Sweden National Platform

History

A Swedish National Platform was first established in 2007 to implement the Hyogo Framework for Action. To be more in line with the broadened Sendai concept and to tackle new threats, a revised platform has been developed with many more stakeholders. The newly established platform is also coordinated by MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) and has been in operation since January 2017.

Structure

The restructured Swedish National Platform uses the process for the National Risk and Capability Assessment as a way of pinpointing areas in need for further efforts. This will allow many types of hazards and risks to be taken into consideration and a needs-based approach for the work undertaken. The purpose is to identify and analyse risks, vulnerabilities and society's capability to prevent and respond to the risks.

The new way of working is based on existing coordination forums and working groups developed for the Swedish system for civil contingency management. The six coordination forums are legislatively mandated and they consist of governmental agencies with key responsibilities in the Swedish civil contingency system, representatives from the county administrative boards (regional level) and from the local level. There are also stakeholders from non-government sectors. MSB chairs each forum. This coordination platform includes working groups. Additional stakeholders can be added to the temporary or permanent working groups. A cross-sectorial long-term working group on natural hazards is in operation. In this particular working group the link between DRR and climate change adaptation is very clear. There is much more disaster risk reduction work in progress but it is outside the scope of the national platform. Therefore, MSB will be discussing how to link DRR in Sweden and even create synergy with stakeholders who are implementing Agenda 2030. These discussions will occur in conjunction with Sweden’s work on a national disaster risk reduction strategy (Global Target E1). We anticipate further development of the national platform after the national DRR strategy is decided.

Budget

The national platform is financed through MSB’s ordinary budget. This allocation covers the costs of planning and conducting meetings as well as follow-up work for the cooperative forums. In addition, the Swedish Government Appropriation 2:4 is a funding source for national platform cooperation activities.

Mandate

The stakeholders in the coordination forums coordinate their planning by discussing and reaching a common understanding of relevant risks, threats and hazards, as well as the capabilities needed to face current challenges.

The process for the National Risk and Capability Assessment (NRCA) is used to create a common understanding of the following:

  • serious risks in Sweden,
  • possible consequences of them,
  • vulnerabilities in the society, and
  • the capability to prevent and respond to the risks.

The results are a strategic basis for directing and developing the civil contingency system.

Activities

Regular forum meetings, workshops, conferences, exercises and occasional field observations.

In addition, MSB provides guidance to the Swedish counties and municipalities on implementation of the SFDRR. If they are engaged in the Making Cities Resilient campaign, MSB informs them of tools such as the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities and peer reviews. Participating cities also learn about and participate in international opportunities such as conferences, EU projects and exchanges.

Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
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