EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement

Previous activities

2011

Master Level Course on Climate change: impact on health, human environment and water
Strasbourg, France, 10-14 October 2011
The course aimed at developing specific knowledge on the main features of climate change, and of its impact on health, human environment and water. The participants were young people with high scientific background from Europe or from member states of the EUR-OPA Agreement: engineers, geologists, biologists, students in medicine.

Programme and Registration procedure
Registration Form

Reduction of vulnerability against flood risk in the Loire Basin

Orléans, France, 22 September 2011

The Public Establishment of the Loire district and its partners organised the 4th conference on reduction of the vulnerability against flood risk for the economic activities of the Loire basin and its affluents. It aimed at setting up the objectives and contents of the continuity of activity, to define its statutory and legal framework, but also to take account of good practices to elaborate a Plan of Continuity of Activity (PCA) presenting practical cases and the companies' experience during two round tables. Additional information on: www.plan-loire.fr/carrefour-continuite2011

Summer School on Psychosocial Support after Disasters
Antalya, Turkey, 4-10 September 2011
The European Natural Disasters Training Center (AFEM) of Turkey organised an International Summer School for Undergraduate Students of Social Sciences on "Psychosocial Support after Disasters and Emergencies" from 4 to 10 September 2011 in Antalya, Turkey. The aim of the Summer School was to make participants familiar with the basis of individual and community-based psychosocial intervention, considering in particular the special needs of vulnerable groups such as children, elderly persons and disabled people in the aftermath of a disaster or emergency.

More information
Registration form

A renewed Action Plan
The 12th Ministerial Session of the Agreement, held in September 2010 in Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation), adopted in particular the new Action Plan 2011-2015 where three major trends were highlighted: the use of information in preparedness to disasters, the contribution of knowledge to reduce vulnerability and the role of the human factor in risk prevention.
In order to efficiently implement this new Medium Term Plan, the Agreement has began examining how to better link these new trends with the work of the Specialised Centres.

Scientific meeting on the Fukushima nuclear accident
San Marino, 8 July 2011
The CEMEC, co-jointly with the Italian Association of Medical Radioprotection, organised a scientific meeting dedicated to the Fukushima nuclear accident : " The Fukushima nuclear accident: is it another Chernobyl ??". Speeches such as "External exposure and contamination", "The Public Health countermeasures" and “Information, psychological and social effects" were delivered.
More information

Intensive Course on Coastal hazard assessment and risk management
Caen, France, 19-25 June 2011
The Post-graduate training school on "Coastal hazard assessment and risk management" was organised within the framework of the FORMOSE Training Activities of the EUR-OPA Agreement and took place in Caen, France, from 19 to 25 June 2011. The course was organised by the European Centre for Seismic and Geomorphological Hazards (CERG), the University of Caen-Basse Normandy and the CNRS and will take place at the Department of Geography of the University of Caen-Basse-Normandy.
Programme and Practical Information

International Conference on “Twenty-five Years after the Chernobyl Accident. Safety for the Future" 
The Government of Ukraine has organised an International Conference on “Twenty- five Years after the Chernobyl Accident. Safety for the Future" in Kyiv (Ukraine) on 20-22 April 2011. The Council of Europe, which collaborated in its organisation through the EUR-OPA Agreement, has been represented by its Secretary General at the opening session and a presentation on “Radiological risk : the need to be informed and the right to be protected” has been delivered at the plenary session. This conference was of particular interest after the recent Nuclear Power Plant accident of Fukushima (Japan) : Chernobyl’s twenty-five years lessons can contribute to the debate on safety of nuclear energy and other dangerous technologies and on the need for technogenic safety to prevent future disasters.
Programme
Conclusions EN | RU

2010

Drought: analysis and strategies of adaptation 
The Scientific and Technical Research Centre on Arid Regions (CRSTRA) in Biskra, Algeria, has organised an international workshop on strategies of adaptation to the drought involving national and international partners at all levels of society - political, scientifique, civil society. The workshop took place in Biskra 21 and 22 November 2010.
Announcement and Conclusions (in french)

