Czech Republic National Platform

History

At the beginning of 2013, the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic picked up the baton of Czech National Committee for Natural Disaster Reduction (founded in 2005) and fulfils now the role of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Czech Republic.

Structure

The role of main focal point fulfils the Department of Security and Crisis Management at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and as the second focal point serves the Department of International Relations at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. The National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Czech Republic includes experts from following institutions:  

• Ministry of Agriculture
• Ministry of the Interior
• Fire Rescue Service (Ministry of Interior)
• Czech Hydrometeorological Institute
• Czech National Committee for Disaster Risk Reduction
• Union of Towns and Municipalities
• VSB – Technical University Ostrava
• Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
• Czech Geological Survey

The Ministry of the Environment is coordinating all activities in the field of fulfilling the tasks of Hyogo Framework for Action. The Ministry of the Interior is a lead coordinating institution for disaster risk reduction.

An important part of the Czech system, which ensures the practical application of the activities and objectives of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the Hyogo Framework of Action for the period 2005 - 2015 is the Integrated Rescue System (IRS). IRS is an effective system of links, rules, cooperation and coordination of rescue and security forces, state and local governments, individuals and legal entities in the joint conduct of rescue and relief work and preparing for emergencies caused by natural disasters.

The basic bodies of IRS are the Fire Rescue Service of Czech Republic, Emergency Medical Services Providers, the Police of the Czech Republic. Other bodies include: Designated powers and resources of the Armed Forces, Public Health Authorities, Emergency, Expert and Technical Services, Civil Protection Facilities, Non-profit organizations and associations of citizens, which can be used for rescue and liquidation operations. Fire Rescue Service is the main coordinator of the IRS. Operations and Information Centre of the IRS mobilizes and deploys the necessary forces and resources of IRS in specific locations.

Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic and different representatives and experts from the above mentioned institutions are attending joint meetings of the National Platform for Natural Disaster Reduction which take place 2-3 times a year, and are discussing main issues and activities related to the field of disaster risk reduction and prevention.

Budget

The budget mainly depends on state contribution; some projects are covered by the EU.

Mandate

The main aim of the National Platform is to support all actions leading to reduce human, social and economic losses caused by natural disasters. The following goal is to integrate Disaster Risk Reduction into decision making processes at all levels.

Activities

The ministries, in particular of the Interior, Health, Agriculture and Environment fulfil their proper duties based in the national legislation of the crisis management and they apply the activities and objectives of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and the Hyogo Framework of Action for the period 2005 – 2015.

The Ministry of the Environment ensures warning and forecasting services according the information issued by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, established by the same Ministry.

The National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Czech Republic focuses mainly on:

• supporting of the risk-aware and resilient society able to prevent disasters and to mitigate their impact,
• strengthening legislation on issues related to disaster risk reduction,
• improving crisis management and international cooperation within the frame of disaster risk reduction,
• improving coordination between governmental, non- governmental and private sector stake holders in the field of natural hazards and disasters.