Crisis Management and

Contingency Planning

Athena Conference, 2014Christoph Wagner, European Commission

Crisis management and contingency planning

• 1. Pressure through crisis• 2. EU crisis management: civil protection• 3. EU crisis management: the role of civil-military

relations• 4. EU disaster risks reduction at international

level

Pressure through Crisis

Why do we need better crisis management tools and contingency planning?

Natural Hazard

5 April 21, 2023

7 April 21, 2023

Human Hazard

Lack of Coping Capacity

InfoRM - Index for Risk Management

• Quantitative humanitarian and disaster assessment based on an open, transparent, consensus-based approach to humanitarian & disaster risk

• http://inform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

Natural catastrophes in Europe, 1980-2012

Natural disasters

Significant events

(Munich Re, 2013)

Meteorological events(Storm)Hydrological events(Flood, mass movement)

Geophysical events(Earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption)

Climatological events(Extreme temperature, drought, wildfire)

Total estimated disaster impacts in Europe, 2002-2011

151 BILLION USD (*) damage

7.3 MILLION people affected

146 THOUSAND people killed

(*) 116 Billion EUR

EU Crisis management:

Civil ProtectionWhat recent innovation has the EU put in place to enhance civil protection?

The Civil Protection Mechanism •Natural and man-made disasters (no complex emergencies)

•Inside and outside the EU

•32 participating countries: 28 MS + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

•The Mechanism's tools• Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC)• Common Emergency and Information System (CECIS) • Training programme

• Civil Protection modules

ERCC

Disaster stricken country

Request for assistanceAcceptance / rejection of

assistance offeredInformation update

Offer of assistance

Activation of the Mechanism

Deployment of EU CP Teams

Coordination of Transport

Key elements of the new legislation

Entered into force by end 2013 to revise the existing CP Mechanism.

Balances prevention, preparedness and response.

Ensures predictable, high-quality assistance.

Helps Member States on capacity development.

Introduces new international elements.

Disaster prevention

Member States:•develop risk assessments and make a summary available to the Commission•develop and refine their disaster risk management planning•make an assessment of their risk management capability available to the Commission •participate, on a voluntary basis, in peer reviews

Disaster preparedness

Commission & Member States:•Continue existing activities: exercises, training, exchange of experts, projects•Establish Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) with 24/7 operational capacity•Establish a European Emergency Response Capacity consisting of a "voluntary pool"•Co-finance buffer capacities to address temporary shortcomings•Provide seed-funding for new response capacities, where a potentially significant gap has been identified

Financial support

• Certification costs:• Costs of obligatory training courses, exercises and workshops necessary

for the certification of Member States' response capacities for the purposes of the European Emergency Response Capacity

• Adaptation costs:• Non-recurrent costs necessary to upgrade Member States' response

capacities from their purely national use to a state of readiness and availability that makes them deployable as part of the Voluntary Pool

• Transport:• Increased transport funding for assets from the Voluntary Pool

International elements

• Requests through or by the United Nations and its agencies, or a relevant international organization• Coordinating function of UN OCHA• Possible roles for IOM, IFRC, ICRC, OPCW, IAEA

• Possibility to deploy expert missions to advise on disaster prevention and preparedness at the request of the country concerned

• Specific prevention and preparedness activities expanded to the EU Neighbourhood, Art. 28(2)

• Possibility for potential candidate countries to join the Union Civil Protection Mechanism

Examples of Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina – Floods 14 May 2014

• 1.5 million people affected in Bosnia Herzegovina• 1.6 million people affected in Serbia• Activation of the CPM on May 16: 22 Members

States offered assistance through the CPM• 2 EU Civil Protection teams sent on the ground• 500 relief workers from the Member States

deployed through the CPM• Constant contact between the ERCC, participating

states and the two affected countries.• EUFOR Althea and EULEX participation

EU Crisis management: Civil military

relations

Map of current CSDP missions

Role of military in humanitarian aid

• Military capacities can supplement civil protection and humanitarian assistance by filling certain critical capacity gaps natural disasters vs complex emergencies

• Provided that conditions are respected, military capacities can play a role in very specific circumstances:

1)It can contribute to the provision of relief;

2)It can contribute to the provision of security;

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UN Guidelines

• Complex Emergencies:

MCDA Guidelines: The Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets to Support United Nations Humanitarian Activities in Complex Emergencies (March 2003)

Country Specific Guidelines (Iraq, 2004, Afghanistan 2001)

• Natural, Technological, Environmental Disasters:

Oslo Guidelines: The Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief (May 1994)

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MCDA and Oslo Guidelines

In order to avoid a blurring of roles between military operations and humanitarian aid/civil protection, military assets and capabilities should only be used when the following conditions are met:

'last resort’, i.e. no comparable civilian alternative ->UNOCHA to request

civilian nature and command of the operation

the primary responsibility of the affected State and overall role of the UN are respected

no cost to the humanitarian actor/affected State

Cooperation between CSDP missions and humanitarian aid

PoC•Artemis, EUFOR DRC, EUFOR Chad/CAR, EUFOR CAR•EUPOL DRC, EUMM Georgia

Support to humanitarian aid•EUFOR Libya•EUNAVFOR Atalanta

Promotion of IHL, principles and civmil practice•EUTM Mali, EUTM Somalia

EU Comprehensive Approach

•

Diplomaticactions

EconomicSanctions

CSDPActivity

Development Aid

HumanitarianAssistance HumanitarianAssistance

ConflictPreventionmeasures

JHA, TRADE, CLIMA,…

Range of EU options

Crisis

politicalframework

forcrisis approach

In But Out

Disaster risk reduction at

international levelWhat has been the EU's role in promoting a Post Hyogo Framework for Action?

The Hyogo Framework for Action

• Objective: to reduce disaster losses by building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters before 2015

• First plan to detail the work required from all different sectors and actors to reduce disaster losses

• Five priorities for action

The EU in the HFA revision process• Ambitious EU position in helping shape pre-Sendai 2015

oActive role in revision process oBuilding on active EU contribution to current HFAoBuilding on EU experiences

• Commission Communication on post-HFA

oDefining EU position – contributing to sustainable developmentoIdentifying progress and challenges in disaster managementoIdentifying Principles for the new FrameworkoExplaining EU disaster risk management policy and resilience agenda

Policy achievements EU support to developing countries with focus on building

resilience in crisis prone countries

5 principles of the new framework for Sendai: Improving accountability, transparency and governance

A framework to deliver results - role of targets and indicators to measure progress and encourage implementation

Strengthening the contribution to sustainable and smart growth

Addressing vulnerabilities and needs in a comprehensive framework

Ensuring coherence with the international agenda

• Risk assessments: EU overview based on national risk assessments by end-2013

• Good practice guidelines: exchange of prevention practices focusing on five cross-cutting themes: governance, planning, disaster data, risk communication and information, and research and technology transfer (by late 2013)

• Disaster data study and steps towards European standards• Mainstreaming: cohesion policy, environmental impact

assessments, climate change adaptation etc.• Peer reviews

EU disaster prevention activities

EU financial support to DRR in developing countries

oSHAREoAGIRoGCCAoDisaster Resilience in ACP countriesoDIPECHO programme

Thank you for your

attention

European Commission