Flood and Landslide Issues in the Black Sea Region 
The Turkish Presidency for Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD), supported by the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement, has organised an international seminar on flood and landslide issues in the Black Sea region in Trabzon on 26 and 27 October. The seminar aimed at assessing the present and future challenges for the public and private sectors facing these calamities and suggesting appropriate solutions to those challenges.
Announcement and Conclusions

Management of Coastal Recreational Resources  
The conference is focused on selected coastal management issues related to beaches, yacht marinas, ecotourism and conservation, and the impact of coastal hazards on such resources. The conference is organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics (ICoD) of Malta and will take place in Grosseto, Italy on 27-30 October 2010.
Practical Information

Flooding: crisis management
The Public Establishment of the Loire is organising a conference on the management of flooding on 14 October 2010 in Nantes. For more information please consult: www.plan-loire.fr/RDV2010
Announcement (in french)

Mountain Risks: bringing science to society
The European Centre for Geomorphologic Hazards in cooperation with other European partners is organising an international conference on mountain risks in Florence (Italy) from 24 to 26 November 2010.
The main objective of the conference is first to contribute to a better knowledge of the interaction of natural, engineering, economical and human sciences on mountain risks management, and second to highlight the fact that information is vital in terms of assisting the planning and development processes as well as effectively reducing the risks.
Announcement

Workshop on Induced Seismicity
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the European Centre for Geodynamics and Seismology are organising a workshop on "Induced seismicity" in Luxembourg on 15-17 November 2010. 
The aim of the workshop is to bring together leading scientists that work in this field: mainly academic researchers as well as representatives from state geological surveys or state earthquake monitoring agencies. For more information, please visit the workshop homepage: http://www.ecgs.lu/ecgs-fkpe-workshop-induced-seismicity
Announcement

Conference on the prevention of flooding
The Public Establishment of the Loire is organising a conference on the prevention of flooding on 22 September 2010 in Paris.
Programme and Poster of the meeting

Management and protection of cultural heritage facing climate change
The Council of Europe, in collaboration with the European University Centre for Cultural Heritage (CUEBC), is organising a European course on the management and protection of cultural heritage facing climate change. The course will be held in Villa Rufolo in Ravello, Italy from 4 to 8 October 2010. It is open only to applicants from European countries.  
Programme and Registration Form

Master-level course on Climate Change: impact on health, human environment and water
The course aims at developing specific knowledge on the main features of climate change, and of its impact on health, human environment and water. Applicants should be young people with high scientific background from Europe or from member states of the EUR-OPA Agreement: engineers, geologists, biologists, students in medicine. The course will be held in Strasbourg from 20 to 24 September.
Programme and Registration Form

Young Seismologist Training Course
The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (www.emsc-csem.org) which is part of the EUR-OPA specialised centres is organising a training course for young seismologists in Montpellier from 13 to 17 September 2010. The training will be dedicated to urban seismology and led by the Laboratory of Internal Geophysic and Tectonophysic (LGIT) of Grenoble. For more information, please consult the following web site: www.esc2010.eu/esc2010/

14th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering

The Conference is organised by the Macedonian Association for Earthquake Engineering (MAEE) and will be held in Ohrid ("the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") from 30 August to 3 September 2010.
The conference will provide a great opportunity for exchanging ideas on the present situation of earthquake engineering and its implementation in protection of population and national economies against seismic impacts and development of risk prevention culture. Different workshops on existing joint projects will also be organised.
For more information please consult the following web page: www.14ecee.mk.

Protection of businesses against floods and the vulnerability of technical networks
The prevention of flood risk in the Loire basin and its tributaries constitutes a major field of intervention for the Loire River Basin Authority which is organising a conference on this topic on 8 June 2010 in Orleans (Auditorium of the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM).
For more information please consult: http://www.plan-loire.fr/conference-2010-prevention-risque-inondation/

50th anniversary of the seism in Agadir
The Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Evaluation and Prevention of Seismic Risks (CEPRIS) of Rabat (Morocco) organised in collaboration with the Faculty of Science of Agadir an international scientific meeting to mark the 50th anniversary of the earthquake in Agadir from 1960. The event took place in Agadir on 26-28 February. For more information, please consult: http://sismo.fsa.ac.ma/

