IPA Beneficiary Country Needs Assessment
Montenegro
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this
publication are the sole responsibility of the UNDP and WMO and can in no way be taken to reflect
the views of the European Union.
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Natural Hazards and Disaster Risks............................................................................................................... 5
Governance and Institutional Arrangements ............................................................................................... 8
Enabling Environment ......................................................................................................................... 8
Institutional Framework ................................................................................................................... 11
Funding and Budgets ........................................................................................................................ 12
Civil Society ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Risk Assessment and Information Management ........................................................................................ 14
Post-Disaster Assessment ................................................................................................................. 14
Risk Assessment ................................................................................................................................ 15
Information Management ................................................................................................................ 17
Early Warning Systems................................................................................................................................ 18
Capacity Development ................................................................................................................................ 20
Awareness-Raising and Public Education ......................................................................................... 20
Training ............................................................................................................................................. 21
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation ............................................................................................................ 22
Preparedness for Disaster Response .......................................................................................................... 23
Cross-Cutting Issues .................................................................................................................................... 25
Gender .............................................................................................................................................. 25
Climate Risk Management ................................................................................................................ 25
Regional and International Cooperation .......................................................................................... 26
SWOT Analysis............................................................................................................................................. 27
Strengths ........................................................................................................................................... 28
Weaknesses ...................................................................................................................................... 28
Opportunities .................................................................................................................................... 28
Threats .............................................................................................................................................. 29
Recommendations Endorsed by the National Policy Dialogue................................................................... 29
1
Annex 1: South East Europe Disaster Risk Management Initiative............................................................. 32
Annex 2: Technical Recommendations to Strengthen HMI Capacities in Support of DRR ......................... 34
2
List of Acronyms
DPPI SEE
DRR
EC
EMCT
EU
GDP
GIS
HFA
HMI
MoD
MRC
NATO
NGO
PPRD
RED
SFRY
SEM
UNDP
UNISDR
UNSCR
WMO
Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for South East
Europe
Disaster Risk Reduction
European Commission
Emergency Management Coordination Team
European Union
Gross Domestic Product
Geographic Information System
Hyogo Framework for Action
Hydro-Meteorological Institute of Montenegro
Ministry of Defence
Montenegro Red Cross
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Non-Governmental Organization
Programme for Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural
and Man-made Disasters
Real Estate Directorate
Socialist Former Republic of Yugoslavia
Sector for Emergency Management
United Nations Development Program
United Nations International Strategy for Risk Reduction
United Nations Security Council Resolution
World Meteorological Organization
3
Introduction
Montenegro is highly exposed and vulnerable to natural hazards. However, to date we know little
about the ability of the government and communities of Montenegro to manage natural hazardrelated risks. In line with the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)1, which lead to a paradigm shift in
disaster risk management from a post-disaster response to a comprehensive and strategic approach
encompassing preparedness and prevention strategies, this assessment report focuses on the ability
of the government and communities of the country to manage and reduce natural hazard-related
risks, it identifies and elaborates general needs with respect to strengthening disaster risk reduction
in Montenegro.
The report was produced under the auspices of the South East Europe Disaster Risk Mitigation and
Adaptation Programme (SEEDRMAP), for which UNDP, WMO, ISDR, and World Bank are
collaborating in their respective areas of comparative advantage. The UNDP component of the
initiative covers disaster risk reduction (DRR) in general and aims to build capacity in DRR
mainstreaming and the establishment of National Platforms, to promote the harmonisation of DRR
methodologies, plans, and strategies, as well as to assess needs for the purpose of elaborating a
regional strategy for strengthening DRR. The WMO component of the project focuses on building
the national and regional capacity of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS)
in the provision of reliable weather, water and climate products and services such as hazard analysis,
risk assessment, forecasts and warnings with adequate lead time to support the DRR activities of the
IPA beneficiary countries and the region as a whole. Promoting cooperation between the NMHS,
governmental institutions and the main economic sectors is a primary objective.
The five priority areas of action under the HFA are covered. The report begins with an analysis of
the enabling environment and institutions involved in DRR. Risk assessment and early warning
systems are then examined. The ensuing sections deal with capacity development and education,
the integration of DRR into development, and the state of preparedness and response mechanisms.
Cross-cutting issues covered include gender, mechanisms for dealing with climate change, and
regional and international cooperation. The report also includes an overarching SWOT (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis. To create this report, UNDP and WMO mobilized
consultants to work jointly with national consultants. These teams consulted with a wide range of
DRR stakeholders. Detailed assessment of the DRR policies and practices as well as the NMHS
capacities, gaps and were completed and conducted to the development of policy
recommendations. The WMO technical recommendations to improve NHMS capacities are provided
in Annex 2. Initial results were represented to national stakeholders during a National Policy
Dialogue held from 24th to 26th November 2010 in Kolašin for review and discussion. During this
meeting, high-level participants endorsed the report, as well as a set of recommendations
emanating from it. These recommendations comprise the final section of the document.
1
The HFA was elaborated and signed by 168 countries during the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction
held in Kobe, Japan in January 2005. It sets the global DRR agenda through 2015.
4
Natural Hazards and Disaster Risks
The natural hazards that Montenegro has to address are primarily earthquakes, wild fires and hydrometeorological phenomena such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and heavy snowfall. Of particular
concern are the frequent landslides and rock falls linked to the country’s mountainous terrain.
Almost all of Montenegro is exposed to frequent seismic events, especially the coastal area, the
Zeta-Skadar depression, and the Berane basin. Around 40% of country’s territory is situated within a
zone of anticipated seismic intensity greater or equal to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale. This
affects some 60% of the country’s population. A devastating earthquake in April of 1979 occurred on
the coast and wider area of Skadar Lake, causing damages amounting to USD 4 billion, affecting
100,418 people, and killing 136 people.
In Montenegro, the most devastating impacts are caused by floods, six destructive floods were
recorded in the last 20 years. Pazicko polje and the Lim River valley are most prone to flooding. The
biggest floods were recorded in the upper flow of the Tara and the Lim rivers in 1963 and 1979, and
then at the end of 1999 and in the first half of 2000. Extreme rainfall from December 2009 to
January 2010 flooded a great number of houses in the area surrounding Lake Skadar, the
municipalities of Ulcinj, Golubovci, Cetinje, Zabljak and Niksic. 1100 persons had to be evacuated2.
More recently, on the 10th November 2010, flash floods resulting from heavy rain affected a number
of communities in Montenegro, causing substantial physical damage to homes and other
infrastructure. In the Northern municipality of Berane, some 150 families (850 people) had to leave
their homes, and found refuge in the surrounding villages or in the town sport hall. The initial repair
costs to enable families to return to their homes (replacement of soaked wooden floors in all
barracks) is estimated at USD 4,150 per house (26 houses) amounting to a total of USD 107,900.3
Severe droughts and exceptionally high summer temperature were recorded in the period 19811990, but also especially between 2000 and 2009.4 During the summer of 2007, the highest
European temperature was recorded in Podgorica (43, 3°C). This extreme heat and the drought that
followed caused serious water supply problems5, reduced crop and forest productivity and increased
livestock and wildlife mortality rates. It also facilitated fire ignition and spread. Forest fires are
frequent and widespread, especially in the rural coastline areas and in the central region. According
to the 2008 Report No. 9 on Forest Fires in Europe by the Joint Research Center, approximately
5771.95 hectares of forests were burned in 2008 (satellite imagery estimation).
2
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/ db900SID/MUMA-7ZN46F?OpenDocument&rc=4&emid=FL-2009-000267-SRB
UNDP, 2010, Montenegro flash floods early recovery support for riverside Berane
4 Montenegro Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environment, 2010, Initial National Communication on Climate Change of
Montenegro to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); UNISDR, 2008, South Eastern
Europe Disaster Risk Mitigation and Adaptation Initiative: Risk Assessment for South Eastern Europe, Desk Study Review;
UN ISDR, 2009, The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in Disaster Risk Reduction for South Eastern Europe.
5 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - 2007, July 25/Central Europe: Heat Wave Information Bulletin, no. 02/2007
3
5
Heavy snowfall in the mountainous areas of northern and southern Montenegro often lead to longterm interruptions of road traffic and communication with villages and towns such as Šavnik and
Zabljak. Strong wind and high snowfall can lead to the formation of huge snowdrifts disrupting
transportation.
The country’s complex topography and its seismicity6 make landslides and rock falls frequent and
potentially very damaging for settlements and public infrastructure, especially the 7,000 km road
network, much of which is located in mountain areas. The southwest slopes of Rumija, Sutorman,
Lovćen, Orjen and Vrmac are geologically and morphologically predisposed for the formation of
large-scale landslides. Landslides most frequently occur following heavy long-lasting rains when
waterlogged grounds break off and begin to slide. Rockslides mostly occur in mountainous areas and
can be triggered by heavy rainfall and sudden temperature changes. The 1979 earthquake induced
large-scale land and rock slides, which led to the death of 35 people and caused huge damage to
buildings in the coastal area and the Crmnica region.7 The stability of slopes and the occurence of
landslides is also influenced by anthropogenic elements such as road and railroad construction
(Skadar -Bjelopavlićka depression, Morača river, Tara river valley), large informal settlements in the
coastal region (Vladimir, Ratac, Seoca and Savina), or mining activities (within the catchment area of
Piva river, Lim river and Ibar river, Pljevlja area). Such disturbances are particularly prominent along
highways and regional roads in northeast Montenegro, and to a lesser degree along the coast.
