Brussels, 28/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved a second Action Plan to help vulnerable populations in Central Asia prepare for and respond to natural disasters. The EUR 2.5 million will finance small-scale infrastructure projects to protect vulnerable groups from likely natural disasters, and will support activities that strengthen the capacity of local communities to predict, respond to and cope with disasters. Particular focus will be on disaster prone Tajikistan.
Funds will be allocated via the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) under the responsibility of Commissioner Poul Nielson. The current Action Plan's specific objectives are to strengthen the capacity of local communities to foresee, respond to and cope with disasters, and to protect vulnerable groups from likely natural disasters through small-scale infrastructure works. Local response capacities will be strengthened through local disaster management plans, early warning systems, disaster preparedness training, radio communication systems and public awareness campaigns. Vulnerable groups will be protected from avalanches, mud slides and flooding through the construction of protection barriers, the reinforcement of mountainsides and the strengthening of beds and banks of flood-prone rivers.
ECHO provided nearly EUR 1 million for ad hoc disaster preparedness activities in Central Asia between 1998 and 2002. This support was stepped up in April 2003 when ECHO launched the first disaster preparedness plan for Central Asia worth EUR 3 million. The current funding is part of ECHO's general disaster preparedness programme (DIPECHO) that also foresees activities in Central and South America, in Caribbean, in South Asia and South East Asia.