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Establishment of Early Warning Systems in the EU

Establishment of Early Warning Systems in the EU. Carlos Mendes Portuguese National Authority for Civil Protection 25 FEB 2008. Seminar on Strenghtning Cooperation with Candidate Countries and Western Balkan Countries in the Field of Civil Protection. Main topics Background

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Establishment of Early Warning Systems in the EU

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  1. Establishment of Early Warning Systems in the EU Carlos Mendes Portuguese National Authority for Civil Protection 25 FEB 2008 Seminar on Strenghtning Cooperation with Candidate Countries and Western Balkan Countries in the Field of Civil Protection

  2. Main topics • Background • State of the art in the EU • Recent activities on Early Warning Systems • Principles for further work

  3. Early warning system is “the provision of timely and effective information, through identified institutions, that allows individuals exposed to a hazard to take action to avoid or reduce their risk and prepare for effective response” (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction)

  4. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, January 2005) identified early warning systems as a key factor for building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. In fact, early warning systems can significantly reduce the costs of disasters, both in terms of human life and property.

  5. State of the art in the EU

  6. All EU countries have a national strategy for risk assessment and early warning. • Each country is however different, because: • - Hazards are different: volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis are important in the south; wind storms in the north; floods are a common hazard. • - Responsibility lies at different levels: central, regional, even local (municipality). In some cases the region has a completely autonomous policy to the central authority.

  7. Both MS and EC have undertaken significant efforts to establish EWS to protect their citizens. Most hazards are covered by EWS. Ex: Floods - EFAS Wind storms - Meteoalarm Forest fires - EFFIS Earthquakes - EMSC Radiological emergencies - ECURIE

  8. Preliminary gap analysis revealed specific shortcomings to be addressed by MS and appropriate EC instruments. • Ex: • Tsunamis • Tourists • Common alarm signals • Handicapped • Education

  9. Recent activities on EWS

  10. 2007 – A key year • European Commission launched a Group of Experts on EWS (April) • Seminar on EWS (Portugal, July) • Commission staff working paper on EWS (October) • Adoption ofCouncil Conclusions on the “establishment and development of EWS in the EU” and on the “establishment of an EWS for tsunamis in the NEAM region” (December)

  11. Council Conclusions on EWS • (although primarily addressed to MS, are relevant also for candidate countries and potential candidate countries in Western Balkans, in terms of need for bilateral/regional cooperation in the field of EWS) • “Encourages neighbouring Member States to develop close cooperation in order to facilitate the interoperability and the possible interlinkage of early warning systems for emergencies with cross-border effects and to explore ways of establishing commonly agreed methods of warning population in the border areas”

  12. Council Conclusions on EWS • “Invites the Commission to explore possibilities to the development and establishment of EWS by: - contributing to identification of high risk areas; - promoting real time data sharing; - upgrading IT equipment to enable more rapid dissemination and sharing of alert messages; - exploring possibilities for the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction measures into its bilateral cooperation programmes with third countries”

  13. Council Conclusions on EWS • “Encourages the Commission and the Member States to further explore possibilities for the enhancement of cooperation in this field with third countries, in order to strengthen sharing of essential data and to create an alert dissemination network amongst civil protection authorities”

  14. Principles for further work

  15. Key principles • Cross-sectoral • Multi hazards • Be complementary and avoid duplications • Fit into on-going initiatives (e.g. UNESCO/IOC) • Explore 4 different areas: • - risk assessment; • - detection; • - dissemination of alerts; • - preparedness, education and awareness raising

  16. A comprehensive European Multi-risk Early Warning System will only be possible with the involvement of neighbouring third countries in the Western Balkan area. In order to bridge the gap, further activities supporting bilateral cooperation should be promoted.

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