The overall project objective is to support the restoration of minimal functionality of services and enhance social cohesion in urban communities of Syria. The project aims to (i) undertake feasible basic rehabilitation of infrastructure projects in a participatory manner in targeted conflict affected areas, and (ii) deliver projects in a manner compliant with a high degree of environmental and social safeguards employed throughout.
The project aims to (i) undertake feasible basic rehabilitation of infrastructure projects in a participatory manner in Aleppo, Homs, Hama .
The Programme since established in 2016 has worked to design and deliver interventions appropriate to the resilience and area-based recovery needs. UN-Habitat’s Syria Programme committed to a rights based, people-centric approach and area-based approach that ensures prioritized activities are grounded within a strong evidence base and informed by a participatory process of determining criticality.
With the advantage of having had several years of piloting and upscaling innovative approaches to urban resilience and recovery in Syria, the Programme has actively sought to broaden its range of activities in Syria across areas of: - Basic Recovery Plans. UN-Habitat has completed basic recovery plans for more than 90 conflict affected cities in Syria. - Advanced Recovery Plans for Aleppo, Daraa and Deir Ez Zour Cities (more detailed urban recovery profiles; Strategic sector recovery needs / specific impacts (eg. housing, environment, heritage)). - Area-based COVID-19 risk assessment with preparedness and response plan. - Implementation of packages of integrated service and recovery interventions in specific locations.
With thanks to the achievements of the first phase of activities under German funds and also through parallel projects including UN-Habitat’s activities in the Joint Programme on Urban and Rural Resilience (JP URR), UN-Habitat has acquired much expertise in conflict sensitive approaches to implementing recovery interventions. Community engagement and due diligence mechanisms. Participatory processes lie at the heart of UN-Habitat’s area-based conflict sensitive approach.
UN-Habitat’s Urban Recovery Framework (URF) provides the broader policy framework from which UN-Habitat’s Syria Programme defines its activities and focus areas. The URF constitutes seven cross-cutting pillars which traverse the four key stages of analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring. UN-Habitat continues to target interventions towards supporting the most vulnerable of Syria’s populations by restoring minimal functionality to the most critical of basic of service infrastructure. For a given location, the Recovery Plans themselves serve the purpose of identifying the most vulnerable conflict effected populations and/or neighbourhoods, including returnees, IDPs and other vulnerable groups. As demonstrated in the first phase, this is a greatly effective approach to mitigating the risk of further deterioration for Syria’s most vulnerable groups and de-escalate tensions. Through the participatory, conflict sensitive area-based approach, UN-Habitat will support further resilience building and recovery in Aleppo where the needs remain severe, and initiate the recovery planning process, supported by targeted interventions in Homs and/or Hama Governorates. The project has five outcomes:
Minimum functionality of prioritised basic services in Aleppo restored, in keeping with social and environmental safeguarding compliance measures.
Participatory municipal and neighbourhood recovery planning processes completed in key locations in Homs and/or Hama Governorates, supporting a rebuilding of trust in crisis-affected communities.
Minimum functionality of prioritised basic services restored in a targeted location within Homs and/or Hama Governorates, in keeping with social and environmental safeguarding compliance measures
Lessons drawn from programme implementation including documentation of impact
Sustainable urban recovery processes are supported in 10 cities in Homs, Hama and Idlib governorates
The outputs under this project include:
1.1.Basic service functionality projects implemented in Aleppo.
1.2 Multiplier’ projects are introduced that demonstrate cascading effects from expanding environmental and social safeguards assessments under Phase I for specific locations.
1.3 Environmental and social safeguard mechanisms applied for specific projects.
2.1 Coordinated participatory technical and financial feasibility assessments conducted for a minimum of four locations.
2.2 Detailed Recovery Plan developed for four location
3.1 Detailed comparative assessment of recovery priorities to guide selection of targeted location.
3.2 Basic service functionality projects implemented in targeted location
3.3 Environmental and social safeguard mechanisms applied for specific projects
4.1 Documentation of impact through Project Closure Report
5.1 Documentation of impact through Project Closure Report
5.2 Capacity building of municipal technical staff from 10 T-corridor cities and governorate technical staff from Aleppo, Hama and Homs governorates.
5.3 Recovery plans produced or updated for 10 T-corridor cities.
5.4 Environmental and social safeguard mechanisms applied for specific projects.
