Evidence-informed policymaking in the Lebanese water sector : the case of Lake Qaraoun.

Abstract

The longstanding quality and quantity problems in many Lebanese water resources are nothing new. Literature shows that approaches to solving these issues is normally under the terms set by funding bodies and international organizations, with coordination through local ministries. Many of these proposed solutions are short-term and rarely focus on long-term solutions involving different stakeholders. Environmental issues in Lebanon are highly politicized. With hundreds of published works over the past few years providing grim evidence related to the water quality and quantity problems, the use of this evidence to impact policies on a government level is rarely touched upon in the Lebanon setting. One of the alarming cases of water deterioration in terms of quality and quantity has been the situation in Lake Qaraoun, an artificial lake located in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley. This thesis is the first of its kind to understand how policies and decisions are taken surrounding Lake Qaraoun, with focus on the interplay between different stakeholders and how they influence (or fail to influence) evidence-informed policy making in the Lebanese water sector. The thesis uses a qualitative approach in which two complementary types of data sources are employed, semi-structured interviews and document review. Using the policy triangle framework, major findings were related to identifying the obstacles that exist to evidence-informed policymaking, which included the Lebanese political context, the influence of the funding bodies, lack of technical data, lack of communication between researchers and policymakers, and lack of data accessibility. The barriers identified were similar to studies conducted in the Lebanese health sector and energy sector regarding policymaking, with barriers identified as mainly political factors. Recommendations were directed towards the policymaking process, the culture surrounding laws and decrees, the need for citizen involvement, the nature of how research evidence is disseminated, and overcom