BEIRUT, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) — Urgent measures to protect Lebanon from the impact of the conflict in Gaza were called for by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday. “In Lebanon, a development response to the crisis needs to be intrinsically linked to implementing much-needed reforms to bring the economy back on its feet,” said Abdallah Al Dardari, director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the UNDP, in a report.
The report, entitled “Gaza War: Preliminary Findings on the Socio-Economic and Environmental Impact on Lebanon,” stressed that vital economic sectors providing employment and income, such as tourism, services, and agriculture, have been most severely affected.
It was observed in the report that since the beginning of the conflict on Oct. 7, the tourism and service sectors had demonstrated poor performance, with a decrease in the number of arrivals and demand for hotel and restaurant services.
There were also significant losses reported in the agriculture sector in southern Lebanon affected by the conflict, with reports of 47,000 olive trees burnt, 200,000 birds, 700 heads of livestock killed, and 250 beehives and 60 greenhouses destroyed.
“This preliminary analysis provides a snapshot of the human, socio-economic, and environmental tragedy as it unfolds in real-time,” said Melanie Hauenstein, UNDP resident representative for Lebanon. “This helps to inform the provision of immediate socio-economic and livelihood support, while taking a longer view of the development needs of these communities and providing a baseline for a more sustainable recovery.”
According to the report, in the past three months, 1,768 attacks have occurred in 91 villages in Lebanon, displacing about 64,000 people and causing extensive damage to houses, businesses, and infrastructure.
