The waste management value chain in West Bekaa : contributions to labor markets and rural development.

Abstract

Rural Lebanon is being depleted with a large number of the population living in urban areas in search of better incomes and life. The West Bekaa, a rural area, doesn't skip the rule. The area is poor, is losing its agricultural lands for the pop-up of urban sprawls and is practicing a non-sanitary waste management. Moreover, since 2011, it has taken in more than 300,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the crisis in their country. In 2015, a waste crisis erupted in Lebanon and more particularly Beirut whereby a lot of media attention shifted towards the unconventional ways of dealing with waste in Lebanon. This crisis, coupled with the Syrian one, has opened the eyes for international non-governmental organizations to implement projects all over the country. Some of these projects, implemented in the West Bekaa, were done with a clear view of creating a value chain out of waste management all while ultimately contributing to rural development. This thesis focused on revisiting these views. A value analysis and a revisiting of a theory of change were conducted. Data was collected from the value chain stakeholders and analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The value chain analysis focused on stakeholders' roles within the chain and their importance to it while the revisit of the theory of change refuted the claims of ultimate impact. The results showed that the value chain is fragile and heavily dependent on a municipality's willingness to continue with such projects. As for the theory of change, it needs clear restructuring. Waste treatment facilities in no means bring in sustainability, they add debts for municipality in terms of operation, they do create jobs but for a limited and very small number of people while rural development is a utopist claim. The research also will open recommendations for two unexpected findings which are the agricultural boost and alleviation of Syrian refugees lives that were induced by waste management projects.