Description
Description (EN): JOINT VOLUNTEERING FOR A SAFER LIFE (JVSL) is a hard project designed to improve the emergency preparedness in the cross-border area of Romania and Bulgaria. The region is exposed to a number of weather-related, geophysical and anthropic risks. Although emergency response structures and relevant legislation are in place, it is recognized by local, state and international authorities that they lack sufficient capacity. Effective risk management requires capacity building at community level.
The project’s objective is to improve the theoretical and practical preparedness of volunteer emergency response units and enhance the coordination and efficient reaction in case of disaster in the cross-border area. This will be achieved through the development of a specialized community volunteer training center in the village of Belitsa, Municipality of Tutrakan. The training center will be the first of its kind on the Balkan Peninsular to provide the full range of facilities required for accommodation, classroom sessions and practical trainings. The selected location will offer training and sport facilities, water and forest areas, where disastrous events will be simulated. Additional equipment will be purchased to supplement the existing one.
Based on the extensive experience of DGFSCP and IGSU, a joint training program for volunteers will be developed to ensure that the proper set of theoretical and practical skills are acquired and collaboration at local level is enhanced. Lead by NAVRB, over 200 volunteers from the cross-border area of the two countries will be trained within the project timeframe as a pilot initiative which shall set the start of a continuous capacity building process in organized volunteer trainings.
Further opportunities for synergies and improvement will be explored through a risk analysis of the cross-border area. A joint report on the emergency response preparedness in the CB area will be elaborated to provide the grounds for amendments in the municipal and state regulations for disaster preparedness and emergency response.
As a result, the quality of joint risk management in the CBC area will be improved providing significant benefits to the entire cross-border population. The local communities will benefit from enhanced protection against a wide range of risks ensured by inter-operable volunteer emergency response structures and common approach. Relevant information and publicity tools will be employed to inform the general public of the project achievements and the EU contribution.
The project activities will be structured as follows:
WORKPACKAGE M: PROJECT MANAGEMENT;
WORKPACKAGE T1: RISK ANALYSIS OF CBC AREA;
WORKPACKAGE I1: SET-UP OF A TRAINING FACILITY;
WORKPACKAGE T2: SUPPLY OF SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT;
WORKPACKAGE T3: DEVELOPMENT OF A JOINT TRAINING PROGRAM FOR VOLUNTEERS;
WORKPACKAGE T4: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL TRAININGS;
WORKPACKAGE C: COMMUNICATION.
The expected project outputs targeted by the Programme in this call for proposals are:
Population benefitting from flood protection measures: 4 591 666 people (the cross-border population in the high-risk category, excluding Dobrich district - moderate risk),
Population benefitting from forest fire protection measures: 4 779 754 people (the entire cross-border population),
Number of joint partnerships in the field of joint early warning and emergency response: 5 partnerships.
- 1 partnership between IGSU and DGFSCP to develop a training program and a training plan for volunteer formations,
- 1 partnership between IGSU, DGFSCP and NAVRB to develop a joint emergency response plan for common actions of local volunteer formations,
- 1 partnership between the Municipality of Tutrakan, IGSU and DGFSCP to set up a training center for volunteer formations on the territory of the municipality,
- 1 partnership between the NAVRB, Municipality of Tutrakan, IGSU, and DGFSCP to carry out trainings of volunteers in the training center in the village of Belitsa, Municipality of Tutrakan, following the training program developed during the project implementation,
- 1 partnership between IGSU and DGFSCP to exchange experience, knowledge and trainers during the training sessions.
Financial indicator: EUR 846 005.00 for project total estimated budget of EUR 995 300.
Since hazards, both natural and anthropic, recognize no administrative boundaries, the cross-border approach is the most appropriate one. In times of emergency the effectiveness of measures is highly dependent on the actions initiated in the first hours of disaster outbreak. When time is of the essence, the immediate help and coordinated cooperation between neighboring communities is essential to the containment of disasters. Therefore, the project is focused on exchange of good practices and building a common approach in risk management and volunteer training in the cross-border area.
In addition, the project is seeking opportunities for synergies from joint risk management which will allow for effective resource sharing during crises and relieve the burden on local administrations.
Last but not least, the participation in this project of the national bodies responsible for risk management in Bulgaria and Romania, DGFSCP and IGSU, is evidential of the willingness and common understanding that cooperation is required to efficiently solve the common challenges in this area.
By ensuring effectiveness of disaster management and protection of regional resources the project will boost cross-border cooperation and sustainable growth. Focusing on grassroots approach, it will improve the joint risk management in the CB area, thus fully complying with the Programme specific objective and overall goal.