Because of the previous policy of savings in road design and construction, many road sections lack
inspection certificates, i.e. their design and construction does not include preventive elements for
the security of slopes. Existing ones were often introduced only after larger rockslides occurred.
Many tunnels lack a primary protection and important rockslides along highways and regional roads
have already resulted in casualties.
Furthermore, as revealed in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, it is expected that the frequency and severity of such hazards will increase in the
future, leading, together with changes in land-use patterns and increased human settlements in
areas that are prone to disasters, to increased risks in the coming years. According to available
climate change projections, temperature will rise between 0.60 to 1.3°C by 2030 in Montenegro,
depending on the season and the area. 8 Owing to changes in precipitation, there will be a sharp
increase in variability of river flow, characterized by both flooding and hydrological drought. Coastal
flooding and storm surges will significantly increase.
6
Montenegro Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environment, 2010, Initial National Communication on Climate Change of
Montenegro to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); UNISDR, 2008, South Eastern
Europe Disaster Risk Mitigation and Adaptation Initiative: Risk Assessment for South Eastern Europe, Desk Study Review;
UN ISDR, 2009, The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in Disaster Risk Reduction for South Eastern Europe.
7 Emergency and civil security sector of the Ministry of Interior, 2005, National Strategy for Emergencies
8 Initial National Communication on Climate Change of Montenegro to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
6
Marked increases in losses from property damage and lost revenue due to business interruption
caused by extreme weather events translate into the increased volatility of earnings and cost of
capital for businesses in sectors exposed to weather such as utilities, tourism, agriculture,
transportation, aviation and forestry. Besides the direct costs associated with physical damage,
natural disasters typically lead to a worsening of the fiscal position, as governments pay for
reconstruction and sources of revenue are disrupted. Therefore, the total impact on the budget
widely exceeds the direct costs of relief and reconstruction from natural disasters. The best and
most fertile land in Montenegro is regularly flooded. According to EM-DAT, average annual losses
from major disasters comprise 1.6% of Gross Domestic Product. The absence of data on damages
and the impact on health of heat waves in Montenegro makes risk assessment for this emergency
difficult.
Much of Montenegro’s human settlements and infrastructure is situated in high risk areas. The
recent urban sprawl and the industrial growth of the country have exposed an increasing number of
people to the potential consequences of the mentioned hazards.9 Illegal construction is extensive
throughout Montenegro, particularly in larger urban centres and on the sites attractive for tourism
development and recreation. According to data from the Real Estate Directorate (RED), there are
39,922 informally constructed structures within the territory of Montenegro, out of which the
highest number is in the Capital - Podgorica, 16,430 structures.10 However, according to some of the
stakeholders, the number of informally constructed buildings is significantly higher compared to
data provided by the RED as a significant number of illegal structures are not registered in the Real
Estate Cadastre11 – and the local governments have not fulfilled their legal obligation regarding a
survey of illegal structures. A vast majority of these housing units, especially those built on the coast,
carry a high level of seismic risk and are highly vulnerable to floods. The State is making efforts to
control the construction of informal settlements. The Criminal Code, with its Changes and
Amendments in 2008, incorporates new criminal offences in the criminal-legal field – construction of
structures without a building permit and illegal connection to a construction site to technical
infrastructure.12
Beyond informal settlements, major infrastructures such as roads and bridges are constructed
without guidance from proper geological studies, which could advise against building in areas
subject to landslides. An exception here is the healthcare sector, which has made sure that all its
infrastructures are earthquake resilient.
In addition, the precarious socio-economic condition of a significant part of the country’s population
increases its vulnerability to disasters. Other areas of vulnerability include outdated building codes
that need to be aligned with European standards and European Union requirements, unplanned land
use, forest and mineral resource exploitation. The country also requires an improved firefighting
9
SEE Structure Role Mandate Civil Protection P.116
REPORT on Status of Spatial Development for 2009
11 Law of Spatial Planning
12 The Criminal Code, Articles 326 and 326b
10
7
system, particularly in the populated part of the country.13 This is important in the sense that it
would preserve agriculture, tourism, industry and services, which are the top earners and priorities
for economic development in Montenegro (services and tourism carrying 49.6% and 20% of the GDP
respectively). 14
Governance and Institutional Arrangements
Enabling Environment
The Montenegrin national policy for DRR is not contained in a single formal document. The core
legal act pertaining to DRR is the Law on Protection and Rescue (2007), which defines the
responsibility, rights and obligations of all participants in protection and rescue (citizens, legal
entities, local self-government units and state administration bodies).15 It gives authority to the
Ministry of Interior Affairs and Public Administration for handling emergency situations and civil
security through the Sector for Emergency Management (hereafter SEM) and specifies in which
disaster cases municipalities are competent to act. Therefore it complements the Law on Local
Governance, which foresees the creation of municipal rescue teams, their subsequent training and
equipment, and delegates them certain authority for small- and medium-scale emergencies. Issues
not addressed by the Law on Protection and Rescue are the development of contingency plans and
the specification of a risk identification methodology (only hazard identification methodology is
mentioned). Pursuant to Article 34 of the Law on Protection and Rescue, the Ministry adopted two
rulebooks16 that regulate the content, development, adoption, update and storage of assessment
studies as well as protection and rescue plans in Montenegro. State administration bodies, local selfgovernment units, companies, other legal persons and entrepreneurs are mandated to comply with
their instructions in order to guarantee nationwide harmonization of all assessments and plans.
Further Montenegrin laws pertaining ot DRR are the following:




The Environment Law (1996);
The Law on Waters of the Republic of Montenegro (1995);
The Law on Protection against Natural Disasters (1992);
The Law on Protection of Air against Pollution (1980).
However, references to DRR in these documents are indirect at best and accompanying by-laws are
yet to be developed.
13
http://drace-project.org/index.php/map/montenegro
US Dept of State
15 Spatial Plan Status Report 2009
16 Rulebook on the Methodology for the Development of Threat Assessment Studies of Natural, Technical-technological
and Other Disasters and the Rulebook on Methodology for the Development of Protection and Rescue Plans
14
8
The scope of work, roles and responsibilities of the Hydro-meteorological Institute of Montenegro
(HMI) are defined in the 2010 Law on Hydrometeorological Matters and Law on Hydrographic
Activities. According to the Law, HMI is the only institution holding the mandate to issue general
science based warnings of hydro-meteorological hazards. There is no specific legislation on seismic
services.
The Law on the Montenegro Red Cross describes the role of the Montenegro Red Cross (MRC) in
emergencies such as training, evacuation support, family unification, tracing and first aid. Its role is
also mentioned in the Law on Rescue and Protection and in the National Strategy for Emergency
Situations. The Red Cross has its own strategy for the period 2010–2014.
The system of preparing, adopting and implementing spatial plans in Montenegro has shown
numerous shortcomings: lack of horizontal and vertical coordination and harmonization between
different sectors or planning participants, outdated planning documents for some areas, insufficient
coverage of urban plans, insufficiently regulated relationship between private and public interests,
lack of capacities at the local level for development of the required planning documents and
deficiencies in the enforcement system.17 The Law on Spatial Development and Construction of
Structures (2008) states that the Spatial Plan of Montenegro must be compliant with regulations in
the area of „prevention and protection against natural and technical-technological hazards” whilst
the Spatial-Urban Development Plan of Local Government shall contain „a plan of seismic micro
zoning” and „measures for protection against natural and technical-technological hazards.”18
However, the nature of these measures is unclear, no risk and/or vulnerability assessment is
mentioned specifically, and data collection from relevant institutions such as the Hydrometeorological Institute and Seismological Institute prior to the development of any urban plans is
not mandated. Thus, fundamental DRR components are clearly missing. In the same spirit, the Law
on Building Construction (Official Gazette of the RoM no.55/00) only requires the compliance of
constructed and occupied buildings with „principles for a seismic design and construction in order to
reduce the seismic risk to an acceptable level”. The acceptable level of risk is not properly defined,
which renders the provision inapplicable.
The National Strategy for Emergency Situations was adopted by the Government of the Republic of
Montenegro in December 2006. Its goal is to establish an adequate system of protection and rescue
in emergency situations, and it includes prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures. It
analyses all hazards and risks and potential consequences of a major incident affecting the territory
of Montenegro, provides a survey on the actual capacity of the Montenegrin structures to cope with
them and emphasizes the importance of constant monitoring of hazards as well as an integrated
approach to DRR. A National Action Plan to implement this strategy is currently being developed.
The National Strategy of Sustainable Development (2007) and the according National Development
Plan aim, amongst others, at improving „land resource management and eliminate causes of
17
18
Spatial Plan of Montenegro until 2020 p.14
Law on Spatial Development and Construction of Structures, Official Gazette of Montenegro 51/08
9
degradation and land damage” through measures and activities such as „gradually re-cultivate
damaged soil, map erosion and elaborate measures for protection and regulation of eroded areas”.19
As a follow up to the Law on Protection and Rescue, action plans for twelve hazards were produced
at national level (e.g. National Plan for Protection from Earthquakes, National Plan for Fire
Protection, National Plan for Protection Against Floods, National Plan for Protection Against
Landslides and Avalanches, National Plan for Protection from Extreme Weather Phenomena).20
Currently, National and Local Plans for Protection & Rescue should be adopted at the national level,
municipal level, and the level of specific companies.21 However, while the role of municipalities in
protection, rescue and recovery is clearly spelt out, no mention is made of the role of municipalities
for prevention issues.22 Moreover, municipalities’ development plans are mostly based on central
level plans because the municipalities do not have adequate resources or capabilities to prepare
these documents themselves. So far, there is not one municipality that has adopted a strategic plan
that deals with prevention of natural disasters.
