On November 15 2000, the Director-General of the Research DG Mr. A. Mitsos, together with the US Ambassador to the EU, Mr. R. Morningstar opened a workshop in Brussels on EU-MEDIN - the EU Mediterranean Disaster Information Network. EU-MEDIN represents the European contribution to GDIN (Global Disaster Information Network), which is one of the initiatives supported by the US State Department to foster rapid and improved emergency assistance in the event of natural and technological disasters. This event followed the GDIN2000 conference in Ankara, where the European Commission was asked to explore the possibility of setting up a disaster information network for the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The workshop brought together over 50 experts in the fields of natural and technological disasters from the EU and abroad, consisting of researchers, civil protection authorities and industry representatives. This event also acted to reinforce co-operation with the US and the global disaster community in the context of the EU/US Science and Technology Agreement.

Natural and industrial hazards are increasing in Europe, as elsewhere. Due to the changing climate and rising population densities, the frequency and magnitude of hazards are becoming increasingly difficult to predict. Disasters cause destruction to life, property and the environment. The recent floods and mudflows in Italy and Switzerland, for instance, have brought about enormous damage. Forest fires are a frequent phenomenon particularly in the Mediterranean area. A year ago, a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Greece. As hazards are on the increase, it is vital to promote concerted efforts between the scientific community, civil protection authorities and the public at large, in order to better prevent and manage such incidents.

The EU-MEDIN workshop had the aim of identifying the contribution of European research within the framework of MEDIN; improving co-ordination between the different EU projects to promote thematic networks; reviewing the state of the art in the field of natural and technological disasters in Europe and the US; and agreeing on facilitating the exchange, sharing and dissemination of accurate, timely regional disaster information and data.

The EU has supported research in natural hazards since 1986 with the overall objective of unravelling and understanding processes, comprehensive risk assessment, forecasting and risk management and mitigation. At present, there are over 80 research projects supported by the EU, with an overall budget of around 55 M euros. Some highlights of recent results from research projects were presented during the course of the meeting. In general, many of these results reflected scientific accomplishments and significant improvement in our knowledge of natural and industrial hazards.

Research advances have been made in the areas of earthquakes, forest fires, landslides, floods, volcanic hazards, avalanches and technological hazards. Particularly noteworthy is the development of improved models and technologies for hazard forecasting, risk assessment and mitigation. The fight against natural and technological hazards is a priority area in the Fifth Framework Programme via the “generic activities” of the Environment and Sustainable Development Programme.

Over the years European research has become increasingly applied and end-user driven and this has brought about important achievements for which Europe is internationally respected. These research efforts have significantly contributed to the definition of EU policies on environment and civil protection. This event represents an important step in shaping future research orientations related to hazards.

The Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development of the European Union is being profoundly revised in its objectives and implementation to bring about the realisation of a true European Research Area (ERA). This objective may be achieved via improved co-ordination on the European level particularly for the Mediterranean region. A good example of such co-ordination is the existing research co-operation on natural and technological hazards.

It was the first time such a meeting was organised, bringing together all relevant risk areas in all European countries. On the first day, keynote lectures covering the full range of hazards were provided. On the second day, parallel scientific sessions were held, with round table discussions in all areas. The third day concluded the round table discussions and led to the preparation of the EU-MEDIN Declaration.

The outcome of the workshop included the EU-MEDIN Declaration paper; a proposal by the American delegation to hold the next GDIN-International conference (in 2002) in a European Mediterranean country in 2002; the decision to appoint an EU representative to the GDIN-International Steering Committee; and the publication of the workshop proceedings.

The lengthy discussions during the workshop highlighted the agreement that natural and technological hazards share numerous similarities in terms of problem-solving, risk assessment, modelling, mitigation, disaster planning and management; and that they should also be studied in a more integrated fashion. In addition, natural hazards seem to be linked to climate variations and effects of global change, which appear to increase their magnitude, frequency, spatio-temporal dimension and impacts.

The EU-MEDIN Declaration served as the EC’s contribution to the EU-US Summit, Washington DC, 18th December 2000. Subsequently, an EU-MEDIN Steering Group was constituted to carry forward the tasks required to honour the Declaration.

Read the Declaration