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Danish Refugee Council

The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is expected to exceed one million by the end of 2013. Tensions between host and refugee populations are expected to rise as competition over jobs and resources becomes even more important to the survival of both communities. This EMMA assessment was launched to analyze the key market systems upon which refugees and vulnerable host communities rely for income in the North and Bekaa Governorates of Lebanon in order to identify opportunities for humanitarian agencies to promote market-based income-earning possibilities for host and refugee populations. This report provides a summary of the findings for three market systems that are critical for refugee and Lebanese host communities as source of income, namely construction labor, agricultural labor, and service-sector labor. The opportunities for promoting or strengthening livelihoods related to the construction, services, or agricultural labor sectors are very limited. Each of these sectors has been significantly impacted by the crisis in Syria and is not capable of absorbing additional workers at a livable wage. Despite this bleak outlook, the EMMA makes several recommendations for narrowing the household income gap through vocational training, market-smart humanitarian programs, household financial assistance programs and the strengthening of local labor markets.

Report authors: 
Not specified
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The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is expected to exceed one million by the end of 2013. Tensions between host and refugee populations are expected to rise as competition over jobs and resources becomes even more important to the survival of both communities. This EMMA assessment was launched to analyze the key market systems upon which refugees and vulnerable host communities rely for income in the North and Bekaa Governorates of Lebanon in order to identify opportunities for humanitarian agencies to promote market-based income-earning possibilities for host and refugee populations. The conflict in Syria and subsequent influx of refugees into Lebanon have had significant impacts on local agricultural labor markets. This assessment recommends linking WFP's food voucher program to local farmers; providing alternative income sources through market strengthening cash for work activities; providing support to small farmers in accessing agricultural inputs; and conducting further research into the feasibility of supporting household-level food processing.

Report authors: 
Not specified
Download Report (1.43 MB pdf)

The Syrian conflict and violent conflicts within Iraq have related in the movement of almost one million Syrian refugees and Iraqi IDPs into Kurdistan in recent years. The Danish Refugee Council commissioned this EMMA in order to assess opportunities in livelihoods generation and access to income for Syrian refugees and IDPs living in and outside of camps, in order to inform its livelihoods programming. The influx of refugees and IDPs has increased pressure on the labor market in KRI. This is exacerbated by a drop in demand for construction due to conflicts between the KRI and the central Iraqi governments and a drop in demand for hospitality services due to insecurity in the region and the relative economic standstill. Though many NGOs are offering humanitarian assistance and cash for work programs to the target population, these interventions are of relatively low economic benefit to beneficiaries and are not a long-term solution. This assessment recommends the following responses in order to improve access to labor markets and income generation for Syrian refugees and Iraqi IDPs: improved efforts to target IDPs and refugees in non-camp settings with humanitarian assistance; raising the target groups' awareness of locally available jobs and building their capacity to find decent jobs; promoting job placement mechanisms; partnering with private sector actors to invest in potentially valuable value chains; promoting innovation in small enterprises; conducting market analyses on access to credit for small businesses and on agriculture and related labor; and advocating with humanitarian actors for a phase-out of short-term interventions.

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Report authors: 
Emmeline Saint
Download Report (4.14 MB pdf)