EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Environment fact sheet:

Civil protection: Together

we are stronger

• Disasters can strike anywhere with some-times devastating effects. International co-operation is often needed to deal with the impact of a tragedy.

• Any country affected by a major disaster in-side or outside the European Union can re-quest assistance through the European Com-mission’s Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC). The centre facilitates the delivery of expert or material assistance in the immedi-ate aftermath of a catastrophe.

• Interventions by the EU have saved lives and have alleviated suffering in emergencies such as the floods and forest fires in Europe, earthquakes in Algeria, Iran, Morocco and Pakistan, and also during the tsunami which hit south-eastern Asia in December 2004.

• The MIC operates 24/7, pooling the civil pro-tection resources of European countries in the case of an emergency.

• The MIC also organises training courses, simulation exercises and expert exchanges to boost preparedness.

Indonesian earthquake (May 2006)The disasterA powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck 17 km below the Indian Ocean coast near the former Javanese royal capital of Yogyakarta in Indo-nesia.

The earthquake’s epicentre was just 25 km away from the city. The tremors reduced hundreds of build-ings to rubble, severing essential services and damaging roads and airport runways. Over 5000 peo-ple died, more than 15000 were injured and between 200000 and 600000 people were displaced.

After the original quake over 700 aftershocks were felt and the rum-ble of the nearby volcano Merapi increased in intensity. Four dis-tricts in the Yogyakarta province (Sleman, Bantul, Gunung and Kulon Progo) and the central Java province (Malengang, Boolali, Klat-en and Purworejo) were affected by the earthquake.

Request for assistanceThe European Commission’s Moni-toring and Information Centre (MIC) was alerted a few minutes after the earthquake. It immediately con-tacted participating states and told them that Indonesia might make a request for international assist-ance. The Indonesian authorities handled the emergency well, but suffered from a shortage of medical staff. Indonesia therefore requested assistance for emergency medical supplies, including medicines and antibiotics, and food for children, blankets, and tents.

The EU responseA number of EU Member States reacted before assistance was re-quested. Others offered their as-sistance only after the Indonesian authorities made their official re-quest. Accordingly, the MIC estab-lished contact with other relevant Commission services and the then Austrian Presidency of the Coun-cil. Within 24 hours a two-person European civil protection assess-ment and coordination team had been sent to the site of the disas-ter. Establishing contact with the relevant actors on the ground the team provided useful information and logistical support to the MIC and the Member States wishing to

International co-operation to save lives and protect the environment

When disaster strikes the effects can be overwhelming. The infrastructure in the affected area can deteriorate rapidly and emergency services quickly become overstretched. In such cases international cooperation is often need-ed to protect people, the environment, property and the cultural heritage of an area.

Disasters fall into two broad categories:

• Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, forest fires, storms, hur-ricanes or tsunamis;

• Man-made disasters such as outbreaks of animal diseases, chemical spills, mining accidents, radiation leaks, marine pollution or terrorist attacks.

The EU is in a position to help deliver civil protection assistance in the immediate aftermath of such events, whether they occur within or outside the Union. Aid may consist of pumping and disinfecting water when floods hit, putting out forest fires, deploying technical experts or sending rescue teams in case of earthquakes.

Coordinating civil protection resources of EU Member States

The EU operates a Community Civil Protection Mechanism that has been in place since 2001. This gives the European Union the ability to provide the most effective and immediate civil protection assistance in cases of major emergencies. By participating in this mechanism, all EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway pool their civil protection resources which are made available to any country affected by a disaster.

Within this civil protection mechanism the European Commission plays the role of facilitator and helps coordinate relief efforts. It has established a Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) that acts as a ‘one-stop-shop’ during an emergency where assistance is needed. It operates 24 hour a day, 7 days a week basis and is the operational heart of the Community Civil Pro-tection Mechanism.

While the EU only provides assistance when a formal request has been made by an affected country the MIC monitors all disasters occurring world-wide, thus enabling it to react as quickly as possible when a request is actu-ally made.

Each disaster re-quires different types of assistance depend-ing on factors such as the geographical area which has been hit. The assistance could include fire-fighting equipment and per-sonnel, water pumps, sand bags, disinfect-ants, blankets or ex-perts on the ground.

