European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement


  EUR-OPA MAJOR HAZARDS AGREEMENT - PUBLICATIONS


Ecosystem ApproachEcosystem Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction

May 2013

The goal of this publication is to develop a more robust understanding of ecosystem-based approaches to disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) in the European context, including the economic rationale, tools and practices, whilecontributing to the growing literature on this subject. It is the fruit of the Council of Europe’s participation in the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR), a partnership of 14 international organizations and NGOs, working together to promote the role of ecosystems for DRR.


Facing Risks Together - 25 years of cooperation (1987-2010)

April 2012


This brochure wishes to present some of the work developed over the 25 first years of existence of the EUR-OPA Agreement. It also recognises the great input, enthusiasm, expertise and sound science that both the network of Specialised Centres and the Permanent Correspondents has brought to the Agreement, the positive synergies between policy makers and scientists being at the heart of the success of the Agreement.


 


Ethical Principles on Disaster Risk Reduction and People's Resilience

February 2012

Text by Mr Michel Prieur



Following the invitation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in accordance with its Recommendation 1862 (2009) to prepare an ethical charter on resilience to major disasters, the Committee of Permanent Correspondents of the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA) has decided to prepare and adopt a text identifying ethical principles with a view to contributing to disaster risk reduction.

ISDR 2011 ReportClimate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Europe: a review of risk governance

2011

This study aims to analyse climate related disasters risk reduction governance in the European context. There is a particular focus on the flow of information from researchers to policy makers and the way in which the decision-making process in climate adaptation and risk reduction is commonly managed. The study confines itself to Europe and looks into practical cases of European regional and national adaptation strategies. It also investigates specific projects and initiatives addressing Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).


Facing Risks Together

September 2010

Brochure on the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement Activities

"The booklet attempts to set out some of the recent achievements of the EUR-OPA Agreement and the direction in which it will henceforth be moving, always guided by the idea that the suffering caused in our societies by disasters can in fact be considerably reduced in future through prevention policies and activities", Eladio Fernández-Galiano, Executive Secretary to the European and Mediterranean Major Hazards Agreement (EUR-OPA)

Lessons learned in psychosocial care after disasters

July 2010

Examples of psychosocial care after disaster
The book was prepared in collaboration with the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations





 

Let our children teach us!

July 2006

Publication of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of the United Nations which presents a review of the role of the education and the knowledge in the field of disaster risk reduction.
 






 

School of Civil Protection: Handbook

December 2001

The Handbook was prepared in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Foreword





 

Ethique et Médecine des catastrophes (2002)Ethics and Disasters Medicine
Disasters medicine confronted to International law, Ethics and Morals
2002
 

Summary – Regarding disasters situations (earthquakes, explosions, irradiations, attacks, etc) characterized by the inadequacy of means with respect to needs, doctors are confronted with significant human and ethical problems, linked to the emergency dramatic circumstances and needs. This interdisciplinary work describes the answers provided by international law, ethics and religious and agnostic morals to these questions.

After introduction by the authors, 89 real cases are analyzed by a dozen of specialists of the European Network "Medicine, Ethics and Human rights" participating to international level trainings in bioethics and human rights. This work, a pedagogical tool essential to trainings in disasters medicine, is addressed to persons in charge or to actors of rescue and to any person concerned with such situations.

If you are interested in this publication you can order it at Council of Europe’s Editions.
 

Rapport final «Mobilisation de la Communauté scientifique au service de l’amélioration de la gestion des risques»Final report/ratio "Mobilization of the scientific Community with the service of the improvement of the risk management"

October 2001 - March 2002 with the support of the DG Research - international Co-operation (European Commission)
 

The end of the 20th century was marked by the occurrence of a significant number of major crises related to natural disasters: floods, storms, earthquakes, technological disasters (Tchernobyl, shipwreck of Erika) but also by the appearance of more insidious forms of risks such as those in the fields of health (AIDS) and of food (the "insane cow" crisis, the foot-and-mouth disease epizooty...).

In response to these problems, international, European, national, regional and local decision makers are brought to take decisions based on the application of the "precautionary principle" itself resulting from scientific uncertainty concerning knowledge insufficiencies and gaps. More generally, it would be advisable to direct European efforts towards a reduction of scientific and technical uncertainty and to support communication between scientists and decision makers in a wish to help in decision-making in risk management. This must result in a "mobilization of the euro-Mediterranean scientific and technical community " to promote better knowledge and risk management.