The Spatial Plan of Montenegro (2006) highlights some of the major hazards in the country and
recommends a spatial plan for designing risk mitigation measures.23 Spatial and Urban Plans
prepared by the Ministry of Physical Planning and local governments lack DRR components and only
mention seismic risk. Furthermore, risk and vulnerability assessments in the development of spatial
plans are not mandated by the law.24 Because of the lack of capacities at local level, foreign
companies have sometimes performed spatial and urban plans not meeting the desired quality
standard. As a consequence, the Union of Municipalities initiated the creation of a Bureau for
Planning at the local level where country expertise could be gathered and the development and
implementation of spatial and urban plans better monitored.
The Montenegrin National Forestry Policy and National Forest Inventory calls for preventive
measures against fires, as well as the mapping of potential threats to forests (fire, illegal logging,
snow / storm damage, erosion, etc), thus integrating DRR elements. However it needs to be backed
up with a Strategy to give guidance on how to incorporate DRR into relevant documentation and to
harmonize Montenegrin and EU legislation.
The SEM has its own development plan in process for the years 2011-2016 which foresees the
development of a National Platform for Risk Reduction, a Plan of the Development of the System of
Response to Emergencies 2011-2016, and a Development of Decision on Obligatory Material
19
National Strategy for Sustainable Development
These plans also cross-referenced from the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
mission report to Montenegro in November 2010.
21 Law of Protection and Rescue, Official Gazette of Montenegro 13/07, Article 8
22 Law of Self Governence, Article 32, Official Gazette of Republic of Montenegro No. 42/02, 28/04 and 75/05; Official
Gazette of Montenegro, No. 88/09 and 3/10
23 http://drace-project.org/index.php/map/montenegro
24 http://drace-project.org/index.php/map/montenegro DRACE Project Country Profile
20
10
Reserves for System of Protection & Rescue for 2011-2016. On the basis of the approval of the
National Platform, municipalities will be bound to develop their own plans geared towards
development and will have a larger responsibility towards the working of a DRR mechanism into
their plans.
Institutional Framework
The Ministry of Interior and Public Administration is in charge for risk management, prepareness and
response since 2004. Subordinated to the Ministry, the SEM was established the same year and
currently employs around 120 civil servants. It is worth noting that the SEM only started to consider
DRR since 2010 and still needs to significantly enhance its capacities to correctly adress the issue.
Additionally to seven regional organizational units , the Sector is organized in five departments and
two operational units:25
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





Civil Protection: identify and evaluate risks at national and local level, implementation of
standard operational procedures for protection and rescue, monitor DRR activities in public
education, awareness raising and training;
Risk Assessment: manage national risk database, develop strategic documents and manage
cooperation with universities, research institutions and laboratories;
Prevention and Inspection Surveillance: jurisdiction over activities defined by the Law on
Protection and Rescue, including enforcement of building codes on new buildings;
Operational Affairs: coordinate governmental and non-governmental institutions (Ministries
of Defence, Economy, Agriculture, Culture, Education, administrative authorities such as the
local Self Government bodies, police, civil society...) in case of emergency, provide training
to municipal protection and rescue departments and Civil Protection units;
Strategic Policies and Legal Affairs: propose draft laws, provide technical advice for
incorporating DRR related components in development plans of different government
sectors, responsible for harmonization of laws pertaining to disaster management, also with
reference for EU and international regulations;
112 Centre: see early warning system;
Helicopter Unit: see preparedness and response.
The Department of Operational Affairs is responsible for coordinating action of institutions in
emergency situations, this mandate overlaps with the responsibilities of the Emergency
Management Coordination Team (EMCT). The Team is headed by the Prime Minister and has
representatives of key state institutions, for instance all ministers, as members.
The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism plays an important role in DRR when
developing spatial plans and laws and policies relating to environmental issues. Moreover, the
Ministry hosts the HMI, which has the duty to produce nonscheduled meteorological and
hydrological information and warnings in situation before atmospheric and hydrospheric elementary
25
The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in DRR for SEE, 2008
11
disaster, organize emergency observation and measurement of the hydrological stations profiles and
emergency information shall be submitted, monitor weather and waters, prepare forecasts and
inform and alert responsible agencies. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water hosts the
Water Directorate responsible for conducting water management activities.
Several institutions are responsible for monitoring seismic risks in Montenegro. The Seismological
Observatory exists since 1979 and is currently being transferred from the Ministry of Economy to the
Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism. Two professional departments exist within the
Observatory, the department for instrumental and engineering seismology and the department for
data analysis and processing. The Observatory operates the seismic observation network, prepares
regional and micro-rayonization maps, and conducts research on earthquake effects on building
structures, ground, water courses, and many more. A major problem of the Observatory is retaining
staff; many experts go to the private sector and emigrate due to low salaries. Institutions like the
Civil Engineering Faculty of the Montenegro University, the Seismological Bureau of Montenegro the
Geological Bureau of Montenegro and the Montenerin Institute for Geological Research conduct
research activities in the field of regional geology, engineering geology, tectonics, and hydrogeology.26 There does not seem to be any official cooperation mechanism between the named
institutions.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) controls the army. While the army participates in disaster response
operations, its role in disaster situations is not specified in any legal document or strategy, and
communication channels between the Operations Center of the MoD and the SEM are mainly of an
informal and personal nature. A clear framework specifying the partnership between the MoD and
the SEM a well as actions for possible civil-military cooperation units should be developed.
At local level, municipal teams are only responsible for the management of emergency situations.
These teams are led by the president/governor of each municipality. A deputy of SEM is present in
each municipality to coordinate sectoral activities and serve as link between the government body
and municipalities. The fire-fighting service, with its Municipal Rescue and Protection Units, plays an
important role. Currently, 450 people are attached to these units.
In order to improve DRR coordination, create comprehensive standard operational procedures and
solve problems related to overlapping mandates, a National Platform is currently being established
with support from UNDP. Workshops will be organized in 2011.
Funding and Budgets
The government provides an annual disaster fund of USD 0, 52 million27, but most of it covers
salaries and no budget is specifically allocated to DRR. The SEM is financed from the budget of the
Ministry of Interior. As the HMI is severely under-financed and currently does not have resources to
26
27
Emergency and civil security sector of the Ministry of Interior, 2005, National Strategy for Emergencies
The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in DRR for SEE, 2008
12
operate a 24/7 analyzing and forecasting system, the improvement of the Early Warning System is a
very tedious process, which can only be carried on when donation funds are available. Funds are
mainly provided by the Economic Cooperation Organization. EC funds could be granted if Ministries
develop projects specifically targeted at DRR in the future.
Protection and rescue activities are funded mainly by the disaster fund, municipal budgets, voluntary
contributions, funds of business organizations, and international assistance. It is worth noting
however that financial means are extremely scarce at municipal level. Only between 1 and 3% of the
disaster budget are allocated to municipalities and managed by the mayor, and most of it is spent on
basic needs like equipment. As a consequence, local DRR measures are developed and implemented
on an ad hoc basis.
In Montenegro, financial transfer mechanisms barely exist and the penetration rate of insurance
against natural disasters is very low for three main reasons: insurance against natural disasters is not
made compulsory by law, insurance companies cannot rely on detailed risk assessments to
determine monthly payments, and many inhabitants ignore the existence of natural disaster
insurances. In case of major damages, the task of compensating the population falls on the already
highly burdened municipalities. Compensation standards vary for every municipality, but do usually
not exceed 50 percent of total damage. The government has established mechanisms to provide
additional funds in case municipalities do not have enough funds.
