American University of Beirut

Lebanon's Water Laws: Bridging Policy Frameworks to Address New Challenges

​Policy Brie​f​

Research Team
Georges Gharios, Nadim Farajalla, and Rana El Hajj
Climate Change and Environment Program, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut

Climate Change and Environment Program, May 2020

Summar​​y

This policy brief is based on the research paper “Bridging Policy Frameworks to Address New Challenges to Lebanon's Water Management Structure" prepared by the Climate Change and Environment Program at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and commissioned by Oxfam (as part of the H2All Consortium) for the second edition of the Lebanon Water Forum (2019), with assistance of the European Union Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syria Crisis - The Madad Fund, and with the partnership of the Ministry of Energy and Water. The paper is an analysis of the various policy frameworks and their effectiveness in meeting priorities of Regional Water Establishments (RWEs) and water uses needs. The water policy framework in Lebanon is reviewed in the light of the latest international donor conference.


“French and Ottoman civil laws, as well as codified and customary sharia-based laws, constitute the foundation of the current Lebanese water laws."


“Twenty years after the launching of the reforms, Lebanon does not seem to entirely meet the priorities of neither the water users' needs nor the managing agencies, and the various policy frameworks seems to have increased institutional duplication and responsibilities fragmentation on the sector."

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