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9 requires a vulnerability analysis to identify what hazards could occur in a particular place, and a risk analysis to determine the likely problems that an extreme event could impose. It is important also to notify hazard detection and warning systems, to identify evacuation routes and shelters, to maintain emergency supplies and communications systems, to establish procedures for notifying and mobilizing key personnel, to agree on pre-established mutual aid agreements with neighbouring communities, and other items. Also education programmes are often considered as an important safety component. 7 Response refers to the actions taken immediately before, during, and after a disaster occurs. It aims to save lives, minimize damage to property, and enhance the effectiveness of recovery. Response efforts include hazard detection and warning, evacuation of threatened populations, sheltering of victims, emergency medical care, search and rescue operations, and the security and protection of property. Other activities can be the construction of temporary dams, the closure of roads or bridges, the provision of emergency water or power supplies, and attending to secondary hazards such as fires or hazardous materials. 8 Disaster recovery involves short-term activities to restore vital support systems and long-term activities to return life to normal. An initial step to recovery is a comprehensive damage assessment to help set priorities. Recovery encompasses repairing and reconstructing houses, commercial establishments etc. Recovery can take a few weeks or several years, even decades. Mitigation refers to the policies and activities that will reduce a region's vulnerability to damage from future disasters. These measures are generally, and should be, in place before a disaster occurs. Mitigation activities can be characterized as structural, infrastructural, and non-structural. Structural mitigation measures aim to keep hazards away from people and buildings, or strengthen buildings, infrastructure and transportation systems, i.e. the critical infrastructure. Flood prevention, building codes and construction practices are typical parts of structural mitigation. Non-structural mitigation measures attempt to allocate the population and the constructed environment in a way to limit their exposure to disaster losses. 9 2.1. International Assistance in Case of Cross-Border Risks The intergovernmental cooperation to tackle cross-border risks in the Baltic Sea Region is based either on multinational agreements and cooperative forums or bilateral agreements. The Nordic Countries have a long tradition in establishing mutual and regional emergency assistance agreements. These have taken place already since the 1960's and in these last decades cooperation has been deepened especially in the field of civil protection. The Baltic Countries, Germany and Poland have based their emergency assistance cooperation mainly on bilateral agreements. Particularly Poland has been active in establishing assistance agreements, not only with the neighbouring countries, but also with strategically important countries such as the United States (the Polish Ministry of Defence and FEMA). Russia's strategy on international cooperation has been based both on bilateral arrangements and a strong political presence at regional forums, such the Arctic Council and Barents Euro-Arctic Council. Whereas Nordic Cooperation, Arctic Council and Barents Euro-Arctic Council do not have representatives from the Baltic Countries, Poland and Germany, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), and particularly its Eurobaltic Programme for Civil Protection, forms a unique platform that includes all the Baltic Sea States in the field of civil protection and emergency management. 2.1.1. European Community Mechanism Another possibility in case of an oil spill is to use the European Community Mechanism. The European Commission started to provide operational support to its Member States that faced major pollution incidents in 1987, when an "Urgent Pollution Alert Section" was established in Brussels to help whenever there was need. This section was operated on a 24h/day basis. The Community Mechanism to Facilitate Reinforced Cooperation in Civil Protection Assistance Interventions came into force in 2001. All Member States, as well as the 7 Mileti, Dennis; Disasters by Design, A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States, National Academy of Sciences, 1999, 22-23 8 Mileti, Dennis; Disasters by Design, A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States, National Academy of Sciences, 1999, 23 9 Mileti, Dennis; Disasters by Design, A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States, National Academy of Sciences, 1999, 24
10 Table 1: Some essential regional and bilateral agreements to tackle cross-border risks in the Baltic Sea Countries European Economic Area Countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and Bulgaria and Romania, are connected to it. The mechanism aims to grant mutual assistance and covers both civil protection and some marine pollution emergencies. "The mechanism thus enables concrete and prompt assistance from intervention teams from EU Member States when the resources of a country are not sufficient to deal with disasters. Additionally, the objective of the new scheme is to improve interventions in case of disasters throughout Europe by a better coordination of means and the strengthening of communication and training capacities." The alarm systems within countries differ, but the alarm process to Brussels is the same for all countries. For instance, in Sweden the alarm chain can start when a County Administrative Board alerts the SRSA's 24- hour duty officer. The Ministry of Defence will then be informed and the SRSA contacts the MIC (the Monitoring and Information Centre). The request is distributed to the Member States by the MIC, and the Member States send their response back to MIC, which in turn provides the concerned country with information on the assistance that has been offered. It is up to the country to decide what assistance to accept. The assistance can consist of both people and equipment, and the affected country pays for it. 2.1.2. Oil Spills The character of international assistance in connection with oil spills depends on whether there is a need to stop the spreading of the oil or if a country needs help to clean up an oil spill. Another major factor is whether the oil spill or pollution takes place on land or at sea. Concerning the latter, there are bilateral agreements between states in the Baltic Sea Region. In addition, there are some multilateral agreements, e.g. the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM) and the Copenhagen Agreement between the Nordic Countries. The Bonn Agreement (signed in 1969 and amended in 1983) is an international agreement between the North Sea coastal states, together with the EC, that offers mutual assistance and co-operation in combating pollution and executes surveillance as an aid to detecting and combating pollution and to prevent violations of anti-pollution regulations. A member country applies for assistance through the form "POLREP". The Bonn Agreement is a network of professionals with responsibility for ade-
Page 2 and 3: CROSS-BORDER RISKS IN THE BALTIC SE
Page 4 and 5: Contents Eurobaltic Foreword 1. Int
Page 6: FOREWORD The aim of the Eurobaltic
Page 9: 8 ty of identifying ships and oil s
Page 13 and 14: 12 sea. Once the Dengertneth plan
Page 15 and 16: 14 Lithuania is the Environmental P
Page 17 and 18: 16 4.1.1. Oil Pollution from the "B
Page 19 and 20: 18 4.5. Latvia The National Oil Spi
Page 21 and 22: 20 Galadusys in 2000 was the fir
Page 23 and 24: 22 The skills are regularly trained
Page 25 and 26: 24 shows that during emergency situ

Cross-Border Risks in the Baltic Sea Region: Lessons to ... - Helsinki.fi

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