Read more Achievements (EN): During its implementation, B2 finalized the elaboration of the risk analysis of the cross-border area, as follows:
1) Analysis of the scale, frequency, geographical concentration, seasonality and prerequisites for disastrous events in the cross-border area;
2) Analysis of regional and municipal plans for disaster preparedness and emergency response for a pilot region (Silistra District and Calarasi County);
3) Joint report on the emergency response preparedness in the cross-border area.
The analysis is uploaded on the project web page, available on the following link: https://volunteering-robg.com.
Within the frame of Activity T.3 “Development of a Joint Training Program for Volunteers”, a voluntary emergency response plan for common actions was prepared by the experts of Beneficiary 2 - Directorate General Fire Safety and Civil Protection – Ministry of the Interior and Beneficiary 4 - National Association of Volunteers in the Republic of Bulgaria and sent for approval to Beneficiary 3 - General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations - Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In the beginning of March 2021, a contract for the development of the joint training program for volunteer emergency response units was signed and, subsequently, five three days workshops were performed in an online format because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
B3 finalized the procurement and construction of the mobile training tower in the beginning of September 2021, in Constanta.
LB reported the finalization of the construction works for the establishment of a Training center for volunteers in Belitsa. The constructed Training Centre in Belitsa is represented by the following main spaces:
1. Ground floor –Entrance, Lobby (Bar) , Multifunctional dining hall (Restaurant), Corridors, Storage room, Staircase, Toilets for visitors, Kitchen
2. First floor – 2 Conference Rooms, Hall, Dressing Room, Bathrooms, Medical Cabinet, Sport Hall, Fitness Room, Office space and 8 Bedrooms;
3. Second floor – 11 Bedrooms;
Following the finalization of the entire process for developing of the of a Joint Training Program for Volunteers, the project beneficiaries are reporting the concluding of 5 joint partnerships at project level in the field of joint early warning and emergency response.
Within the frame of the WP 4 “Conduct theoretical and practical trainings”, B3 and B4 organized the 6 the practical trainings in Belitsa with 216 volunteers from Romania and Bulgaria.
More information is available on the project web site, accessible in all three languages: https://volunteering-robg.com .
Read more
Website: https://interregrobg.eu
Expected Results (EN): R3.1 - The quality of the joint risk management in the CBC area
Expected Outputs (EN): Emergency response capacity building at community level is essential for effective risk management since communities are the first respondents to disasters and central actors in reducing risk. Through improving the preparedness of local volunteer units to react adequately in the event of a disaster, the project enhances community emergency response capacity and thus directly contributes to the project result indicator.
With the implementation of the project the quality of rescue services and risk mitigation in the CBC area will be significantly upgraded providing benefits to the entire cross-border population. The local communities will benefit from enhanced protection against a wide range of risks ensured by volunteer emergency response units which have completed a thorough and structured training process. The common approach to handling dangerous situations, embedded in the joint training curriculum, will raise the interoperability of local structures and provide opportunities for cooperation between neighboring communities which will decrease response time and curtail possible losses. This will result in higher efficiency of actions and improve the quality of the joint risk management in the CB area.
The project is expected to improve significantly the satisfaction of all stakeholders in the cross-border area with respect to joint risk management, namely:
1) Local administrations (municipality, district and city) will benefit from:
• the opportunity to have their volunteers trained at minimum cost,
• improved volunteer enrolment rate as a result of higher-quality training,
• decreasing the burden on local administrations’ budgets to deal with disasters as joint efforts of cross-border communities and institutions will allow for effective resource sharing during crises,
• faster and more adequate response to emergencies which will reduce the potential losses, etc.
2) The cross-border population will feel more secure knowing that there are trained individuals among them which would know how to organize the local population to avoid unnecessary risks and contain damages in the event of disaster.
3) Professional emergency response structures (fire brigades, paramedics, civil protection units, etc.) will welcome the support of better qualified volunteer formations, facilitating their job.
4) Hospitals and healthcare institutions will benefit from the decreased number of injured people and/or better handling of injured people.
5) Environmental agencies and NGOs will rank high the improved level of preparedness for handling disaster outbreaks which will reduce the risks for nature and wildlife.
Generally, it is expected that the community and institutional stakeholders will rank high the contribution of the project to emergency response and risk mitigation. However, the project partners acknowledge that a lot needs to be done with respect to early warning and disaster prevention. For this reason, our expectation is that the overall evaluation of the quality of the joint risk management in the CB area be improved from somewhat inappropriate (2.00) to satisfactory (3.00) as a result of the project implementation, driven down by the unemployed opportunities of early warning and risk prevention measures.
Read more
Thematic information
Specific Objective:
To improve joint risk management in the cross-border area
Thematic Objective:
(05) promoting climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management by:
Investment Priority:
(05b) promoting investment to address specific risks, ensuring disaster resilience and developing disaster management systems
