Rapid Livelihoods Assessment in Southern Lebanon
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RAPID LIVELIHOODS ASSESSMENT IN SOUTHERN LEBANON TYRE CAZA (S OUTH LEBANON ) AND BINT JBEIL CAZA (N ABATYEH ) Map Source : UN OCHA Final Report Date: 29 th August, 2005 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Save the Children carried out a rapid in the central part of southern Lebanon, covering much of Tyre and Bint Jbeil cazas, from August 18 th to 24 th . The objective was to provide a qualitative description of pre-conflict livelihood patterns in the area and to assess how those activities had been affected by the conflict. The population in the areas of the south assessed rely on various combinations of farming (mainly tobacco), remittances from relatives living overseas, local shops and services, daily labour in agriculture and in businesses and services and a small amount of formal employment. Some families keep cattle and goats, but the numbers are quite small in this area. Between 60-80% of people are involved in agriculture, but most of those do not rely on it alone as tobacco growing is not very lucrative. Incomes were said to be on average around US$500 per month, with the less well off sections of the population reliant on daily labour earning around US$330 per month. This income was more than adequate for purchasing basic needs, and thus levels of absolute poverty were very low. Physical conflict-related damage has mainly been in the form either of severe damage to a large portion of homes and businesses in some villages, or of destruction of a limited number of specific buildings within otherwise undamaged areas. The 34-day conflict led to the displacement of most of the population for 20-30 days in July and early August. The timing of this is significant for livelihoods because: (a) This is the harvesting period for tobacco, which runs from June to August. In less damaged villages, it is likely that at least 40% of the tobacco harvest has been lost. In more damaged villages where fear of unexploded ordnance is hindering the return to the fields the harvest loss will continue rising until UXOs are cleared. (b) It is the peak season for the return of overseas-resident Lebanese, who normally swell village populations by up to 50% from June/ July to September, providing an injection into the local economy through their spending and contributing to a peak period for construction and non-agricultural daily labour. From the admittedly limited interviews carried out, it appeared that there is a strong economic capacity to cope with the damage. Many families are able to use savings, to receive support from relatives and the wider community, and to manage by cutting expenditure on non-essential items. Furthermore, the volume of response to the crisis from a variety of sources has been very significant. Food aid is being supplied (and promised to continue) in enormous quantities relative to needs. Two of the main interventions required to restore livelihoods to normal are the reconstruction of homes and businesses, and the clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs). The latter is vital to enable some harvest to be salvaged and, later, to enable land preparation to begin for next year’s season. Additional resources to speed up this process and to reach lower-priority agricultural lands would be extremely valuable. It is recommended that compensation be paid to cover economic damage from the conflict, such as lost tobacco harvest or damaged capital equipment for businesses. There is a real risk, however, that daily labourers would not benefit from this, as their losses are in terms of employment rather than any physical items. To prevent creating greater inequality, it is suggested that those groups should also receive some compensation for lost earnings. 1 1. B ACKGROUND & C ONTEXT On the 12 th of July, 2006, a faction of Hezbollah attacked a group of Israeli soldiers on the blue line. 7 soldiers were killed and 2 soldiers were kidnapped. Israel then entered Lebanon, and the subsequent escalation of armed hostilities in Lebanon led to the displacement of over 500,000 people and a deteriorating humanitarian situation. With the coming into force of a ceasefire on Monday August 14 th , there was a rapid return of most of the displaced population to the south. Those whose homes have not been damaged have returned there, with others whose homes are now uninhabitable staying with relatives or renting accommodation in less affected towns, and visiting their homes during the day to see what work can be done. Tyre and Bint Jbeil cazas (districts), which comprise most of the area south of the Litani river and bordering Israel, were some of the areas worst-affected by the conflict, with serious destruction to homes, businesses and infrastructure, and access to farmland restricted by the risk of unexploded ordnance (UXOs). Save the Children carried out emergency interventions to support children during the displacement, and sent a multi-sectoral assessment team to re-assess needs in the changed post-ceasefire context. The purpose of the livelihoods part of the assessment was to understand how the recent conflict had affected the livelihood strategies of different population groups within the assessed area, and what impact that has had (a) on their immediate ability to economically access food and non-food needs, and (b) medium- to long-term livelihood prospects. It is hoped that the assessment will be useful for those planning interventions in these areas who require a broad overview of livelihood patterns. 2. M ETHODOLOGY The assessment was carried out over a 7-day period from August 18 th to 24 th , including one day in Beirut and six days of fieldwork based form Tyre (Sour). It was led by an experienced Food Security & Livelihoods Advisor, working as part of a multi-sectoral Save the Children team. The assessment used qualitative research techniques, involving a review of available secondary information and semi-structured interviews with community members, shopkeepers/ businessmen, Municipalities, local and international NGOs and UN agencies. Information was probed and crosschecked between different sources and verified as much as possible with observation. Sphere Minimum Standards for food security assessments in disasters were followed. The focus was on answering 3 core questions: • What were pre-conflict livelihood patterns (disaggregated according to socio- economic patterns and considering seasonality)? • How was each source of income affected by the conflict? • What external support would be required to return to pre-conflict status? The emphasis was on understanding the overall picture rather than getting quantified information. Through these interviews and discussions it was hoped to provide an overview of who the most vulnerable groups might be, and what support they would 2 require. Vulnerability was understood broadly as being a function of exposure to a shock (in this case the conflict) and capacity to cope with that shock. 11 villages were visited in the central parts of Tyre and Bint Jbeil cazas (districts) 1. These were purposively chosen to reflect a mix of levels of damage from the conflict, and were concentrated in the central part of the south where there was said to be less activity in food security and livelihoods by other agencies. While the picture from these villages is considered to be quite representative of the central areas, it does not apply to the western coastal strip (where irrigated banana and fruit farming is more important), and may not apply to the more mountainous eastern border area where livestock play a greater role in livelihoods. Access was constrained somewhat by security, with some roads remaining uncleared for travel, and within villages visited it was often not possible to travel away from main roads due to the risks from UXOs and landmines. An additional constraint was that the assessment was carried out soon after the ceasefire as the population was coming to terms with the effects of the conflict. In this context it was often understandably difficult to get objective information, and the situation was developing rapidly as more support arrived. 3. P RE -CONFLICT LIVELIHOOD PATTERNS 3.1 Overview of Livelihood Patterns Lebanon is a middle-income country, and although the south of the country is considered relatively resource-poor, income levels are nonetheless significantly higher than in most other contexts where humanitarian agencies operate. In terms of livelihood patterns, the area south of the Litani could broadly be divided into three zones (not counting the urban area of Tyre): - A coastal strip of approximately 5km, with a greater emphasis on irrigated banana and citrus fruit production - A central zone, with tobacco and olives as the main agricultural crops, but still with quite built-up areas along the main roads - A more hilly/ mountainous eastern area with lower population density and greater reliance on livestock in addition to tobacco. This assessment only covered the central tobacco-growing area. The population in that area rely on various combinations of farming, remittances from relatives living overseas, local shops and services, daily labour in agriculture and in businesses and services and a small amount of formal employment. Some families keep cattle and goats, but the numbers are quite small in this area. Between 60-80% of people are involved in agriculture, but most of those do not rely on it alone as tobacco growing is not very lucrative. 3.2 Wealth Groups It was not possible to develop a typical “wealth breakdown” for this area, as the livelihood patterns are relatively complex, and no activity being exclusive to any one 1 See Annex 1 for a list of locations visited and their P-Codes. 3 wealth group. However, it can be said that those more reliant on daily labour are less well off than others.