“Building Resilience to Disasters in Western Balkans and Turkey” is a cross-border project of UNISDR and WMO, supported by the European Commission.
It aims to improve disaster risk prediction, management and reduction in these countries.
28 August 2012: The UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are co-sponsoring a two-year project to reduce disaster risks and increase resilience to climate change in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The project is supported by the European Commission.
In a joint press release, UNISDR and WMO note that the Western Balkans and Turkey are prone to hazards such as floods, landslides, cold and heat waves, droughts, forest fires and earthquakes, all problems that are compounded by climate change and changes in land-use patterns.
The joint project, titled “Building Resilience to Disasters in Western Balkans and Turkey,” will be launched on 30 August 2012, at a meeting held in Zagreb, Croatia. It aims to strengthen national disaster risk management and meteorological and hydrological services in the region. The three primary areas of work are: building and enhancing regional networking and coordination for disaster risk reduction (DRR); strengthening cross-border cooperation on disaster risk management; and increasing regional capacity to monitor and predict hydro-meteorological hazards.
The project will also work towards an effective cross-border multi-hazard early warning system, support the use of disaster insurance among homeowners and enterprises, and increase disaster risk awareness. [UNISDR-WMO Project Website] [UNISDR-WMO Press Release]