Enhancing Municipal Capacities: From Emergency Response to Planning

The paper explores the capacities and roles of Municipalities and Unions of Municipalities (UoMs) as actors and contributors to regional planning in Lebanon, and their role in addressing needs caused by the Syrian refugee crisis, especially related to service provision and shelter. The paper discusses the potential of strengthening local capacities, based on the experience of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) through establishing Regional Technical Offices (RTOs) within Unions of Municipalities in Lebanon. It also addresses the challenges faced by UoMs and Municipalities due to the arrival of Syrian refugees to a context with weak national governance. The paper is based on interviews with key municipal actors to better understand their role in coordinating the work of various local and international actors in the response.