Earthquakes, floods, fires… The Mediterranean region is particularly exposed to disaster risks. The natural or man-made disasters facing Mediterranean countries pose a threat to the environment, people, resources and infrastructure. Civil protection services have a key role to play in addressing these risks. The third phase of the Programme for Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters in Southern Mediterranean Countries (PPRD South III) is helping eight partner countries address these common threats.
The European PPRD South III project is based on the principle of cooperation to address risks. It is working to strengthen civil protection actions in Southern Mediterranean countries. The objective: support cooperation opportunities between partner countries for the development and implementation of an effective disaster risk prevention and management system.
The French, Spanish and Italian General Directorates of Civil Protection are participating in this programme coordinated by Expertise France, in partnership with Civipol Conseil and FIIAPP.
In late 2018 and early 2019, the project team conducted fact-finding missions to make an inventory of the priorities identified by the authorities in the partner countries. 2019 was devoted to the implementation of the first activities.
The sharing of good practices is central to the project. The project team is helping the beneficiary countries identify their priorities and propose subregional and regional cooperation activities. Three areas of activity have been identified:
• Capacities for disaster risk assessment and prevention;
• Operational assistance and response capacities;
• Volunteering and calling on the public in the case of emergency procedures.
PPRD South III will also promote the creation of a regional cooperation mechanism that can be called on when a disaster strikes one or several countries. This should contribute to gradually bringing Mediterranean countries closer to the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). This mechanism was set up in 2001 and allows a European Union Member State to request assistance if it is affected by a disaster. It also facilitates coordination between countries able to provide assistance.
To this end, PPRD South III will support cooperation opportunities between partners at national, cross-border and regional levels, in alignment with the UCPM.
• Mapping of common risks in the Mediterranean basin
• Training of trainers and officials responsible for the operational command
• Creation of a strategic regional network of experts to promote knowledge-sharing
• Operational capacity building for the response and coordination in the event of an alert
• Large-scale simulation exercises to prepare the response to major disasters
• Awareness-raising for populations on the exposure to risk, prevention and response
• Strengthening of the voluntary sector and involvement of women in emergency relief
In January 2020, PPRD South III held its second high-level workshop on the collaboration with the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) for preventing, preparing and managing major emergencies. For three days, participants from Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia worked with Italian and French civil protection representatives on how to solicit this tool.
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It is crucial to be able to reach the population in the event of a crisis and to do so, it is necessary to identify the appropriate tools for all types of population. In December 2019, as part of its component on communication and mobilisation of the population, PPRD South III organised a two-day workshop, in cooperation with the Moroccan authorities, on communication in emergency.
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To find out more, consult the project website: http://pprdsud3.eu/en/homepage/
Follow all the news of PPRD South III on the social networks:
@PPRDSouthIII 
@PPRDSouth3 @PPRD SUD3
