Mr Branislav KULINA and Mr Leo TVRTKOVIC from the Sector for Protection and Rescue – Ministry of Security of Bosnia-Herzegovina are among the 28 experts in Disaster Risk Information Management from the Civil Protection Authorities of 14 Mediterranean and Balkan countries that will meet from 10 to 13 May in Rome to learn how to use and further develop the PPRD South Risk Atlas. The Atlas is the first regional disaster risk assessment and mapping tool covering the Mediterranean riparian countries outside the EU. It was designed to support the Civil Protection Authorities in planning prevention and preparedness activities to minimize the effects of possible natural and man-made disasters on populations, infrastructures and properties.
The EU-funded Programme on Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters (PPRD South) has among its objectives the promotion of risk mitigation policies and disaster preparedness actions in the Mediterranean region. This task requires the identification and ranking of high risk areas, communities and infrastructures. Having the level of disaster risk available and displayed on a map allows easier risk information sharing and more effective communication of risk management measures to decision makers.
For these reasons, PPRD South developed a Regional Risk Atlas based on a Geographic Information System (GIS) available on the internet (www.euromedcp.eu click on Risk Atlas). The Atlas illustrates the distribution of earthquake, flood and landslide risks that the PPRD South Partner countries face, as well as available data on the populations and key infrastructures exposed to such risks. GIS is an information system that merges cartography and database technology. It stores, analyzes and makes data and information available which are linked to locations, allowing users to present this data through thematic maps.
The Rome Workshop will build on the encouraging results of the first PPRD South training on “Geographic Information Systems for Civil Protection” organised in March 2010 during which the Partner Countries learned the general principles on how to manage risk information and set up the PPRD South Regional Risk Atlas.
During the first two days participants will learn how to correctly consider the different factors determining risks in disaster risk assessment. From hazard (the recurrence of potentially damaging events) to exposure (the population, infrastructures and properties that may be affected by the damaging event) from vulnerability (the physical, social, economic, and environmental conditions which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of damaging events) to resilience (the capacity of a society to resist to damaging events). They will be also trained on how to calculate vulnerability indicators, on how to collect, harmonise and aggregate hazard, exposure, vulnerability and resilience data from international and national sources and on how to themselves insert risk information on a map using a Geographic Information System.
Contact: Alessandro Candeloro, +39 349 0850931, info@euromedcp.eu
Background information on PPRD South
