What does it take for civil engineers to help rebuild communities post-conflict?

Ongoing wars in Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria have renewed attention on what can be done to help communities get back on their feet and secure access to infrastructure which is critical to modern life like electricity, water and transport.

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) fellow and expert on infrastructure risk, resilience, and protection planning Alexander Hay told NCE that social capital, stability, security, institutions, rule of law, financial transparency and tangible local benefit are needed before civil engineers can help communities get back on their feet.

“Each of these is relative to the situation,” he said. “Security sets the basic condition to begin work, while institutional support, rule of law and financial transparency build confidence in-country, among donors and lenders and throughout the supply chain.”

In places like Syria and Gaza, the state institutions are run by organisations which are, or have very recently been, proscribed terrorist organisations according to Western governments.

For Syria in particular, this presented a challenge to Western governments hoping to re-establish diplomatic links because of laws around engaging with terrorists.

“For rebuilding to commence, one must explore community rehabilitation,” Hay said. “For this to happen, the stripes and function of the state is secondary to its ability to provide security (against a return to violence), economic stability (specifically reliable payment and supply lines) and community trust.

“The challenge is that each of these areas are affected by international sanctions and/or other state actions, and other factors.”

This is evident in Gaza, where the Israeli and US-government-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has established some of the only existing aid distribution centres. Proponents of the GHF, which is partly staffed by ex-US Special Forces personnel and operates in close coordination with the IDF, say it’s the only viable alternative to UN agencies which were forced out of the territory. But even this demonstrates the need for security to be in place for reconstruction, with these aid centres often becoming a focal point for further violence.

“Arguably, a failed state has already failed at the local level, so would not be capable of delivering a reconstruction plan,” Hay said.

“Conversely, a terrorist organisation can be a sound administrator and preside over efficient reconstruction,” said Hay. “This is part of the argument over the new regime in Damascus and whether continued sanctions will only perpetuate instability now that Assad is overthrown.”

Ensuring reconstruction efforts prioritise local needs 

Hay said there is “no one-size-fits-all answer” to the question of how to make sure communities’ needs are prioritised.

“There are so many different conditions and criteria to consider,” he said. “But, broadly, leadership and finance are the key factors that determine a country’s ability to deliver reconstruction that is sensitive to local people’s needs.”

Hay said that without a “locally generated vision”, which may be informed or assisted by external voices, “any solution is necessarily imposed and will fail”. But where local engagement can be achieved, there are opportunities to support community reconstruction even amid the risk or renewed instability.

‘Safe-to-fail’ infrastructure as an answer to unstable environments

Hay explained the concept of safe-to-fail infrastructure where assets can be rebuilt in a way which, if they fail, doesn’t drag down the rest of the connected network with them.

“In reconstruction and rehabilitation, a return to violence is always a concern, whether by former combatants, local gangs/warlords or an emergent regime seeking to stamp its authority,” he said.

“The critical issue becomes how to contain the effects of a return to violence so that the whole community is not compromised by an isolated event.

“In the initial stages, localised and dispersed reconstruction is preferable to large grid supply systems. If a local well, pump and cistern are destroyed, the effects are localised, unlike a destroyed water main that supplies multiple neighbourhoods.”

Adding another example, Hay said: “Photovoltaic arrays can power aerobic digesters and water pumps, whereas a centralised wastewater treatment plant requires grid-supplied electricity or diesel generators.

“This detachment from grid dependency increases the chances of neighbourhood survival through the stress and events anticipated along the path to rehabilitation.”

Warning against over-simplification of local contexts undermining reconstruction

Hay emphasised the need for external actors to gain a proper understanding of the context within which the post-conflict community sits.

“The first and most crucial step for connectivity in post-conflict rebuilding is to invest time in understanding the actual situation and dynamics, using evidence and local engagement,” he said.

“This does not need to be onerous but having an accurate understanding of the situation, requirements and relationships is essential. Often, the international community will oversimplify the requirement and say that all should be rebuilt as before the conflict.

“This approach is willfully ignorant of how the conflict has changed the society and the viability of restoration.”

In February 2024, NCE heard from Pinsent Masons consultants about potential routes to reconstruction in Ukraine, with the full-scale invasion by Russia having hit its two-year anniversary.

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