[Anthropgrad] Friday Seminars (9 May 08)

[Sin Wen Lau]

Anthropology Student Seminar Series, Semester 1, 2008
Milgate Room, AD Hope
9 May 2008, 3 pm

'Water, Development and Conflict in Lebanon'
Pre-Field Seminar by Rayyar Farhat

The potential for developing the water resources of Lebanon has long 
been frustrated by domestic sectarian politics. A lack of political 
consensus historically amongst different ethno-religious groups has 
diminished the effort towards national planning. As a consequence, 
Lebanon's water resources are often classified as relatively undeveloped 
with much potential for being exploited.

Current water reforms however centre on creating efficiencies, which are 
based on privatization of service delivery. New management regimes in an 
era of minimal government and private investment may entail the creation 
of water efficiencies; however this may hinder water access for some and 
add to the grievances of already marginalized constituencies. Many 
scholars advocate the privatization of public provisioning in the Middle 
East on the basis that it will supply long term solutions to the 
perennial problems of corruption and inefficiency in water services. 
However such advocates do not consider the potential that privatization 
of water resources might lead to further marginalizing those sectors of 
society who have most suffered from the economic downturn experienced in 
the period of post war reconstruction in Lebanon nor take into account 
the potential for water privatization to aggravate sectarian and class 
conflict.

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Lau Sin Wen
Department of Anthropology
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT0200
Australia

Telephone : +61-2-6125-3271
Fax	 : +61-2-6125-4896
Email	 : sinwen.lau at anu.edu.au
Website	 : http://rspas.anu.edu.au/anthropology
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