Netherlands National Platform
History
Prevention, preparation, response and rehabilitation/ reconstruction are all linked parts of the crisis management cycle. In line with global and EU trends, focus lies on prevention in the Netherlands.
The actions within this crisis management cycle all starts with a proper risk assessment. Next to that the Netherlands work - as basic – with an all hazard approach, because risks are interconnected and do not stop at the borders of organisations, policy fields or even national states.
This approach - all hazard and all phases of the crisis management cycle – needs a united strategy like the ISDR; EU Internal Security Strategy, EU Prevention Framework, and the EU Stockholm programme.
In the Netherlands the activities on national safety and security, disaster reduction and crisis management are based since 2007 on the Cabinet’s Strategy on National Safety & Security.
The Netherlands has increased its commitment in the field of DRR and actively supports the main international instruments such as ISDR and the Global Facility for DRR.
The Netherlands intends to focus on DRR in its forthcoming round of multi-annual planning. The Netherlands also recognise the important role of civil society in particular in promoting implementation practices at local level. Since the beginning of this year, the Netherlands has been funding the Partners for Resilience programme, an alliance of Dutch NGOs aimed at strengthening resilience and capacity at local level. The funding scheme the Netherlands set up has also stimulated partnerships between different NGOs and links between their policies, in this case between DRR, climate adaptation and environment.
December 2011 was decided to appoint the National Steering Committee for National Safety and Security (“Stuurgroep Nationale Veiligheid”, SNV) as National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NL NPDRR) and its secretariat as National Focal Point for the Hyogo Framework for Action (NL FPHFA).
Structure
The SNV consists of representatives of all national ministries as well as a representative of private sectors.
Mandate
The SNV realizes coherence in national security and crisis management between several levels of government policy, both regional and national, as well as international policy and international developments. Furthermore, it aims to bring together policy and the implementation thereof. The SNV advises cabinet and parliament on disaster risk reduction and regularly reports on National Risk Assessment and activities to strengthen capabilities and coherence.
Activities
Based on the National Risk Assessment (and the outcomes of the research on climate change) the Netherlands generated within the crisis management and disaster relief extra actions.
In 2007 and 2008 a Cabinets’ Taskforce Flooding was installed to develop worst credible flood scenario’s and based on that a nationwide preparation. It cumulated into a week’s exercise with about 15.000 people from NGO’s, different governmental organisations and different operational organisations.
At that time also a Delta commission was installed by the Cabinet to develop a strategy and programme for protecting NL against floods and shortage of drinking water for the next 100 years. (see http://www.deltacommissie.com/ en/advies).
In 2009 following the special attention on floods the NL organised the biggest EU exercise ever to test the assistance from Member States of the EU. In this year – according to the NRA - there was special attention for pandemics. It started a half year before the global outbreak of H5N1 made the scenario real.
These developments are steered by a juridical base and for all governmental levels.
The new Water law is for instance based on three layers namely prevention, spatial planning and crisis management. Here is a direct link with the EU Flood directive.
For the policy field of crisis management a new Security Regions Act became in force in 2010 for the 25 safety regions. The Act is about regional risk assessment, scenarios and capacity analysis/building. (https://www. government.nl/documents/decrees/2011/09/29/dutch-security-regions-actofficial-consolidated-version)
Next to these special actions - since a long time – there is special attention to risks with hazmats with its juridical base in the EU SEVESO II directive. This topic is part of our NRA. In addition, other EU directives and the implementation of them – like EPCIP - are fitting in the efforts to reach a more resilient and safer society in the Netherlands.