendations and implemented two training of trainers for public institutions. The curriculum which is the first of its kind includes a training of trainers manual, PowerPoint presentations with trainers outline objectives for each session, exercises, supporting documents and evaluation forms. The curriculum covers the major DRR and DRM topics and concepts including:
•DRR Terminology,
•HFA, Sendai Framework,
•increasing resilience in critical infrastructure,
•national overview of Risks in Lebanon,
•the national strategy for disaster risk management in Lebanon,
•analysis of disaster losses in Lebanon, linkages between disaster risk factors,
•lessons learned from across the globe on mainstreaming risk reduction considerations within public sector,
•sustainable development in the Arab world,
•financing disaster risk reduction activities for sustainable development,
•DRR capacity building,
•disaster risk governance, and
•early recovery.