Kyrgyzstan: National strategy for comprehensive safety of population and territories of the Kyrgyz Republic from disasters and emergencies: 2012-2020

The National Strategy for Comprehensive Safety of Population and Territories of the Kyrgyz Republic from Disasters and Emergencies is a sectoral national strategy document in force for the period of 2012-2020. The overall goal of the Strategy is to ensure long-term disaster risk reduction until 2020, identifying areas and priorities, which require first of all funding of activities from the state budget and donor funds.As the Country Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic includes measures on reduction of only natural disaster risks, there was a need to develop more comprehensive strategy covering a wider range of related issues. This comprehensive strategy includes measures to address not only natural disasters, but also manmade and bio-social disasters, including social conflicts.

The Strategy consists of 3 main Sections: Section 1 describes more the hazards of various possible disasters in the Kyrgyz Republic and their potential impact; Section 2 defines key priorities for ensuring comprehensive safety of population and territories of the Kyrgyz Republic; and, Section 3 provides for the process developed to implement the Strategy (implementation stages until 2020), funding of the Strategy and implementation plan.

The Strategy includes following more concrete actions towards the main strategic objectives: (1) segregation of functions on assisting in emergence prevention activities with financial support at all levels of government; (2) integration of disaster risk reduction measures into building norms and regulations, and into land use standards in cities and settlements located in natural disaster prone areas; (3) improvement of monitoring and forecasting of natural hazards in Kyrgyzstan in view of the transboundary disasters potential; (4) establishment of the unified mobile and professional trained group of specialists of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations with aviation component; and (5) establishment of functional early warning system to alert people of an emergency. With regard to the implementation, the Strategy sets out the activities of the authorized state body, which is the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as activities of all involved partners, particularly government ministries, state committees, administrative agencies, territorial and district administrations, local self-governance bodies and the civil society.