PLAN OF ACTION
OF THE BSEC WORKING GROUP
ON COOPERATION IN EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
1 July 2013 – 30 June 2015
Country-Coordinator: Republic of Turkey
I. GENERAL OBJECTIVES
The present Action Plan in the field of Cooperation on Emergency Assistance sets the main guidelines for enhancing mutually beneficial co-operation in the respective field between the BSEC Member States for the period 2013-2015.
In its work the Working Group will be guided by the Istanbul Summit Declaration on the occasion of the Twentieth anniversary of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (26 June 2012), provisions of the BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership, Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, decisions of the Ministers in charge for Emergency Assistance of the BSEC Member States, the BSEC Public Communication Strategy and the Terms of Reference of the Working Group.
Proper attention will be given to the implementation of Goal 17 of the BSEC Economic Agenda, “Cooperation in Emergency Assistance”, in particular:
1. Enhancing coordination among the BSEC Member States in preventing and eliminating the consequences of natural and man-made disasters and on providing humanitarian assistance and help on protection of environment in case of emergency situations or imminent threat thereof;
2. Strengthening cooperation among the BSEC Member States on developing and use of modern technologies to predict natural and man-made disasters through means of space monitoring;
3. Strengthening cooperation in implementing the Agreement among the Governments of the BSEC Member States on Collaboration in Emergency Assistance and Emergency Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters and its Additional Protocol;
4. Promoting cooperation among the seismologists in the BSEC Region with a view to diminishing seismic risks, enhancing early warning, elaborating recommendations for rescue operations, and developing regional risk assessment programmes;
5. Drafting of seismic risk maps for the big cities and densely populated areas of the Member States;
6. Encouraging the establishment of BSEC expert bodies to deal with massive forest fires and floods;
7. Promoting organization of regional trainings, seminars and scientific conferences aimed at the achievement of better application of joint efforts in case of emergency and increase of awareness about the best practices used in emergency situations with a special attention to the Liaison Officers of the relevant BSEC Network;
8. Establishing relations with international organizations and institutions in the field of emergency response;
9. Submitting emergency response plans to protect the marine ecosystem and organisms against possible sea accidents.
The Working Group will endeavor to strengthen the project-oriented dimension of the BSEC Organization as it is foreseen by the BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership and in the document “Way Forward for an Action Plan on the Implementation of the Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership, using additional financial instruments, improvement of the modalities of work of the BSEC Network of Liaison Officers and other instruments of cooperation provided in the provisions of the Agreement among the Governments of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Participating States on Collaboration in Emergency Assistance and Emergency Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters and the Additional Protocol to it.
In line with provisions of the BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership, provided in the document the Way Forward for an Action Plan on the Implementation of the Economic Agenda, the Working Group, during the period 2013-2015 will be focused on the following main priorities:
• Strengthening cooperation in implementing the Agreement among the Governments of the BSEC Member States on Collaboration in Emergency Assistance and Emergency Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters and its Additional Protocol;
• Enhancing coordination among the BSEC Member States in preventing and eliminating the consequences of natural and man-made disasters and on providing humanitarian assistance and help on protection of environment in case of emergency situations or imminent threat thereof;
• Encouraging the establishment of BSEC expert bodies to deal with massive forest fires and floods.
The Working Group will continue to encourage and support the training seminars and conferences aimed at exchanging experiences and best practices in the Emergency Assistance among experts of the BSEC Member States, other countries and international organizations. Due attention will paid to:
• Cooperation in development and application of modern technologies via creating a unified database in order to share experiences, knowledge, disaster, regional risk maps, regional means and forces on the basis of a Register of national means and forces of the BSEC countries to provide fast and adequate assistance in case of emergencies;
• Elaboration of a mechanism for interaction with the BSEC national authorities and NGOs;
• Building up relations with regional initiatives involved into the infrastructure protection and risks evaluation in the Black Sea Region, including terrorist threats;
• Cooperation with scientific circles of the BSEC countries (conducting joint conferences and other events) in order to use the latest achievements for more effective prediction of emergencies and coping with their consequences.
II. LIST OF ACTIVITES AND JOINT PROJECTS
1. MINISTERIAL MEETINGS:
- Meeting of Ministers in charge of Emergency Assistance, October 2014 (optional on Country Coordinator, C-i-O and Member States proposals)
- High-Level Meeting of Authorities responsible on Seismic Risk Management, spring 2015 (optional on Country Coordinator, C-i-O and Member States proposals)
2. MEETINGS OF THE WORKING GROUP:
1st Meeting - 20 November, 2013, Istanbul, Turkey
2nd Meeting - October, 2014, Istanbul, Turkey (TBC)
3rd Meeting - spring, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey (TBC)
3. MEETINIGS OF AD HOC WORKING GROUPS:
Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Seismic Risk, May 2014 (TBC)
Meeting of the Liaison Officers, October 2014 (TBC)
The Country-Coordinator of the Working Group is invited to elaborate the Terms of Reference of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Floods and Torrents, and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Massive Forest Fires in order to enable the Member States to introduce their proposals for cooperation within these groups.
4. RELEVANT EVENTS:
• Workshop on Seismic Risk Management, Anapa, Russian Federation, 18-21 September 2013;
• BSEC-Japan Seminar on “Disaster Prevention Measures in Japan”, BSEC PERMIS Head Quarters, Istanbul, 20 November 2013;
• training programs, exercises and scientific and practical seminars, workshops, symposia, conferences.
The BSEC Member States are invited to make additional proposals on the events in their respective countries.
5. JOINT PROJECTS:
- Developing the BSEC Network of Liaison Officers in accordance with the Additional Protocol to the Agreement among the Governments of the BSEC Member States on Collaboration in Emergency Assistance and Emergency Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters;
- Ensuring the effectiveness of BSEC Liaison Officers Network as an instrument for information exchange and emergency response on a multiple basis;
The BSEC Member States are invited to make additional proposals.
6. PRIORITIES FOR PDF FUNDING:
In accordance with the decision of the BSEC Working Group Working Group on Cooperation in Emergency Assistance held in Istanbul on 9-10 December 2010 the issues of building institutional capacity of BSEC on emergencies and preparedness of population to different emergencies could be considered among priorities for the projects to be realized within the BSEC Project Development Fund.
7. COOPERATION WITH OTHER BSEC BODIES:
a) Other Working Groups:
The Working Group of Cooperation on Emergency Assistance will cooperate with the Working Group on Science and Technology and the Working Group on Environmental Issues.
b) Related Bodies:
- PABSEC
- BSTDB
8. COOPERATION WITH BSEC OBSERVERS AND PARTNERS:
The Working Group of Cooperation on Emergency Assistance will cooperate with the BSEC Observer countries and Sectoral Dialogue Partners for the organization of joint events.
9. COOPERATION WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
The Working Group on Cooperation on Emergency will collaborate with international organizations, such as specialized UN agencies, European Commission, Black Sea Commission and other international organizations and institutions.