Role of environmental non-government organizations in promoting sustainable transportation in Lebanon -

Abstract

The transport sector is a crucial sector in order for any economy to function, for it affects the day-to-day activities of the entire population. However, policy makers are increasingly concerned about this sector’s adverse effects on the (global and local) environment, and have been seeking to introduce more sustainable transport policies. This thesis takes the case of Lebanon to understand how the transport policies and laws have evolved (they are largely outdated and unimplemented) and how they may be made more sustainable. It posits that the policy process today is no longer seen to be solely in the hands of the government, but increasingly includes the important roles played by other non-governmental actors such as international donors, the media, and civil society groups. As such, this thesis explores the role of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) as policy actors shaping the policy process to achieve a sustainable transport sector in Lebanon. Following Sabatier’s work, this thesis holds that the transport problem in Lebanon has so far been a “wicked problem” since the resistances to its solution has come from various players and interests, but also from the more general problem of clientelism. Clientelism limits the work of NGOs and hinders its building collations with other organizations or even governmental agencies in order to shape public policy. Based on the research conducted, including examination of parliamentary committee records, this thesis concludes that the role of ENGOs has indeed been present throughout all the steps of the process to produce a new, more sustainable transport policy. Indeed, especially before the 2006 war and the political deadlock that took over after that, the impact of these NGOs can be very well seen. However, since then, their role has clearly diminished which in turn has resulted in the failure to move this process forward. Nonetheless, some conclusions can still provisionally be made. First, the policy process in Lebanon is