Municipal representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia complete regional disaster risk reduction training course in Sarajevo

SARAJEVO, 18 December 2015 – A three-day regional disaster risk reduction training course organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities and hosted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, concluded today in Sarajevo.

The training course gathered 38 municipal representatives from Bijeljina, Goražde and Orašje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bajina Bašta, Šabac and Priboj from Serbia - border regions that were severely affected by floods or are at high risk of flooding. Staff from eight Aarhus Centres in both countries also took part.

Participants discussed how to strengthen local partnerships, and raise capacities and resilience to natural hazards.

“Disasters are not limited to national boundaries,” said the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, Halil Yurdakul Yiğitgüden. “Sustainable management of natural resources can help reduce or eliminate disaster and conflict risk, as well as provide a strong platform for development, co-operation, stability and peace.”

Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH Alexander Chuplygin said: “Progress can be best achieved by maximizing public awareness and encouraging civilian participation in disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction. We strongly believe that local communities and all their relevant members can play a vital role in strengthening the disaster resilience of a community.”

Đorđe Isaković, Secretary of the Šabac Municipal Council, said: “It is very important for us to exchange views, to think about the experiences of other regions in emergency situations, and understand that only together can we forestall and prevent future disasters.”

Assistant Mayor for Civil Defence from Goražde Samira Drakovac, said: “By learning about contemporary methods to tackle disaster risk in the local context, we have gained practical know-how that is applicable in our daily work.”

Darija Šajin of the Aarhus Centre in Novi Sad, Serbia, noted that the opportunity to meet municipal experts at the course would pave the way for improved co-ordination in this field.

Her counterpart in Sarajevo, Sabina Jukan, highlighted the need to strengthen the role that media play in reporting about disasters.

This training course was organized as part of the OSCE Project on disaster risk reduction and security in the OSCE Area, supported by the Governments of Switzerland and Austria.