Improving prevention, preparedness and response to chemical and natural disasters simultaneously affecting the participating countries, through a series of exercises, to test and enhance national capacities, use of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, and international cooperation.

ended

EU-CHEM-REACT 2 addresses need to improve prevention, preparedness and response to chemical and natural disasters simultaneously affecting participating countries, through a series of exercises, to test and enhance national capacities, use of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), and international cooperation. An international multi-stakeholder consortium representing governments, industry, civil society, including voluntary fire services and academia, from Belarus, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine, and international agencies, including UN OCHA and OPCW, will conduct a series of exercises, in a block approach: Table Top Exercise (TTX), Command Post Exercise (CPX) and Field Exercise (FX), Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, accompanied by UCPM activation, use of EU tools and relevant national and international capacities. Scenario responds to increasing complexity of real-life man-made and natural disasters. The project builds on and further develops the EU-CHEM-REACT exercises project, financed through EU Grant, on a response to a major chemical incident in Ukraine and activation of the UCPM. The project objectives include improving national, cross-sectoral and trans-government policies for emergency response mechanisms, testing and promoting the UCPM, EU tools and international response capacities. Expected results include improvement of the speed of response in civil protection assistance interventions, strengthening multi-stakeholder national and international cooperation in civil protection, enhancing knowledge, use and coordination of national civil protection with the UCPM and use of EU tools. The deliverables include a technical report and lessons learned, designated webpage (in English and Russian), development of Civil Protection Exercises Public Information Strategy, establishment of a regional exercise network in civil protection, and publication of a civil protection and UCPM exercises handbook for students.