Belgrade, 13 October 2022 – The two-day conference titled “Disaster Risk Reduction – Models and Practices at International and National Level” was opened today in Belgrade, organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Emergency Management Sector of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia and the Faculty of Security of the University of Belgrade, and with the support by the European Union (EU). In order to provide answers concerning the ways to make our society less vulnerable to emergencies such as floods, landslides, earthquakes and forest fires, the conference has gathered more than 50 renowned experts from Serbia, the region and European countries.

Head of Operations in the EU Delegation to Serbia, Sakelaris Hourdas said that the disaster risk reduction project, implemented by UNDP, also envisages reconstruction of the facilities for training of civil protection units in Kraljevo, as well as new buildings for the headquarters of the Emergency Management Sector.

“The same building could also house the 112 Hotline Centre, so as to provide more efficient and urgent help to citizens. Accordingly, in 2021, the EU funded preparations for the establishment of the Single European Emergency Number 112, its detailed design and analysis, thereby establishing necessary steps in order to make this service fully operative and in line with the EU standards. Moreover, the project offered a series of workshops and study visits to different emergency hotline centres in EU member states to the Emergency Management Sector. We hope that competent authorities would priorities the activation of the 112 number in the following months,” said Hourdas.

Assistant to the Minister of the Interior and Chief of the Emergency Management Sector, Luka Čaušić, pointed out that this sector, as well as the entire Ministry had worked extensively on developing their capacities, primarily through adoption of a series of laws and bylaws pertaining to risk reduction, prevention, preparation and response to weather-related and other disasters.

“Through a series of strategic projects, including continuous employment of new Sector staff, support to the establishment of voluntary firefighting associations and development of civil protection units, and renewal of fire brigades’ vehicle fleet through the obtainment and production of domestic firefighting vehicles, the Ministry has largely improved the situation in this field, and would continue to invest more and more efforts in this direction. Climate changes are indisputably unrelenting, and it is no longer the question of if, but rather when such emergencies will occur, and it is therefore highly important to have all the systems of protection and rescue, as well as the entire society activated and involved, so that we could be ready for the oncoming challenges,” said Čaušić.

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Serbia, Anas Qarman, highlighted the importance of strengthening the measures of prevention and improvement of readiness for action in emergencies.  

“In order to decrease the amount of material damage and the number of lives that may be put at risk due to disasters, it is necessary to achieve coordination of efforts by the national and local institutions, civil protection services and business sector. Furthermore, we need to utilise relevant findings of the academic community and exchange experiences with other countries, which is actually the aim of this conference,” added Qarman.

Representatives of the Emergency Management Sector of the MoI of Serbia and Republic Geodetic Authority (RGA) revealed to the public the Disaster Risk Register. This interactive digital database, established on the RGA’s Geoportal, offers all the citizens of Serbia the data concerning risks on concrete locations. This would help them become better informed when making decisions concerning the selection of a place to live or invest money in, as well as to timely undertake prevention measures. Furthermore, due to the Disaster Risk Register, decision-makers will have real-time data at their disposal, which would contribute to the improvement of urban planning, as well as of the velocity and quality of intervention in the moments of crises.

The second day of the conference (14 October) would involve discussions concerning adequate prevention measures that may increase the readiness of the economy, healthcare system and local self-governments for emergencies. Another topic for discussion would involve the manner in which building of the society’s resilience to climate changes may contribute to the reduction of emergency risks.

These issues will be talked about by representatives of the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia and countries in the region, local self-governments of Serbia and Czech Republic, international organisations such as the World Bank, World Health Organisation and the FAO – United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, as well as professors and researchers of universities from Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Greece, Denmark and Sweden.  

The main conclusions from the conference will be used to develop a monograph which would become a part of the regular curriculum of the Faculty of Security in Belgrade. This would contribute to the improvement of the quality of education for future professionals in the field.

The “Disaster Risk Reduction – Models and Practices at International and National Level” conference is held as a part of the initiative “EU for Serbia Resilient to Disasters”, financed by the European Union and implemented by UNDP. The goal of this initiative is to help Serbia in decreasing its vulnerability to disasters and increasing its resilience to climate changes.