Humanitarian-Development Nexus Regarding Water and Wastewater Service Provision: Learning from Lebanon's Protracted Population Displacement

摘要

During extreme population displacement events, water and wastewater infrastructure systems may be challenged as host communities attempt to provide service to suddenly increased populations. As such, improving the resilience of water and wastewater systems is necessary to provide continuous services to both host and displaced persons. In protracted displacement, infrastructure's resilience is further challenged by the need to transition from short-term humanitarian response to long-term development strategies. This study identifies examples of constraints that create the transitional space of the humanitarian-development nexus. Focusing on the current population displacement in Lebanon, data was collected through 10 semi-structured interviews in 2018 with leadership in local municipalities. Using open coding, the interview content was qualitatively analyzed, and emergent themes related to constraints across the technical, social, economic, and institutional dimensions were revealed. Results indicate that the stress from housing and different water and wastewater-use profiles have impacted each system's capacity to meet the increased demand. Additionally, the ability of municipalities to respond to the increased demand has been stressed by lack of funds for developing new water and wastewater infrastructure projects, as well as discrepancy in stakeholders' priorities in regard to these projects. Findings of this study would better inform the development efforts in providing continuous water and wastewater services to both host and displaced persons.