Civil Society
Most of the organizations operating in Montenegro, such as UNDP, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, and the Environmental Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) „Green
Home“, are not formally integrated into national strategies and plans but operate more on an
individual basis. UNDP and Green Home have specific programs related to DRR and its mechanisms;
however, this is a relatively new practice in Montenegro. The DRR Overview Course organized by
UNDP in June 2010 aims at giving stakeholders a better understanding of what role these
organizations and other civil organizations can play in the implementation process of DRR
mechanisms into the overall strategy and plans of the country. The Montenegrin Center for
Development of NGOs has been leading a project entitled „Improving the position of Civil Society
Organizations dealing with protection of the interests of vulnerable groups in the process of spatial
urban planning”.28
The Law of the MRC and the Law of Protection & Rescue have given a specific role to the Red Cross
of Montenegro within the disaster management strategy and plan. Indeed, the MRC is recognized as
a specialized unit activated by the Ministry of Interior’s operational center for Emergency Situations
and Civil Security, which conducts and coordinates activities at national level in times of disasters.29
28
Spatial Planning Support Project Revised Work Plan
September 2010 – August 2011
29 Law on the Red Cross of Montenegro, Article 4, Official gazette of Montenegro 28/06
13
The MRC has a duty and legal obligation to actively participate in implementing measures and tasks
on protection and rescue, which makes it an integral part of the overall system for acting in
extraordinary situations. While performing public powers, the MRC cooperates with government
bodies, bodies of local self-governance, the army, civil protection, health institutions, institutions of
social and children protection, education and other legal and natural entities.30 The authorities,
institutions and other legal entities are obliged to submit to the MRC data and facts they have at
their disposal, and provide expertise and other assistance falling under their competencies so that
the Red Cross can fulfill its tasks.31 In emergency situations, the MRC establishes a Coordination
Committee for Emergency Situations, whose leader is responsible for all national programming and
operational activities. The Red Cross Strategy 2020 mentions DRR and tackling of climate change as
central goals. The Red Cross has developed cooperation with the HMI and is involved in awarenessraising programs related to climate change. For the exercising of affairs of public interest, the MRC
secures its funds from the budget of the Republic and the budget of the self-governance unit.32
There are sporadic cases of private sector involvement, coming for instance from the independent
bureau for geological research or bureau for hydro-meterology33. Telecommunication companies
and others can be included but are mostly focused on preparedness and response activities. If
mandated to do so by the municipality, private companies can be required to prepare plans for
protection and rescue. Business organizations and/or entrepreneurs who perform meteorological
and hydrological measurements and observations are obliged to deliver available data and
information on the state of waters and the atmosphere to the public administration body competent
for hydro-meteorology affairs, and to the Ministry.34
Risk Assessment and Information Management
Post-Disaster Assessment
The Department for Risk Assessment within the SEM is responsible for managing a national risk
database35, but no formal mechanism for the collection, storage and accession of information exists
at national level. There is little retrospective country-specific disaster data available and data
collection is generally undergone ad hoc at different levels, mostly by local committees, and by
organizations pertaining to hazards which impacted them. There is an extensive belief expressed by
the stakeholders that a standardized methodology for impact assessment is needed.
The SEM has an inventory of information about some past floods (local commissions made damage
assessment reports in the aftermath of the 2009/2010 floods, some information is available
30
Law on the Red Cross:Article 23
Law on the Red Cross: Article 23
32 Red Cross Law, ARTICLE 15
33 http://www.euraxess.me/sitegenius/topic.php?id=365
34 Law on Protection and Rescue, Article 39
35 The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in DRR for SEE, 2008
31
14
concerning the 2000 droughts), but the data is neither organized nor harmonized. The same holds
true for data from the Ministry of Agriculture, which prepares surveys on damages caused by floods
at municipal level when farmers claim for indemnities. The only comprehensive post-disaster
assessment was developed for building stocks after the 1979 earthquakes in order to serve as basis
for a study assessing the vulnerability to seismic hazards.
Risk Assessment
A special unit was established within the SEM for the evaluation of threats with the support of the
Danish Emergency Management Agency in terms of training and software. Threat Assessments are
to be developed according to the Rulebook on the Methodology for the Development of Threat
Assessment Studies of Natural, Technical-technological and Other Disasters, which will then serve as
basis for the SEM to produce the National Plan for protection of extreme meteorological
occurrences. In this endeavour, the SEM will be supported by line ministries providing specific data
and mostly qualitative analysis of threats. The Rulebook prescribes that threat assessments should
describe characteristics of threatened territory, assess potential impact, human and material
potential to respond to the hazard (and thus vulnerability of the area to disasters) and identify
where material and technical resources, knowledge, organizational structures could be improved. In
2010, the municipality of Berane started assessing schools and other public buildings to create a
database with the collected information about earthquakes and fire exposure. Seismic risk
assessments were conducted for certain building classes (according to their vulnerability on the
European Macro-seismic scale EMS-98).36 The MRC has conducted vulnerability and capacity
assessments in ten pilot communities.
While systematized data on damage and quantification of risks for floods is lacking, significant
mapping achievements were made in the field of seismic hazard. A thorough analysis on seismic risk
was conducted in 1984 by the National Seismologic Institute of Montenegro in cooperation with the
Institute for Geological Research of Montenegro and the Institute for Earthquake Engineering and
the Engineering Seismology Institute of Skopje (now in Macedonia), largely through research into the
effects of the devastating earthquake of April 1979.37 This study serves as foundation for current
vulnerability assessment of building stocks. The mentioned institutions constructed a first seismic
zoning map of Montenegro and the whole region in 1982. From 1984 to 1988, the Institute for
Geological Research of Montenegro realized seismic micro-zoning and maps showing the degree of
suitability for constructions for urban areas within all municipalities in Montenegro.38 From 1987 on,
the seismologic institutes of the former SFRY prepared a series of seismologic maps which facilitated
the establishment of building codes in seismic areas and the Regulations on Technical Norms for
Building Construction in Seismic Areas39 still in force in Montenegro. An isolated map for the
seismogenic zone of Berane was also created. The last hazard map of 2005 is currently being
36
Emergency and civil security sector of the Ministry of Interior, 2005, National Strategy for Emergencies
The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in DRR for SEE, 2008
38 Emergency and civil security sector of the Ministry of Interior, 2005, National Strategy for Emergencies
39 Official Gazette of SFRY no. 31/81 with amendments no. 49/82, 29/83, 21/88 and 52/90
37
15
updated, and as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Science for Peace Project it
will be harmonized with the seismic hazard maps of other western Balkans countries. However,
these are the only studies carried out in the field of hazard characterization for Montenegro. The
SEM considers as a critical priority to enlarge seismic risk assessments to cover the whole national
territory, especially for the most populated municipalities located in high-risk zones such as Budva,
Herceg Novi, Bar, Ulcinj and Podgorica. One of the biggest challenges is the large number of informal
settlements; these complicate the development of risk analyses because it is difficult to ensure that
the data corresponds with reality.
At national level, the institutional framework for hydro-meteorological risk assessment is currently
being re-defined to improve coordination among the many entities situated at different
administrative levels engaged in the process. Concerning floods, the legal framework attributes to
the SEM the duty to perform flood risk assessment for planning emergency management, to the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development the duty to perform floods risk assessment for
planning protection against the harmful effects of water, to the Water Directorate the duty to
prepare plans for water management of each river basin, including relative and preliminary flood risk
assessments according to the European Commission Directive for Floods Protection. Local
authorities are tasked with performing flood risk assessment for disaster prevention and for local
spatial planning. None of these levels are fully operational, and overlaps of competencies still exist.
Risk analysis is further complicated by the fact that hydro-meteorological data is provided by the
HMI without any specific protocols for hazard data collection or management. Based on available
hydrological and meteorological data, the HMI produces statistical analysis on flood frequency and
probability. HMI has adequate tools for statistical analysis, hydrological analysis and geographical
and geomatics (Geomedia, Autocad, ArcView).
From an operational point of view, processes need to be improved to strengthen the analytical
capacities of different actors by introducing modern technologies of analysis, such as numerical
modeling and Geographical information Systems (GIS). Also the availability of data analysis should be
enhanced by improving the observation network, quality of databases, and interoperability of
different data sources. The Water Directorate for instance has some technical capacity in terms of
hydrological analysis and mapping as well, but they are not really exploited as the technical work is
usually done by external service providers.
Globally, the SEM has made progress on making DRR and risk identification a priority for a broader
group of governmental institutions. However, many documents such as the sectoral National
Emergency Plans (National Plan for Protection from Earthquakes etc.) still show little evidence of
comprehensive risk assessment including vulnerability, hazard and capacity considerations. More
financial, technical and qualified human resources need to be allocated to the area of risk
identification in order to advance the DRR agenda. Cooperation between institutions should be
improved, allowing information exchange and organization of multidisciplinary meetings and
working groups.
16
Information Management
Disaster data is poorly integrated in Montenegro. Montenegro formally declared its independence
on the 3 June 2006, putting an end to its loose federation with Serbia. Because of its relatively short
history as an independent sovereign state, much data is still merged with data from Serbia. Within
the SEM, the Department for Risk Assessment is responsible for the managment of the national
database on risks.
The Rulebook on the Methodology for the Development of Threat Assessment Studies of Natural,
Technical-technological and Other Disasters stipulates that threat assessments should constantly
stay up-to-date. Therefore, they are subject to compulsory analysis at least once a year.40 To enable
the harmonization of contents between different levels, the Ministry of Interior/municipality submit
their reports to municipalities/companies. The Assessments are to be stored in print and electronic
version within the Ministry of Interior and Public Administration, the competent self-government
body at local level and legal persons or entrepreneurs within companies.41 However, it seems that
the Rulebook’s methodology is not widely acknowledged or practiced, particularly at municipal level,
notably because of limited capacities. The MRC is not using the existing risk identification
methodology either, and receives risk information only in emergency cases and through the SEM
rather than on a regular basis.
The hydrological, meteorological, oceanographic, air quality and water quality data collected by the
HMI through its official networks is stored in the digital Oracle database. HMI’s analyses on
averages, variability and extremes are available on their website. The HMI maintains two types of
databases – meteorological and environmental – and there is a linkage with systems measuring
various parameters (radiological, weather, seismologic, air quality), as well as operating procedures
for providing data to relevant services. The HMI does not collect or keep any separate hazards
statistics, but statistics for high wind, heavy precipitation and extreme temperatures can be
produced for each synoptic observation station.
Local community units collect data on the impact of hazards on the population, police units for
instance report on the impact of landslides and rockslides on transport. However, they are rarely
consulted regarding this data.