Meeting of the Working group on Ethics and Disaster Risk Reduction
The main objective of the meeting was to review and complete as appropriate the draft text of the European and Mediterranean Ethical Charter on Resilience to Disasters. The draft text concerns both natural and technological hazards and aims at improving preparedness and dealing with ethical problems related to victims of disasters. The meeting took place in Paris on 19 January.  
Programme

2009

European Master Course on Climate Change: impact on human health and environment
The aim of the course is to develop specific knowledge on the main features of climate change, and of its health and environmental impact. Data on Earth physics modifications in case of climate change (past and future) was reported. Basic and applied features were presented for its impact on human health and on environment. The course was held from 30 November to 4 December in Strasbourg.
Programme

International Workshop on Disaster Education
The workshop was organised by the European Natural Disasters Training Centre (Ankara, Turkey) with the collaboration of the EUR-OPA Agreement. It took place in Antalya on 23-24 November. The main objective of the meeting was to establish standards for disaster education and to define education techniques for different target groups, especially women and children.
Draft Programme and Practical Information

Workshop on Climate change impact on water-related and marine risks
Based on the increasing adaptation approach to climate change, the main aim of the workshop, held on 26-27 October in Murcia (Spain), was to foster better preparedness and response amongst populations living in the European and Mediterranean areas which might be affected by water-related disasters induced by climate change. (more)
Draft Conclusions EN | FR

Meeting of European National Platforms and HFA Focal Points

The UK Cabinet Office in collaboration with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat (UNISDR) and the Council of Europe EUR-OPA Agreement are organising a meeting of the European National Platforms and HFA Focal Points from 11 to 13 November 2009 in London. The objectives of the meeting are to discuss advances on the European Regional Platform activities, to review developments on private-public partnership in Europe, as well as to discuss and engage in the HFA mid-term review. 
Agenda
Practical Information Registration Form

3rd annual meeting between the scientific community and the administrators of the Loire river

The Public Establishment of the Loire district is organising the 3rd annual meeting between the scientific community and the administrators of the Loire river on 6 November in Saint-Etienne.
Announcement

Disasters and human rights: rescuing people especially vulnerable groups
The EUR-OPA Agreement, the Greek General Secretariat for Civil Protection, the National Technical University of Athens and the Project Second Generation Locator for Urban Search and Rescue operations, organised a Workshop on Disasters and Human Rights: Search and Rescue Operations during disasters especially for vulnerable people on 5 and 6 November in Athens. During teh discussions priority was given to operational issues and the potential of available technologies.

Programme

Seminar on Wildfire and Human Security

The Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) in Freiburg, Germany (part of the EUR-OPA's Specialised Euro-Mediterranean Centres) organised a Seminar on "Wildfires and Human Security: Fire Management on Terrain Contaminated by Radioactivity, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Land Mines", on 6-8 October 2009 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The main aim of the meeting was to analyse the magnitude of the problems arising from fires burning in dangerous zones and to exchange experience and solutions on how to deal with the issue. For more information, please contact Dr. Sergiy Zibtsev at sergiy.zibtsev@nauu.kiev.ua or sergiy.zibtsev@gmail.com.

Master Course on the Vulnerability of Cultural Heritage to Climate Change

The course was organised by the EUR-OPA Agreement, in collaboration with the European University Centre for Cultural Heritage (Ravello, Italy) and took place in Strasbourg from 7 to 11 September 2009. The course gave the opportunity of young European students to undertake rigorous scientific monitoring of the impact of the climate change to cultural heritage.

Programme

Meeting on the implication of local and regional authorities in major hazards management
The Working group on the legislative aspects of risk took place on 11-12 June in Paris. The issues of identification of risks and prevention at local and regional level were addressed at the meeting. The working group presented various actions carried out by the local and regional authorities in the field of knowledge and prevention of the main risks, the encountered difficulties and the good practices to use.
Objectives of the meeting
Agenda
Conclusions of the last Working Group meeting

Workshop on Climate Change and Cultural Heritage

The workshop provided the opportunity to debate the effects of changing climate parameters on material and structural characteristics of cultural heritage among scientists, users and policy makers. The participants adopted guidelines to governments, NGO’s and experts, on how to better integrate climate change issues and prevision in protection and maintenance of cultural heritage (more).

