Phase I: South-East Europe (SEE) Capacity Development

Phase I project: Regional Programme on Disaster Risk Reduction in South-East Europe Activity 2 (WMO): Regional Cooperation in South Eastern Europe for Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Data Management and Exchange to Support Disaster Risk Reduction (IPA/2009/199-922).

Background:
Phase I is based on the results of the assessment phase and further consultations with countries and the European Commission.

Implemented in the 2009−2011 time period, two projects/activities funded together by the European Commission (EC) Directorate General for Enlargement, through its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) as the “Regional Programme on Disaster Risk Reduction in South East Europe” targeted Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo (as defined by UNSCR 1244/99) and Turkey.

WMO developed a project proposal entitled “Regional Cooperation in South Eastern Europe for Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Data Management and Exchange to Support Disaster Risk Reduction” (IPA/2009/199-922) together with a UNDP complementary proposal.

On-going collaboration between UNDP, WMO, the Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) and the Global Risk Identification Programme (GRIP), with support from the EU and a range of national partners has allowed for the development of in-depth IPA beneficiary needs assessments, national capacity assessments, country risk assessments, and subsequent national policy dialogues across IPA beneficiary nations.

Objectives
The WMO Project (Activity 2) “Regional Cooperation in South Eastern Europe (SEE) for Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Data Management and Exchange to Support Disaster Risk Reduction” aimed at reducing the vulnerability of SEE to natural hazards such as drought, flood and forest fires. The project focused on building the national and regional capacities (technical, human and institutional) of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) in the provision of reliable weather, water and climate products and services such as hazard analysis to support risk assessment and forecasts and warnings with adequate lead time to support DRR activities of the IPA beneficiaries and the region as a whole.  Building better cooperation between the NMHS, which are the providers of hydrometeorological information and services and the agencies responsible for civil protection and emergency response, as well as, the main economic sectors, was a primary objective. The project was also intended to underpin a regional approach to DRR by enhancing the interoperability of the national systems and the cross-border exchange of information related to hydrometeorological hazards.

The overall objective of the UNDP Project (Activity 1) “Building Capacities in Disaster Risk Reduction through Regional Cooperation and Collaboration in South East Europe” was to reduce the risk of disasters associated with natural hazards in the Western Balkans and Turkey, in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action, by building the capacity of national and local authorities to promote a coordinated approach to disaster risk reduction. The specific objective is to increase the level of regional cooperation in SEE to promote the harmonisation of disaster risk reduction methodologies, plans and strategies, in order to pave the way for the eventual preparation of a harmonised and mutually accepted regional disaster risk reduction Strategy. The activities of the UNDP proposal emphasized the strengthening of existing DRR capacities among the eight IPA beneficiaries, particularly the enhancement of the DPPI SEE.

Achievements

• DRR National Policy Dialogues organized in each beneficiary adopted policy recommendations highlighting the role of the NMHS in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRM) and early warning systems
• Opportunities and challenges to strengthen SEE regional cooperation mechanisms to support risk assessment and Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS), as well as the specific areas requiring further regional cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction were identified and agreed upon
• Flood and drought hazard risk analysis capacities to support risk assessment were strengthened through trainings and regional proposal development included in the project Phase II
• Integration to European Meteorological Infrastructure: the beneficiaries made significant progress in understanding the roles and functions of the regional organizations and several countries succeeded in their applications for membership in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Network of European Meteorological Services (EUMETNET)
• Adaptation to climate change was introduced into the regional DRM Agenda and the South-East European Climate Outlook Forum (SEECOF) process was strengthened
• More than 220 experts and officials were trained in ten high-quality training events on different subjects related to Disaster Risk Reduction.

Outcomes

• National Policy Dialogues on Disaster Risk Reduction

Detailed assessment of DRR policies and practices as well as NMHS capacities, gaps and needs in the beneficiaries were completed and conducted towards the development of policy recommendations, through National Policy Dialogues (NPD) organised in each beneficiary. NPDs helped in highlighting the role of the NMHS in Disaster Risk Management and in development of National DRR Platforms and Early Warning Systems.

• Regional Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction

Regional cooperation and coordination in DRR have been promoted through a series of events, resulting in drafting a regional DRR road map. Opportunities and challenges to strengthen SEE regional cooperation mechanisms to support risk assessment and Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS), as well as the specific areas requiring further regional cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction were identified and agreed upon.

• Flood and Drought Hazard Analysis to Support Risk Assessment

Floods and droughts have been identified as two major hydrometeorological and climate related hazards posing significant risks in the region. Regional workshops have been carried out to improve technical capacity for flood and drought risk assessment across several impacted sectors including agriculture and water resource management. Concrete proposals for capacity development of the NMHS with other ministries and technical agencies have been developed, as well as a regional proposal and are integrated in the overall report of the project.

• Integration to European Meteorological Infrastructure

All targeted countries made significant progress in understanding the roles and functions of the regional organizations and several countries succeeded in their applications for membership in ECMWF and EUMETNET. The integration of the IPA countries to the European Meteoalarm system has been progressed through implementing the Meteoalarm requirements at national level.

• Introducing the Climate Change Adaptation into the regional DRM Agenda

The South-East European Climate Outlook Forum (SEECOF) helped sub-regions to develop strong and sustainable working mechanisms to prepare seasonal weather outlooks through the collaboration of climate experts from many of the beneficiaries. The identification of the needs of sectors like water management, energy and disaster risk management has been initiated and the awareness of the users in the benefits of seasonal forecasting in strategic planning has been raised. The overall capacity in utilizing and downscaling of products provided by leading long-range forecasting centres has been significantly improved. 

• Capacity Development

The project succeeded in its aim to build capacity by providing ten high-quality training events on different subjects related to disaster risk reduction. More than 220 experts and officials actively participated in the training seminars and workshops organized by WMO in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), ECMWF, EUMETNET, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the Regional Drought Management Centre, and the Regional Instrument Centre. State-of-the-art software for processing hydrometeorological data were provided to several IPA beneficiaries significantly raised their capacity to produce high quality local products, leading to the improvement of accuracy and timelines of warnings for hazardous events. Regular calibration and maintenance of the observing instruments was improved. The secondment of experts to the Regional Drought Management Centre contributed to strengthening its methodological and capacity building functions. The excellent collaboration with EUMETSAT provided for filling a long-lasting gap to receive and utilize satellite information in monitoring and forecasting hydrometeorological hazards.

Phase I Project Management