In brief, there is currently no evidence of DRR information management methodology. Data is
scattered amongst various players and no formal mechanism has been developed to store or access
it. There is no central depository of hazard-related data, no data storage bank to facilitate data
collection and dissemination. Although DRR-related data can be accessed informally on demand,
many stakeholders are unaware of its mere existence because of its unsystematic collection and
40
Rulebook on the Methodology for the Development of Threat Assessment Studies of Natural, Technical-technological
and Other Disasters Article 16
41 Rulebook on the Methodology for the Development of Threat Assessment Studies of Natural, Technical-technological
and Other Disasters Article 17
17
updating. Beyond hazard-related data, vulnerability and capacity maps are not existent. Information
sharing needs to be improved and systematized.
Early Warning Systems
The EMCT is tasked with managing the Early Warning System. Improving the System is one of
Montenegro’s development priorities; however no fixed budget is allocated and progress is highly
dependent on external funding. A major stride was the implementation of the large-scale fire
detection system FIREWATCH by the SEM in collaboration with German partners. Considerable
progress towards establishing real-time data exchange for hydro-meteorological, seismic and fire
hazards at national and cross-border level was made with help of WMO following catastrophes such
as the earthquakes and floods at the end of the last decade. Currently, the SEM is working to expand
early warning systems and data exchange to a broader range of natural hazards.
Figure 1: Network operated by the Seismological Observatory
Source: Seismological Observatory, http://www.seismo.co.me/Seismic_network.htm
The Seismological Observatory operates three different types of networks monitoring seismic risks:
10 short period stations, 4 broadband stations, and 4 accelerometric stations recording ground
motion parameters. Real-time data is exchanged via the seismological communication processor
SeisComP3 with selected stations situated in Slovenia, Italy, the Republic of Srpska, Romania,
Bulgaria, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Albania and Macedonia42. Data produced by the
observatory is very reliable, covers the entire territory and presents a high spatial and temporal
resolution, it is not used most effectively though. Seismic data is only available for free over the
Internet and specific information on seismic activity is not published regularly.
42
http://www.seismo.co.me/Seismic_network.htm
18
The HMI provides the SEM and other governmental bodies with hydro-meteorological data.
However, the HMI is no focal points of the early warning system, data is only released by request,
the cooperation with DRR management is mainly ad-hoc and Standard Operating Procedures and
Quality Management Systems between the HMI and the SEM have not been developed. Moreover,
data is not always made available to municipalities, and customized reports and non-governmental
users are charged. Hazards are monitored through a network consisting of 20 climatologic stations,
60 precipitation stations and 51 hydrological stations, out of which 23 are automatic. HMI weather
and hazard forecasts are based on global numerical weather prediction model products produced by
international centres. The HMI is mandates with producing and disseminating warnings through
media, internet pages and directly to relevant authories: the SEM, relevant ministries, the 112
system, several agents within industrial sectors and the public to a lesser extent via the media and
internet pages. Warnings are issued for all hydro-meteorological and climate-related hazards and
hazards taking their origins in climate extremes. This includes warnings when water level thresholds
of rivers are crossed, and when heavy rainfall is forecasted in areas where it could trigger flash
floods. While HMI employees are usually well-trained, their number is insufficient, especially
regarding the fact that most of them are tasked with running observation stations. There is
practically no staff focusing on research and development, forecasting (only 2 of around 100
employees), climatology, agro-meteorology, or to cooperate with industry. Also, the HMI lacks
resources to purchase needed IT systems, automatic real-time hydro-meteorological observation
stations, weather radars and lightning detection systems. This makes the operation of an effective
24/7 forecasting and warning system impossible.43
When warned by the institutions named above or directly by local authorities (mechanisms exist at
local level to identify risks of hazards and issue warnings up to the SEM), the Bureau for Public
Relations, which has a seat on the EMCT, is responsible for the dissemination of all warnings to the
public. Main communication channels are the media, 112 system, and mobile telephone operators
who notify all prepaid customers. As the 112 system is still in the development phase and the
television and radio is not always reliable in diffusing priority information, the current dissemination
mechanism of warnings and advisories is not very efficient, especially to those situated in
threatened areas. The warnings given directly to the public via the HMI web pages are a very passive
dissemination channel and do not actively meet people, authorities and public when needed.
Warning dissemination mechanisms, emergency preparedness and response activities are expected
to significantly improve with the implementation of the 112 system, which is still operating on a case
by case basis without any consistent feedback. The 112 Center situated within the SEM will serve as
unique communication hub between state institutions, rescue units, the public and other agents in
case of emergency. The Center will also process relevant data and information for all types of
emergency using the European emergency number 112.44
43
See appendix 2 for further information on HMI technical capacities
The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in DRR for SEE, 2008; Law on Protection and Rescue, Official Gazette
of Montenegro 13/07, 2007
44
19
While the SEM issues warnings and coordinates action with municipal representatives, the
parliament alone has the power to declare a national state of emergency. A major problem is the
lack of clear guidelines as to how this decision is reached and how national emergencies should be
announced to the public. Additional procedures concerning support of national and local authorities
should be established, as well as a classification of emergency situations and alerts.
Capacity Development
Awareness-Raising and Public Education
There are limited resources for capacity development and no formal process of awareness raising is
in place. Moreover, legislation does not specify which governmental body is responsible for
implementing DRR awareness raising projects, and authorities still lack DRR knowledge in order to
design campaigns, especially as the SEM only adresses DRR since 2010. According to the
government, awareness raising activities are especially limited at local level. This greatly increases
the population’s vulnerability. To name just one example, no awareness raising activity was done in
the highly eartquake-prone region of Berane. Campaigns informing about safe building codes should
also be created.
The Bureau of Public Relations, the Government of Montenegro and the SEM coordinate media
plans oriented towards public awareness of hazards and prevention, but involvement of the media
sector to advocate DRR needs to be developed. Among the population and the media, awareness of
disaster-related issues or preparedness and response is often limited, which can lead to inaccurate
or inadequate information broadcasts.
The SEM plans to issue an awareness campaign to successfully implement the 112 single emergency
number, as well as a pre-school program for small children on what to do in case of an emergency,
and an introduction to hazards and reaction in emergency situations for the elderly.
Although the MRC did not conduct any awareness raising activities until now, it plans to do so in the
future by joining the Red Cross DRR regional programme and further cooperating with SEM. Actions
have already been targeted at schools and the MRC plans to organize a DRR campaign together with
governmental and non-governmental organizations. Ad hoc awareness raising events have been
undergone by „Green Home” and the United States Agency for International Development, although the
public service campaign did not specifically focus on DRR. The Fire Union of Montenegro has been
educating the population about fire protection.45
Apart from occasional events, like classes visiting fire brigade units, DRR is not yet integrated into
school curricula. This is likely to change when the primary education system reforms of 2010 are
45
Report of Montenegro Ministry of Internal Affairs, Report of Montenegro to the United Nations’ World Conference on
Disasters Reduction (WCDR, Kobe-Hyogo, Japan, 2005)
20
implemented. One of the reform plans for 40 optional modules, out of which one should include
DRR content. Also, weekly lessons focusing on protection and rescue, what action to take in
emergency situations and containing an introduction to natural hazards on the territory of
Montenegro should be offered by head teachers. On the other hand, the reform cut the budget
allocated to teacher training, including the training targeting disaster response. Educating children
will be a difficult task for teachers, if they do not have the knowledge themselves.
A EUR 40,000 awareness project , which is part of the EU-funded Programme on Prevention,
Preparedness and Response to Natural and Man-made Disasters (PPRD South), is targeted at 5,000
6th grade students (aged 12) in 62 pilot primary schools in Montenegro. The project will inform
children about actions they and their family should take before and after earthquakes. If the subject
„Protection and Rescue from Natural Disasters and other Man-made Accidents” is effectively reintroduced in the curricula of 7-9 grade students, this first awareness project would constitute an
ideal introduction to disasters.46
No university program focuses on DRR only, but civil engineering, architectonic planning are taught
at the Civil Engineering Faculty in Podgorica.47
Training
Training activities are mostly geared towards various rescue and recovery specialists. The SEM has
currently one training center within the Police Academy in Danilovgrad for the training and
education of rescue units. However, it is very much oriented towards theory. There are plans to
open three training centers across the country that will deal with the special training needs of rescue
units in a more practical way. DRR training programmes in relation to specific hazards are delivered
regularly by the SEM for personnel involved in civil protection activities such as central and
municipal rescue teams, fire-fighters, operational units, but also decision-makers at central level and
the public. Worthy of note is a training course for seismic hazards, organised with the support of the
French Securité Civile.
Trainings on floods and fire response have been organized in cooperation with the US Embassy, the
Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, the Red Cross and NGOs. However, these trainings are
not coordinated and do not always benefit of adequate facilities. Done on an ad hoc basis, they do
not facilitate the understanding of the specific roles and responsibilities of the various actors,
including the role of technical agencies such as the HMI. More in-depth training on understanding
disasters and their impacts are needed to complement experience with technical knowledge.
Despite its limited number of forecasters, meteorological and hydrological experts, the HMI
participates in UNISDR courses and is currently involved in the development of an international
46http://www.euromedcp.eu/en/countries/montenegro/724-awareness-campaign-under-the-slogan-starts-in-
montenegro.html
47 Report of Montenegro Ministry of Internal Affairs, Report of Montenegro to the United Nations’ World Conference on
Disasters Reduction (WCDR, Kobe-Hyogo, Japan, 2005)
21
strategy for risk reduction which consists of 22 workshops that will bring international expertise. The
Institute should furthermore participate in trainings of emergency personnels and the news media
to address risks associated hydro-meteorological hazards.