When a request is received the MIC immediately informs the countries participating in the mechanism of the type of assistance needed and the participating countries notify the MIC what resources they can provide. This information is then relayed to the affected state which assesses what has been offered and establishes direct contact with the assisting country. The MIC facilitates logistical aspects such as transportation.

A more pro-active European Union

Since the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 the European Union has worked on improving its civil protection actions to be better prepared for any disaster that may occur.

Four areas have been identified for improvement. These include being better prepared, reinforcing analytical and assessment capacities, enhanc-ing coordination between Member States and improving assistance to EU citizens caught in disasters outside the Union.

A first major step forward in the development of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism came in March 2007 with the agreement on an in-strument that will enable the EU to directly provide funds for the transport of assistance in certain cases. November 2007 saw a second major step with the creation of modules. These self-sufficient units can be readily deployed at any given moment. Two examples of modules include forest-fighting and high volume pumping units.

Being better prepared

The Community civil protection mechanism is based on the expertise and equipment made available by participating states, all of which have developed different ways of dealing with certain disaster scenarios.

It is vital that the wealth of experience acquired by these civil protection corps be shared with the other countries participating in the Community mechanism for the benefit of all. But the different methodologies used by the various national authorities may hamper the success of an operation.

This is why the European Commission finances civil protection projects with the aim of facilitating cooperation between different countries in ex-perience sharing, early warning alerts, coordination and logistics and to supplement Member States’ efforts at national, regional and local levels.

The exchange of experts, training courses or simulation exercises helps national teams from different Member States work together more effec-tively and develop a common intervention culture. Efforts in this field need to be further developed and, where necessary, intensified.

Taking a global role

Disasters can strike anywhere. Disasters know no boundaries. The 2004 tsunami and the 2005 ‘Katrina’ hurricane prove this. No area in the world is immune, whether developed or developing, urban or rural, coastal or mountainous. All are equally susceptible to the wrath of natural disas-ters.

Forest fires in Spain (August 2006)

The disaster

Over a hundred forest fires covering an area of over 80000 hectares rav-aged the region of Galicia during the first few days of August 2006.

Request for assistance

On the morning of 9 August 2006, Spain requested European civil protection assistance to help com-bat the raging fires, asking for fire-fighting aircraft, helicopters and fire trucks.

The EU response

The request triggered a rapid response from the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), which immediately contacted the relevant national authorities. Within a few hours, Spain had received fire- fighting aeroplanes, fire fighters and vehicles from several European member states.

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© European Commission, 2007. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.Photos: Digital Vision, Getty Images, PhotoDisc

For more information

• European Commission website on civil protection: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil/index.htm

But luckily human solidarity also knows no boundaries. The desire to help people and regions that have suffered a major natural or man-made catastro-phe has played an important role in the history of human survival.

Any country affected by a major disaster – inside or outside the Union – can request assistance through the MIC. However, the Community mecha-nism works slightly differently in each case.

For countries within the European Union, the MIC immediately forwards the affected state’s request to the countries participating in the Mechanism. These countries then say whether they are in a position to offer assistance. The MIC compiles the responses and informs the requesting state on the as-sistance available.

Outside the EU, the provision for European interventions is closely coor-dinated with the country holding the EU Presidency. The European response can be either autonomous or a contribution to an intervention led by an in-ternational organisation. For these cases, the MIC also ensures close coor-dination with the Commission’s own Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO), as well as the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which coordinates international relief efforts.

In the event of an emergency outside the EU, the MIC can dispatch experts within a few hours to assess the needs, coordinate the civil protection opera-tions and liaise with the competent authorities and international organisa-tions.

The Community mechanism has now been called up to intervene in a number of major disasters around the globe. These include the floods in Cen-tral Europe (2002, 2005, 2006) and France (2003); the Prestige accident (2002); the earthquakes in Algeria (2003), Iran (2003), Morocco (2004), Pakistan (2005), Indonesia (2006), and Peru (2007); forest fires in France (2003), Portugal (2004, 2005), Spain (2006), and Greece (2007); a major storm in Sweden and snowstorms in Albania (2004); the southeast Asian tsunami 2004; the Katrina hurricane aftermath in the US (2005); the Leba-non/Cyprus evacuee crisis and oil pollution in Lebanon (2006) and the floods in Bolivia (2007).