The draft Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction is on public hearing from next week

Draft Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025-2030. it is well structured, with clear visions, goals and principles, as well as a comprehensive approach to risks, and from next week it will be up for public debate.

This was announced at the second technical meeting on the preparation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy 2025-2030, which was organized by the Directorate for Protection and Rescue of the Ministry of the Interior.

The Director General of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Miodrag Bešović, said that he is satisfied with the work on the Strategy so far, emphasizing that extraordinary progress has been achieved that promises excellent results.

"During this technical meeting, we present the text of the Strategy and the working version of the action plan. During the next week, a public debate on the Strategy will be organized, so that everything will take its course", said Bešović, PR Center reports.

The representative of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Andrew Bower, said that a team of 11 experts from different sectors, including representatives of Italy, Romania, Portugal and Germany, as well as the scientific community and local governments, analyzed the draft Strategy as would provide guidelines for its improvement.

As he said, the Draft Strategy, which was submitted at the end of April, was evaluated as well structured, with clear visions, goals and principles, and a comprehensive approach to risks.

"We commend the Strategy for its comprehensive review of hazard types and alignment with the SENDAI Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change," Bower said.

He indicated that experts have identified several areas for improvement.

Bower said that additional strengthening of resilience-building aspects, better integration of adaptation to climate change and disaster risk reduction, as well as more precise definition of roles and responsibilities of relevant actors were recommended.

"Also, the need for a more detailed financial framework for implementing the strategy and strengthening the focus on technological and biological risks was emphasized," added Bower.

He said that the experts also emphasized the importance of developing an action plan that would accompany the Strategy, with clearly defined goals and indicators, in order to facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation.

Bower said that the Strategy represents a significant step towards strengthening Montenegro's resilience to disasters and improving the capacity for risk reduction, stating that this is of key importance for the protection of citizens and the sustainable development of the country.

Slađana Živković, a representative of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue and a member of the Working Group for the preparation of the Strategy, pointed out that this document is currently in the final stage of preparation.

"For now, we have 111 activities that are grouped by strategic and operational goals, the realization of which from 2025 to 2030 will significantly improve the field of disaster risk reduction, as well as achieve the goals of the SENDAI framework, the Paris Agreement, and the goals of sustainable development," stated Živković .

She said that a public discussion on the Strategy will begin next week, stating that the received comments on that document will be analyzed and implemented into the document.

"We invite the public to get involved and contribute to the creation of this document. After the public discussion, we will formulate a proposal for the Strategy, which will be submitted to the Government of Montenegro for adoption," said Živković.