Training of the protection, search and rescue teams at the local level is provided and funded by the
municipalities. However it is not always offered in a systematic way nor does it always reach out to
all the municipal staff, since the size of the budget for preparedness and response activities is left to
the appreciation of the municipalities.
Police and NGOs have their own training programs. The MRC has been training its preparedness and
response teams in first aid at local, national and regional level, and some elements of the regional
disaster response teams have even been trained to be deployed internationally.
DRR terminology needs to be harmonized and better understood within the SEM, ministries, NGOs
and especially among local authorities.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Disaster prevention and mitigation is not fully developed. Montenegro is slowly getting aware of the
possibilities existing regarding this issue, for instance through earthquake-resistant design, spatialcity planning and preparation against earthquakes to alleviate seismic risk.
At community level, municipalities have the responsibility to build their own capacities. Thus, their
development processes are mostly ad hoc and depend on their respective budgets.48 In flood-prone
areas like Berane, Ulcinj or Rozalje, local municipalities are building embankments as preventive
measures, but processes like these vary according to municipalities.
Risk mitigation measures were integrated to a good extent into the spatial development plan, even
though vulnerability due to different hazards has not been worked out.49 The Vienna Declaration has
recognized the construction of illegal settlements in the countries of South-East Europe as evident
problem. As a signatory state, Montenegro is now committed to undertake measures necessary for
defining causes of illegal construction and initiating and implementation of reforms in the field of
sustainable urban development and housing policy through appropriate inspection and supervision.
Illegal construction in some local self-governments has been significantly reduced, e.g. in the capital
Podgorica. However, lack of professional personnel for execution of the works related to inspection
supervision50 and disrespect of regulations by legal entities and natural persons hamper the state’s
efforts to suppress illegal construction and to improve existing legislation in the area of spatial
planning.51 Among the measures to reduce seismic risks, the municipalities have to define
48
Law on Protection and Rescue, Article 41
http://drace-project.org/index.php/map/montenegro
50 Spatial Plan Status Report p.69
51 Spatial Planning Support Project Revised Work Plan September 2010 – August 2011
49
22
procedures that seismic risks are assessed and considered when elaborating local planning
documents and urban development.
An environmental assessment taking into account seismic risk and climate change is compulsory for
the construction of critical infrastructures such as bridges, schools and hospitals. However, whether
the responsibility of approving construction lies at the municipal or central level is not always clear.
Preparedness for Disaster Response
At national level, the National Strategy for Emergencies developed in 2005 by the SEM provides a
basis to respond quickly to technological and natural disasters. Simulation exercises to test the
strategy in reaction to earthquakes were carried out in collaboration with international experts in
Danilovgrad with success. However, funding is an issue and these exercises highly depend on donor
support.
The Rulebook on Methodology for the Development of Protection and Rescue Plans52 establishes
how contingency plans for the preventive protection phase, management phase and early recovery
should be developed at national level, local level and within companies. To comprehensively address
the three disaster management phases, the following aspects should be covered: spatial planning
issues, regulate river flows, control torrent, protect from fire, monitor, build local early warning
systems, distribute protection and rescue tasks, prepare water sanitation, install potable water
springs, implement health measures. Plans should also define which body is accountable for taking
decisions, transmitting information to 112 center, executing and managing mobilization, making
reports, and where funding and personal and material resources are to be found. A layered map
should be created at national level (1: 200 000), identifying population density, threatened zones,
and border crossings where international aid and rescuers could potentially arrive from. At local
level, 1: 25 000 maps should help locate temporary settlement areas, access roads for intervention,
evacuation routes, zones where to place refugees, medical facilities. Similar map should be created
for companies (places for administration of first aid, shelters).
The Ministry of Interior and Public Administration is currently preparing a National Action Plan, and
competent self-government body at local level, and legal persons or entrepreneurs within
companies, are responsible for developing adapted Action Plans and Company Protection and
Rescue Plans. However, local governments, which should be the first to react in case of emergency
and manage and fund the training and funding of protection services, lack financial means and
capacity to put in place contingency plans and maintain steady operative units.
At national level, the Emergency Operations Center situated within the EMTC operates standby
troops. At local level, Municipal Teams for the Management of Emergency Situations including
52
Official Gazette of Montenegro 13/07, Rulebook on methodology for the development of protection and rescue plans ,
http://www.questionnaire.gov.me/Annexes/Annex082.pd
23
members of all relevant stakeholders, for instance members of the MRC and a representative of the
SEM and lead by the mayor take over control in case of emergency.53 Protection and rescue
operations are conducted by civil protection units of the government, fire fighting units, local
government units, specialized protection units including members of International Red Cross Society,
business organizations, airborne and terrestrial fire units, trained volunteers, and Employees of
Ministry of Interior which have passed the state licence exam for working on protection and rescue
affairs. More than 4000 people not including the Army and Police units can be counted on to
respond to emergency situations.54 From the 10,000 Red Cross volunteers, 1,000 are operational on
a daily basis. The reactivity and quality of protection services greatly depend of the municipality’s
financial means. To cite the response of the municipality of Berane to the 2010 flash floods, 700
persons could be accommodated in sport halls and provided „with food, mattresses, blankets,
cooking sets, hygiene items, potable water, baby formula and diapers”. However this was greatly
due to external funding provided by the UNHCR, Caritas Luxemburg and UNDP (the MRC also
provided some donations), and the funds were not sufficient to cover urgent repair of houses.55
The SEM can additionaly activate its local branches, local MRC units, as well as local Police Units and
its operational helicopter unit. However the presence of the SEM at local level needs to be
strengthened. When needed, the MoD can deploy steady Civil Protection Units to complete
resources and capacities of the SEM and municipalities.
At the moment, fire brigades are not equipped to respond best to disaster. There is a lack of „firefighting vehicles, accompanying vehicles, means of telecommunication, pumps for water absorption,
personal protection equipment, fire pumps”, and the material that is there usually is in poor shape.56
The same holds true for the equipment of municipalities. To address this problem, a document on
the Decision on Obligatory Material Reserves for System of Protection and Rescue is currently in
preparation. It will specify which material resources should be present in every municipality,
however it is still unclear how this material should be financed. Material support is coming from
national and foreign NGOs including the MRC.
Early recovery issues are only addressed as much as the budget allows it, which is very superficially,
and not specifically incorporated into any strategies, legal acts, plans or institutional arrangements.
Financial means are by far not sufficient to effectively allow communities to quickly recover in times
of emergencies.
53
Law on Protection and Rescue Official Gazette of Montenegro 13/07, 2007
The number given by Sector for emergency Situations and Civil Security
55 UNDP, 2010, Montenegro flash floods early recovery support for riverside Berane
56 Emergency and civil security sector of the Ministry of Interior, 2005, National Strategy for Emergencies
54
24
Cross-Cutting Issues
Gender
The promotion and advancement of gender equality in different areas of public and private sector
development in Montenegro has been strengthened over the last decade.
According to the Law on Gender Equality, the Ministry for the Protection of Human and Minority
Rights is in charge of the gender equality policy and coordination of all activities addressing gender
issues. The Committee for Gender Equality was established in July 2001 as a permanent working
body in the Parliament and the Gender Equality Office of the Government of Montenegro in March
2003 to perform expert tasks related to the implementation of gender equality and international
conventions, to coordinate the activities of governmental bodies and cooperate with NGOs.
Coordinators for gender equality work with the Gender Equality Office within each ministry and
state administration body. Due to the participation of a representative of the Gender Equality Office
in the development of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of Montenegro, this
document includes gender-sensitiveness as one of the cornerstones of sustainable development.
The Gender Equality Office conducts trainings that seek to strengthen gender equality at the local
level. The National Program of Integration of Montenegro into the European Union for the period
2008-2012 is meant to further improve gender equality mechanisms. For now, much can still be
achieved regarding women’s political involvement and their participation in the decision-making
process.
Regarding DRR, the importance of mainstreaming gender is understood but has not yet occurred.
NGO projects mainstreaming gender in DRR are „Pljevlja - Livable Living Space for Man and Woman”
from the NGO „Pljevlja’s Women Space” and „Gender and Space – integration of gender equality
principles into spatial planning in Montenegro” from the NGO „Expeditio”. However, there is
considerable room for a better integration of gender equality mechanisms in the country’s DRR
policy.
Climate Risk Management
Montenegro experiences significant climatic risks, which will only increase with continued global
warming. In order to effectively preempt and cope with the effects of climate extremes, the
government integrated climate change in its National Strategy on Sustainable Development
(including a commitment to gradually lower the emission of substance affecting the ozone layer),
urban plans (climate change mitigation and adaptation mechanisms, energy efficiency) and issues
National Communications on Climate Change. The Government ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Vienna Convention on Protection of Ozone Layer.
Within the scope of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the period
2010–2015, the issue of climate change adaptation is addressed and mitigation measures including
the use of renewable, clean energy, carbon trading and energy efficiency will be implemented.
UNDP will support various ministries to undergo reforms, develop legislation and incentives for the
25
private-sector and individuals in order to build more climate resilient communities, economies and
ecosystems.
Information of impact of climate change at local level is essential for governmental and industrial
strategy planning, and for climate risk management including the development of measures for
climate change adaptation. It did develop a DRR strategy integrating climate change adaptation,
which was however not acknowledged by the government. HMI should be assigned a more active
role in climate variability monitoring and projections, its capacities in climate change analysis should
be strengthened in order to produce large-scale climate change studies to support climate risk
management. Other national hydro-meterological centers in the vicinity as well as NGOs could also
provide support. MRC for instance voiced its interest to develop a programme on climate change
adaptation.
