BEIRUT: Local governments in Lebanon are doing “very minimal” work on disaster-risk reduction and only to a limited extent, said a study released Thursday. 

The study, entitled “Views from the frontline,” was conducted in some 50 countries around the world by a network of civil society groups, and was coordinated by the NGO World Vision.

The report notes that while Lebanon has seen many small- and large-scale natural and manmade disasters that have affected its population, economy and stability, the country “has not made any significant progress in the prevention, reduction, mitigation and management measures that can decrease the impact and loses of a disaster.”

The report described Lebanon as a country at risk of earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods and man-made disasters but said the disaster risk reduction was “still in its early stage.”

A first Views from the Frontlines study was conducted in 2009, in which it was found DRR activities were “very limited” in the country, and communities were not prepared for disasters.

The study had revealed the need for a “supportive government culture open to the formation of local partnerships” to accelerate implementation of risk-reduction policies at local levels.

This is why the 2011 project focused on local communities, giving people the opportunity to assess the efficiency of official measures in term of disaster risk reduction.

“We decided this time to focus on local government to help them do a better job,” said Lindsay Gladding, the Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs manager at World Vision.

Gladding criticized the authorities for not taking action in this field and lamented their tendency to count ongoing and future projects as completed.

“They are not doing many things in reality, but they say they do,” she said.

“We need to give them credit because they’re trying,” she added, “but there is no concrete progress,” she said, hoping the report would make a difference.

World Vision, which presented the results of the study during a workshop in Beirut Thursday, defined the latest research project as “the first attempt to involve local stakeholders from government and civil society in measuring progress toward implementing disaster prevention measures in Lebanon.”

The project was conducted in Beirut, Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil, the Bekaa, Bsharri and Akkar.

The study showed Lebanese believe their country had a medium risk of being affected by a natural and/or manmade disaster. People also appeared to believe the losses due to disasters had slightly increased, meaning there was no significant improvement in DRR.

George Kiwan, a local government official from the Bekaa, was quoted in the report as saying his community “had not realized the importance of preparedness. We’ve always been reactive to disasters that hit our villages, such as the floods.”

Community member Ali Chahlan, also quoted in the report, believed “staying unaware of this issue, people would underestimate its importance. Once we circulate this knowledge, they would immediately be engaged.”

In 2005, 168 countries adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, which aims at significantly reducing the loss of lives and livelihoods caused by disasters by 2015.

Gladding defined the VFL study as a “shadow report” from a “bottom-up” point of view of the assessment made by the U.N. in coordination with governments on the matter.