DUSHANBE, February 21, 2012, Asia-Plus — On January 30, 2012, President Emomali Rahmon signed Decree № 44 of the Republic of Tajikistan, which establishes the framework and procedures upon which an interstate agreement will be signed between the Committee for Emergency Situations in Tajikistan (CES) and the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MoES) in Kyrgyzstan on future cooperation in the field of civil defense, emergency prevention and response, press release issued by the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan on February 20 said.
This governmental decree is a direct result of ACTED and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department’s (ECHO) joint efforts in working with MoES Kyrgyzstan and CES Tajikistan in the scope of the DIPECHO VI program. Funded by the European Union’s humanitarian arm, the various DIPECHO projects have, over the past decade, reinforced the disaster response and preparedness capacities of isolated communities and emergency response services in Central Asia. ACTED, as one of the implementing agencies involved in the DIPECHO projects, has been working for a number of years in the cross-border region between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in the Ferghana Valley.
An underlying aim of ACTED’s over the past years has been the strengthening of regional cooperation between CES Tajikistan and MoES Kyrgyzstan. During the last DIPECHO VI intervention, ACTED organized two working group discussions with representatives from the highest national and regional structures of CES and MoES to draft a final agreement on future cooperation in the field of DRR and disaster response between the two countries. It should also be noted that during the development of this agreement both countries held a joint Tajik-Kyrgyz simulation drill – organized by ACTED with ECHO’s support – in the cross border area between Sughd and Batken involving representatives of CES Sughd and MoES Batken.
The aforementioned interstate agreement includes the following cross border elements: monitoring of hazardous man-made and ecological processes and natural phenomena; notification on the status of critical infrastructure in the event of emergency situations, on-going monitoring of these situations and possible measures to be taken to eliminate them; sharing information on monitoring and forecasting of natural and man-made disasters; exchange of experience, joint training of people on how to act in emergency situations; organization and coordination of actions of relevant government agencies during emergency response; assessment of risk to both the environment and population in relation to possible contaminations due to industrial accidents and natural disasters; prevention and early warning of possible occurrence of potential natural disasters emanating from rivers; disaster prevention and response; joint planning, development and implementation of research projects, exchange of scientific and technical information and results of research; exchange of information, periodicals, methodology and other information, videos and photos; organization of joint conferences, seminars, workshops, drills and trainings; conduction of trainings on civil defense and emergency situations; and provision of mutual aid in the event of emergency situations, etc.
The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) is one of the world’s largest providers of funds for humanitarian aid operations. Through its disaster preparedness program (DIPECHO) it assists vulnerable people living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world in reducing the impact of natural disasters on their lives and livelihoods.
The projects funded by the program include simple and inexpensive preparatory measures, often implemented by the communities themselves. They have proven extremely effective in limiting damage and saving lives when hazards suddenly strike. DIPECHO projects will typically emphasize training, capacity-building, awareness-raising, establishment or improvement of local early-warning systems and contingency-planning.
ACTED is a French NGO founded in Afghanistan in 1993 and which extended its activities to Tajikistan in 1997 and to Kyrgyzstan in 1999. ACTED’s programs have been built up with a view to serving the most vulnerable, conflict-affected/conflict-prone or marginalized areas. ACTED’s strategy is to ensure maximum sustainability and impact through community-driven initiatives.