While those efforts are commendable, regional capacities in climate change monitoring and
forecasting need to be strengthened, and risk assessments based on these predictions should be
developed in order to adapt strategies to varying climatic conditions.
Regional and International Cooperation
Considering the size of the country and its geological setting, transboundary initiatives play a crucial
role in disaster mitigation and preparedness.57 The SEM has signed bilateral partnership agreements
with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia and the Russian
Federation which define a common protocol for cross-border cooperation in the event of natural
disasters. The latest flood emergencies have proved that these agreements are efficient, especially
regarding provision of support, custom lifting and fast entry for rescue teams. Specific
memorandums of understanding in the field of education, technical training, preparedness and
prevention are being considered with Turkey and Italy.58 While a number of regional agreements are
signed at the central level, municipalities do not have the mandate to replicate this process at local
level.
Montenegro participates in the following regional activities:
57
58

The Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Initiative for South Eastern Europe and the EUfunded PPRD South Programme, to implement HFA objectives and priorities;

The Civil Military Emergency Planning for South Eastern Europe, in cooperation with the U.S.
Army Engineering Corps, to improve of civil-military coordination of disaster preparedness
and response;
http://drace-project.org/index.php/map/montenegro
The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in DRR for SEE, 2008
26

The Drought Monitoring Centre for South East Europe, the European Centre for Medium
Range Weather Forecasts and the Accident Reporting Guidance Operational System (ARGOS) to
upgrade its hydro-meteorological services, weather forecasting products and early warning
system;

The Project SHARE (Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe, 2009–2012), within the
Seventh Framework Program of the European Commission, to provide an updated, living
seismic hazard model for the Euro-Mediterranean region59 and NATO’s Science for Peace
project „Harmonization of Seismic Hazard Maps for the Western Balkan Countries“, whose
end product will be an integrated database organized in GIS applications for the whole
region with a regional earthquake catalogue and seismic hazard maps.
Regarding the hydro-meteorological sector, DRR capacities could significantly benefit from regional
coordination and cooperation, leveraging expertise, capacities, resources and information across the
region among SEE countries and with various regional centers in Europe. The HMI has developed its
cooperation with the European Meteorological Infrastructure by becoming a Member of European
Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and the European Meteorological Network. At regional
level, the HMI contrbutes to activities of the Drought Management Centre for Southeastern Europe
(DMCSEE) in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and is associated with the Activitoies of the South East Europe
Virtual Climate Change Center (SEEVCCC) hosted by the Hydrometeorological Service of the Republic
of Serbia. HMI has many cooperation agreements with hydro-meteorological services of other
countries in the SEE Region. It can be expected that Montenegro could also significantly benefit from
the new South East European Virtual Climate Change Center, which was established in 2008 within
the Serbian National Hydrometeorological Service. Currently the level of international cooperation is
at quite low level partially because of lack of experts and academic staff with good skills in European
languages, especially English. This aspect is often under considered, but it dramatically hampers the
participation of personnel to international workshops or trainings.
International organizations also contribute to the strengthening of DRR through the UN’s Regional
Disaster Risk Reduction Overview Course, UNDP projects such as the Spatial Planning Support
Project, or the German Gessellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit and World Bank Land
Administration and Management Project. Within the scope of the UNDAF program, the Ministry of
Sustainable Development and Tourism and local authorities will undergo efforts to legalize informal
settlements.
SWOT Analysis
On the basis of consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, the strengths, gaps, opportunities
and threats for the DRR policy of Montenegro are analyzed below.
59
http://www.share-eu.org/
27
Strengths

The SEM provides a good basis to address DRR in a more comprehensive manner, notably by
moving from a system of search and rescue based on the establishment of local units,
towards a model focused on disaster prevention;

The Seismologic Observatory and the HMI provide reliable data through their relatively well
developed monitoring system and transboundary networks.
Weaknesses








Montenegro’s legal framework often lacks necessary DRR components. The country has no
DRR National Action Plan and lacks the capacities to implement policies, strategies and
mechanisms. To avoid overlaps and clarify responsibilities, standard operational procedures
need to be developed for all stakeholders involved in disaster response;
The absence of specific allocation mechanism for DRR in the national and local budgets leads
to insufficient funding for many DRR-related areas. For instance, this prevents the HMI to
operate a 24/7 analyzing forecasting system;
There is no post-disaster data collection and no database of hazards. A country-level GIS
database should be created;
Risk assessments taking into account vulnerability and capacity considerations need to be
strengthened at local level;
Information management lacks established protocols and mechanisms. Little information is
exchanged; hydro-meteorological data for instance is not integrated into development
plans, agricultural sector plans and the like. It is important to define ways for better
utilization of the seismic and hydro-meteorological data produced;
The building codes are not properly enforced. Roles and responsibilities regarding the
legalization and approval of constructions should be clarified;
Gender issues are currently not mainstreamed into the Montenegrin DRR planning. To tackle
this problem, gender sensitive DRR training programmes should be offered to planners in
ministries;
Climate change adaptation mechanisms are hardly to find in the country’s DRR approach,
and no cross-border partnerships for production and utilization of climate change related
data exist.
Opportunities


The decentralization process has granted a relatively high level of autonomy of local
governments in creating local development policies and measures. Since municipalities can
identify needs best and adapt plans to local conditions, this could considerably improve DRR
planning, provided that funding is made available and skills are enhanced;
A project focusing on legalization of informal settlements has been launched and should
greatly enhance the government’s capacity to protect most vulnerable groups;
28





The creation of a National Platform could greatly improve cooperation and coordination
between the SEM, regional and international partners, and NGOs, the same holds true once
the operations and communications 112 centre will have been established;
Montenegro has a high interest in promoting its tourism and industry sectors, since their
direct contribution to GDP is expected to rise from 8.1% in 2011 to 14.8% of total GDP in in
2021 (in constant 2011 prices)60. This growth forecasts ranks Montenegro first out of 181
countries regarding the relative importance of travel and tourism's total contribution to
GDP. Since these sectors are vulnerable to natural disasters, the government has a strong
incentive to develop DRR efficiently so as to preserve its most promising avenues of
economic development;
Comprehensive Rulebooks have been developed to set uniform standards for local risk
assessments and protection and rescue plans;
The 2010 educational reforms constitute an important first step to introduce DRR into school
curricula; cooperation between the Ministry of Education and SEM, as well as with UNICEF
and the Red Cross should be further encouraged;
Cooperation and participation in bilateral and international partnerships have the potential
to increase DRR capacities.
Threats



The commitment of the Montenegrin government regarding risk management and especially
DRR is not as high as it could be;
If additional means of funding are not created, DRR strategies cannot be improved and
municipalities might not be able to take over responsibilities assigned to them by the legal
framework;
If DRR is to be mainstreamed at all levels, awareness raising and training activities for
journalists, municipal level planners and managers, especially on terminology (risk
assessments are often confused with hazard mapping or post disaster damage assessment),
should be implemented. Otherwise, the low level of knowledge and awareness in the
population and media will persist.
Recommendations Endorsed by the National Policy Dialogue
The following recommendations were endorsed by the National Policy Dialogue. They are aligned
with the Hyogo Framework for Action and its five priorities for action 2005-2015.
1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional
basis for implementation
60
http://www.wttc.org/eng/Tourism_Research/Economic_Research/Country_Reports/Montenegro/
29
 To establish and adopt by-laws that support legislation pertaining to DRR in order to give
greater legal authority to the process of building effective DRR systems and structures in
Montenegro.
 To promote and support dialogue and exchange of information and cooperation among all
relevant agencies and institutions at all levels aiming at fostering a unified approach to DRR.
 To create a National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction which should establish
responsibilities at the national through to the local levels, to facilitate coordination across
sectors, relevant to DRR.
 To clarify roles and responsibilities in DRR by positioning the Sector for Emergency
Management in accordance with best international practices, in such a manner that it will
have direct responsibility to the Government.
 To create a DRR action plan to enhance the National Strategy for Emergencies with
enumerated responsibilities and financial plan.
 To ensure financing mechanisms for DRR are in place, utilizing both regular budget
resources and financial resources from the donor community.
2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning
 To establish a national system for collection, analysis and dissemination of all relevant
disaster data (to inform Early Warning System, but also related to post-disasters data
collection).
 To enhance institutional capacity by further developing capacity for Risk Assessment in the
Sector for Emergency Management, Hydro-meteorology Institute and Seismology Institute.
 To enhance technical and human resources of the technical agencies, such as hydrometeorological institute to support the early warning system.
 To increase capacity for Risk Assessments at Municipal Level (Sectors for Spatial Planning,
local communities) with emphasis on Vulnerability Assessments.
 To establish mechanisms to preserve existing and develop future capacity for DRR within
relevant institutions.
 To work on regional harmonization of Risk Assessment related methodologies.
 To mainstream adaptation to climate change into all DRR strategic elements at all levels.
3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels
 To integrate DRR into curriculum at all levels of education.
30
 To develop capacity for DRR in the media in order to raise level of public awareness on DRR.
 To create and implement a DRR Strategy for awareness raising, in order to raise level of
overall understanding of the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction among population at
large.
 To create national translation of UNISDR Terminology for Disaster Risk Reduction.
