Third PPRD South steering committee meeting

The 5-million Euro PPRD South Programme runs for three years and is coordinated by a consortium led by the Italian Civil Protection Department together with the National Civil Protection Authorities of Algeria, Egypt, France and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

PPRD South is the third phase of the EU-funded Euro-Mediterranean Programme on Civil Protection which started in 1998. Building on the experience of the previous programmes, a 5-year Pilot Programme and the “Bridge” Programme, whose objective was to strengthen political confidence among the civil protection Partners, the purpose of PPRD South is to contribute to the development of improved civil protection prevention, preparedness and response capacities at international, national and local levels through increased institutional cooperation between the EU, the Balkan and the Mediterranean Countries. It also aims at establishing closer links with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism - a set of co-operation tools established by the European Commission to facilitate adequate preparedness and effective response to disasters - and between the countries themselves.

PPRD South is organising, among others, a series of training workshops on the most frequent and destructive disasters in the Mediterranean region - earthquakes, floods, drought, tsunamis, wild fires, and industrial accidents – developing a national and regional risk atlas, making study visits and providing technical assistance, organising training and simulation exercises focusing on “crisis management”, “operational planning” and “use of new technologies”, and improving the information and awareness of Mediterranean populations regarding risk exposure, prevention and response through five pilot projects. A final disaster response simulation exercise with the participation of crisis management forces from all the PPRD South Partner Countries is scheduled for the end of the year 2011.