When choosing a plot to build a house or any other structure, numerous factors are at play, and the safety of a particular location should undoubtedly be among them. The Balkans are prone to floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc.; the disasters in recent years have become more and more catastrophic due to climate change.
Is there any tool that can help us make the right choice? Yes, there is – the Disaster Risk Register.
The Disaster Risk Register is an innovative tool relying on the principles of integrated risk management: identification, mapping, and geo-locating, that is, using them to paint a picture of a specific micro-location on an interactive map drawn by the Republic Geodetic Authority. Once the system is up and running in mid-2022, all Serbian citizens will be able to pick a location on the map of Serbia and get information about the degree of risk to infrastructure, public facilities, and cultural property, in addition to other potential risks to people’s health and lives.
The Register is an example of interinstitutional cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, the Sector for Emergency Situations, the Public Investment Management Office, and the Republic Geodetic Authority. The development of the first stage of the information system is financed by the European Union (EU) with half a million euros, while UNDP implements the project.
Civil protection is an area of particular importance, and the readiness of institutions and citizens is paramount. Therefore, having clear and systemic solutions in place is crucial. Training of facilitators in prevention and response to disasters and in the aftermath thereof is one of the numerous mechanisms to respond to disasters in an efficient manner.
Training for 25 facilitators
Twenty-five national experts underwent the training whose value exceeded 190,000 euros and received official certificates in late 2021, enabling them to pass their knowledge to another 900 of their colleagues across the country. Thanks to the training, public servants, members of civil protection services, and public institutions staff will be better prepared to respond quickly and efficiently to emergencies. Thanks to the EU-funded project EU for Serbia resilient to disasters, preventive measures and the readiness to respond quickly to emergencies have been strengthened.
“Investing in people is of crucial importance,” said Sakelaris Hurdas, Head of Operations III at the EU Delegation to Serbia, during an event dedicated to the said training. “We are very proud of this EU-funded project,” Hurdas added and pointed out that the programme is aimed at numerous other areas such as risk assessment, health support, and other essential segments of support.
UNDP permanent representative to Serbia, Francine Pickup, reminded the attendees that knowledge and skills acquired by the staff of local emergency services are crucial for the quality of preventive measures and the speed and efficiency of response to crises such as earthquakes floods, landslides, or fires.
“With support from the EU and in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the Public Investment Management Office, we support local communities in Serbia to save the lives of more people, to protect their property better, and to help people recover from disasters more quickly,” said Francine Pickup.
Joint response to disasters
To ensure proper prevention of and increase the preparedness for disasters, 18 towns and municipalities in the West Morava basin, which are particularly prone to floods, earthquakes and landslides, have signed an Agreement on inter-municipal cooperation.
A joint civil protection service will coordinate preventive measures and the system of early warning and response throughout the territory of the West Morava River basin, which is home to 800,000 people.
This is another programme implemented with support from the European Union, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, the Ministry of European Integration, the Public Investment Management Office, and UNDP.
In the aftermath of the 2014 floods, the EU has supported Serbia with more than 140 million euros. Also, since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015, the EU has supported Serbia with over 80 million euros. When Europe faced the COVID-19 crisis, the EU set up and launched solidarity mechanisms of which Serbia is a member. Emergency assistance for the post-COVID-19 recovery of over 93 million euros was also contracted and put at the disposal of Serbia.
Apart from EU member states, Serbia is one of the countries participating in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
At the EU level, the mission of the EU civil protection system and humanitarian operations is to save lives, prevent and mitigate human suffering, and protect the disaster- and crisis-struck populations.