4. Reduce the underlying risk factors
 To promote reduction of disaster risks by systematically integrating DRR outcomes and
activities into policies, plans and programmes for sustainable development and poverty
reduction as well as the National Development Plan.
 In the context of reducing vulnerability, to integrate DRR in implementation and ongoing
development of Government Plans for Informal Settlements.
 To develop national capacities for climate services to support medium and long-term
sectoral planing in the context of reducing overall risks, and with consideration for increasing
climate associated risks
5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels
 To strengthen the sustainability of disaster preparednes systems and structures through:
-
Developing capacities for the implementation of policies, strategies and mehanisms
for disaster preparednes and response to ensure sound linkages between
international, national and local levels
-
Ensuring protocols and mehanisms of information management for effective
response are permanently in place and regularly updated to anticipate futre
disasters
 To ensure standard operating procedures in response and preparedness are well defined,
regularly tested and continously improved.
 To define and improve the role of the media during disasters.
 To introduce post-disaster recovery into disaster preparedness planning.
31
Annex 1: South East Europe Disaster Risk Management Initiative
In 2007, the World Bank, together with European National Platforms for DRR and HFA Focal Points
and in partnership with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and others, initiated the
South East Europe Disaster Risk Management Initiative (SEEDRMI), including the development and
upgrading of hydro-meteorological information and the flood forecasting system for the Sava River
Basin. Also in 2007 the World Bank, the WMO and the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), with support from the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
Secretariat, initiated the South Eastern Europe Disaster Risk Mitigation and Adaptation Programme
(SEEDRMAP). This programme is aimed at the development and/or strengthening of national
capacities in this region in line with three components: (i) disaster risk management, institutional
capacities and governance; (ii) hydrometeorological services; and, (iii) financial risk transfer
mechanisms to assist countries in reducing risks associated with natural hazards. Beneficiary
countries of this initiative include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Kosovo (as defined by the
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1244/99), Slovenia and Turkey. During the first phase
of the programme, fact finding surveys and desk studies were performed in order to obtain the
information required for the development of relevant projects; the results of these analyses have
been published in a number of reports.61 Based on these results and consultations with the
countries, World Meterological Organization (WMO) and UNDP developed, in parallel, two
complementary proposals that were funded by the European Commission (EC) Directorate General
for Enlargement through its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).62 These EU funded
projects, initiated in March 2009, cover Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo (as defined by UNSCR 1244/99) and
Turkey.
The overall objective of the UNDP Proposal Activity 1 Regional Programme on Disaster Risk
Reduction in South East Europe is 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 DRR. The specific
objective is to increase the level of regional DRR cooperation in South East Europe and 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.
61
Risk Assessment for South Eastern Europe Desk Study Review, 2008; Strengthening the Hydro-meteorological Services in
South Eastern Europe, 2008; Mitigating the Adverse Financial Effects of Natural Hazards on the Economies of South Eastern
Europe, 2008; The Structure, Role and Mandate of Civil Protection in Disaster Risk Reduction for South Eastern Europe,
2008.
62 Activity 1: Building Capacity in Disaster Risk Reduction through Regional Cooperation and Collaboration in South East
Europe (UNDP); Activity 2: Regional Cooperation in South Eastern Europe for Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate
Date Management and Exchange to Support Disaster Risk Reduction (WMO).
32
The activities of the UNDP proposal place special emphasis on strengthening the existing DRR
capacities of the eight IPA beneficiaries, particularly the enhancement of the Disaster Preparedness
and Prevention Initiative for South East Europe (DPPI SEE). The UNDP project/programme is largely
funded by the European Union, with a ten percent contribution from the UNDP Bureau for Crisis
Prevention and Recovery (UNDP BCPR) and the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS
(RBEC).
The overall objective of the WMO Proposal Activity 2 „Regional Cooperation in South Eastern Europe
for Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Data Management and Exchange to Support Disaster
Risk Reduction” Project is to reduce the vulnerability of South Eastern Europe to natural hazards and
address the loss of life, property and economic productivity caused by extreme weather and other
natural hazards. The specific objectives are two-fold:
Improve the basic systems for hydrometeorological forecasting and data sharing that underpins the
early warning systems for weather and climate related hazards and extreme events; and,
Improve the capacity (technical, human and institutional) of the national meteorological and
hydrological services (NMHS) in SEE to acquire, assimilate, exchange and disseminate data and
information on a range of hydrometeorological hazards and extreme weather and climatic events.
This is a first step towards an effective risk management system involving risk assessment, risk
reduction, and risk transfer to reduce the impact of natural hazards on lives and livelihoods. This
process will include all stakeholders with Disaster Risk Reduction mandates and competencies.
33
Annex 2: Technical Recommendations to Strengthen HMI Capacities in
Support of DRR
Based on technical feasibility study of the HMI63 and assessment in the current DRR system in
Montenegro, following recommendations can be made in order to promote the contribution of the
hydrometeorological sector to the DRR in Montenegro.
Legal framework and institutional arrangements related to the role of NMHS in DRR
1. There are urgent needs to improve the national legislation concerning the DRM and the role
of different technical agencies including HMI;
2. There are needs to better integrate HMI into DRR planning;
3. There are needs to promote cooperation with other technical agencies.
Monitoring and observations networks and data exchange
4. There is an urgent need to establish a reliable calibration and maintenance system in order
to produce measurements which meet the WMO standards;
5. There are urgent needs to establish automated weather stations at sea and coastal regions,
where the tourism is growing rapidly;
6. There are urgent needs to establish a weather radar network;
7. There are needs to establish 1 upper air sounding station;
8. There are needs to establish automatic hydrological stations.
Forecasting
9. There is a need to further develop capacities to support DRR through nowcasting and longterm forecasting;
10. There is a need to improve the technical capacities to develop monthly and seasonal climate
outlooks;
11. There is a need to develop and integrate additional modelling for hydrology and air quality
and to link these models to NWP;
12. There is a need to improve capacities to use automatic analysing, editing and dissemination
tools.
Hydro-meteorological data management systems
13. There is an urgent need to initiate a data rescue programme to digitise and quality ensure
the historical data;
63
Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Services to Support Disaster Risk Reduction and Early Warning Systems in
Montenegro, WMO, 2011
34
14. There is a need to develop the technical capacities for data management and to adopt
automatic quality control systems of hydrometeorological data.
Hazard analysis and mapping to support risk assessment (See Annex 1 to 3 for further details
specific to flood and drought risk assessment)
15. There is a need to develop hazard analysis and mapping (through GIS tools) based on
historical data and climate change projections to support risk assessment
16. There is the need to develop capacities in the use of GIS, spatial analysis and management of
geographic data;
17. There is the need to develop capacities in hydrological analysis;
18. There is the need to develop capacities in agrometeorological and drought analysis,
including remote sensing applications;
19. There is the need for better management of hazard impact data.
Information technology and telecommunication issues
20. There are urgent needs to upgrade the communication system to promote on-line and realtime data collection;
21. There are urgent needs to modernize the communication systems to efficiently disseminate
warnings and other products.
Warning products and services
22. There are needs to enhance the mandate and capacity of HMI to produce and issue more
weather and climate related warnings efficiently and timely;
23. There is an urgent need to establish a 24/7 science based analysing, forecasting and warning
system at HMI;
24. There are needs to further promote cooperation between HMI and different socio-economic
sectors in order to increase the number of special services and warnings tailored to the
needs of customers;
25. There are urgent needs to automate the warning production and dissemination systems.
Climate change analysis
26. There is a need to develop a climate data management system and climate analyses;
27. There is a need to develop the technical capacities for climate change projections
downscaling to local scales;
28. There is a need to develop climate change impact studies in cooperation with DRR, industry
and other sectors.
Human Resources
29. There are urgent needs to promote the human resources through investment in forecasters,
ICT experts, NWP experts and scientists;
30. There are needs to increase the number of staff with academic MSc and PhD degrees.
35
31. There are urgent needs to promote the skills especially in English in order to increase the
capacity to participate in EU activities;
32. There are urgent needs to promote training of the mid-management in leadership, project
management, cooperation with industry and participation in EU R&D projects.
33. There are needs to establish a systematic training programme for whole staff by adapting
the trainings systems in use in some of the advanced EUMETNET NHMSs.
34. There are needs to increase the salary level of HMI staff to the level of meteorologist in the
aviation sector in order to promote the attractiveness of HMI.
Regional cooperation
35. A regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System composed of inter-operable national Early
Warning Systems should be designed through a regional cooperation process. A
comprehensive design and planning document should include institutional and technical
aspects of MHEWS, as well as a cost-benefit analysis and a fund-raising strategy;
36. Risk assessment at regional, national and local level is the foundation for development of
agreements and implementation plans;
37. Modernisation and interoperability of the meteorological and hydrological networks should
be implemented at the sub-regional level to benefit from economies of scale and financing
opportunities. This plan should include automatic on-line stations, a sub-regional radar
network as well as a lightning detection network;
38. To improve their forecasting capacities SEE countries should increase their cooperation with
global, regional and specialized Centres producing NWP, by developing their NWP capacities
and become members of NWP model consortiums. Linkages between NWP models and
hydrological models should also be developed for a better flood forecasting;
39. A regional harmonisation of watch and warning systems should be promoted;
40. Cross-border exchanges of real-time data, forecasts and warnings should be increased.
41. Improve the English knowledge of HMI technical staff.
36