UNCCD: Second Integrated Photo Contest

The UNCCD is organising a second International Photo Contest. The purpose is to raise wider awareness of the issues of land degradation and desertification in drylands and their social consequences. The deadline for submission of photos is 17 June 2009. For more information, please consult the UNCCD web site www.unccd.int or contact yhori@unccd.int. 

International Integrated Safety and Security Exhibition

The ISSE-2009 incorporate a number of expositions devoted to new techniques and technologies in the sphere of public security, safety and civil protection. The ISSE-2009 was held in Moscow from 19 to 22 May 2009. For more information, please contact the Department of International Cooperation of the EMERCOM - dmd@mchs.gov.ru or visit the web site www.isse-russia.ru.

New specialised Centre in the EUR-OPA network

The National Training Centre of Sofia, Bulgaria, joined officially the network of specialised centres of the Agreement and became the 27th member of the Network. The decision was taken by the Committee of Permanent Correspondents at its 56th meeting, which took place in Paris on 6-7 April 2009.

Second International Seminar on Earthquake Prediction, 29-30 April 2009, Lisbon
Preliminary Programme
Announcement for the seminar

International Workshop on Land management and Protection, 1-3 April 2009, Malta
For more information: European Centre of Geomorphological Hazards, Strasbourg, France

International Conference on Landslide Processes, 6-7 February 2009, Strasbourg

2008

Mission Rescuer - International Art Competition for Children's Paintings

The previous competition was intituled "I saw disaster with my eyes"

Major hazards and cultural heritage: preventive strategies,  27 October - 1 November 2008, Ravello, Italy

International Conference on aridoculture, 13-14 December 2008, Biskra, Algeria

"Optimization of agricultural productions and sustainable development" (in French only)

International Workshop "For a new governance of natural risks", 27-28 October 2008, Istanbul, Turkey

International Workshop on Public authorities and civil society together for a safe European nuclear future, 22-23 September 2008, Kiev, Ukraine

International Disaster and Risk Conference, 25-29 August 2008, Davos, Switzerland

During the Conference the Agreement organised a Side-Event on Cultural Heritage and Risks presenting a selection of experiences from European countries.
For more information: http://www.idrc.info

2007

European and Mediterranean Workshop on Disaster Reduction at School
"Building safer school communities", 29-30 October 2007, Paphos, Cyprus

Following the decisions of the 11^th Ministerial Session, the 2007 programme of activities of the Agreement highlighted the issues of education to risk at school. A European and Mediterranean Workshop was organised on this topic on 29 and 30 October 2007 in Paphos, Cyprus.

4^th International Wildland Fire Conference (13-17 May 2007, Seville, Spain) organised by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the Junta of Andalusia - http://www.wildfire07.es

The EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement celebrates its 20^th anniversary

A special session to celebrate the Agreement's 20^th Anniversary took place on 20 March 2007 in Strasbourg on the occasion of the Permanent Correspondents' spring meeting.

2006

"Promote local cultures of risk" (in French only) (24-25 November 2006, Ravello, Italy), Workshop organised by the European University Centre for Cultural Heritage (CUEBC)

"Management of Coastal Recreational Resources Beaches" (25-27 October 2006, Gozo, Malta), International Conference organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Insular Coastal Dynamics (ICoD)

"Education and Training for Disaster Prevention" (26-28 September 2006, Madrid, Spain), International Congress organised by the Spanish Ministry of Interior

Participation in the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (Kobe Conference)

The Agreement participated in the Third International Conference on Early Warning Systems EWCIII (27-29 March 2006) and in the 2006-2007 ISDR World Campaign  "Disaster risk reduction begins at school". The Agreement will strengthen its links with the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) and will participate in the 1^st session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP/DRR) (5-7 June 2007, Geneva, Switzerland).
Multi-agencies mission at the initiative of OSCE to assess the impact of wildland fires of June 2006 in Armenia and Azerbaijan