“Beirut Communique” from the First Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Urban
                                  Resilience Conference
                                April 4th, 2019    -   Beirut, Lebanon
Background
   1. The Municipality of Beirut, and participating municipal, regional and national governments from
      the MENA region, the World Bank Group (WBG), the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and
      Resilience (GFDRR), the 100 Resilient Cities, and other participants concluded the high-level
      Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Urban Resilience Conference, the first of its
      kind for urban centers in the region. This technical communique highlights the key messages. All
      conference participants express their appreciation to the Municipality of Beirut for hosting the event
      in Beirut, Lebanon.

Key Messages
   2. The conference participants reaffirm the critical importance of urban resilience to the safety,
      inclusiveness, and livability of cities in the MENA region. The conference participants:

       a) Note the myriad of challenges and risks faced by urban centers in the region including natural,
          technological, health, and socioeconomic shocks and stresses;

       b) Acknowledge the relationship between but not limited to demography, urbanization, conflict,
          food security, water access, quality of life, coping capacity, capital markets, and ageing
          infrastructure which undermine current efforts aimed at the prosperity, inclusiveness, safety,
          and sustainability of cities;

       c) Agree that the right balance between response and risk reduction and preparedness in the long-
          term is crucial to ensuring the safety and resilience of MENA cities;

       d) Value that building resilience to shocks and stresses is an effective way to tackle the underlying
          causes of fragility and crises;

       e) Underline the crucial role of prevention, preparedness, financial and technical innovation,
          awareness raising, and public-private partnerships as tools for disaster and climate resilience;

       f) Highlight the importance of an inclusive, participatory, ‘whole-of-society,’ planning and
          management approach including measurable indicators that involves a variety of stakeholder
          groups from all levels of society including women, persons living with disability, youth, the
          elderly, the private sector, civil society, and the vulnerable and poor; and

       g) Emphasize the importance of exploring the range of financing options for city resilience and
          risk management.

In order to achieve the above, we need to recognize and accommodate the difference between the time
horizon for resilience actions and the political and budgetary calendar.

   3. The conference participants express interest in collaboration between local, national, and
      international actors and stakeholders. We welcome the initiative of local governments in initiating
      and driving the process. The conference participants also acknowledge the importance of forward-
      thinking and planning in urban resilience, considering ways forward for effective risk management.
4. Noting the large-scale social impacts of shocks and stresses, the conference participants affirm our
   support to both social resilience and the resilience of youth in the face of shocks and stresses, as
   well as support for social and youth engagement on effective risk management. We also believe
   that investments in resilience building are needed in tandem with ensuring that all investments and
   policies for urban development are risk-informed.

5. We recognize the need for the cities of the MENA region to both address and respond to issues of
   conflict and forced displacement which will require empowerment, capacity building, knowledge
   sharing, and financing.

6. We believe in the value of holding future regional dialogues in order to promote and improve the
   agenda of resilient cities and encourage communication and networking between cities.