Promoting earthquake disaster mitigation in Lebanon through civic engagement

Abstract

Purpose – Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Lebanon are among the most active groups supporting community welfare and advocating for human rights and policy reform. However, these organizations still lack the basic awareness and commitment needed to expand their role in earthquake disaster risk reduction. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the exposure of Lebanon to destructive earthquakes and to address the urgent need for CSOs to expand its contribution in earthquake disaster risk reduction supporting public awareness programs and strategic mitigation plans. Design/methodology/approach – The paper sets out to alert CSOs about the seismic hazards of Lebanon and offers a discussion for an active engagement role of Lebanese CSOs in future earthquake disaster risk reduction. The focus is to outline a strategy that may facilitate the engagement of CSOs in building the resilience of Lebanese community against destructive earthquakes. Findings – The proposed strategic plan suggests a leading role of Lebanese universities that call for the establishment of a disaster mitigation coalition leading to CSOs active involvement and effective contribution in collaborating with government and private sector to enhance the resilience capacity of the Lebanese community against future earthquake events. Originality/value – The implication of the paper is beneficial to community leaders of Lebanon because it highlights the importance of direct engagement of CSOs in earthquake disaster risk reduction which has never been previously emphasized, evaluated or even discussed in the Lebanese studies.