The Education Center of the Cantonal Administration of Civil Protection of the Canton of Sarajevo – Stup was opened today in Sarajevo, which will be used for the education of local and other rescue teams in the field of protection and rescue in cases of natural and other disasters and emergency intervention situations.
The renovation of the Center was financed by the European Union through the project “Increasing the resilience of communities for risk prevention and management – RESCOMM”. The project supported the renovation of a total of three training centers for rescue services, two in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one in Montenegro, as well as the procurement of specialized rescue equipment, and a total of 80 members of the rescue services were trained in rapid water rescue – RESCUE 3 and providing first aid in outpatient conditions. A fire engine for forest fires was also acquired, and guidelines for joint interventions in the event of disasters caused by climate change were drawn up, which will improve cooperation and define operational procedures in the event of major disasters, with a focus on the risk of fire.
Gianluca Vannini, Head of the Department for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointed out that the European Union will continue to support activities aimed at building and preserving good-neighbourly relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and countries in the region, through cross-border cooperation projects, as well as activities aimed at preventing the negative consequences of natural and other disasters and saving human lives.
Dženan Brkanić, director of the Cantonal Administration of Civil Protection of Sarajevo Canton, especially emphasized the importance of strengthening the capacity of rescue services through constant training in accordance with the norms of the European Union, considering that Bosnia and Herzegovina recently joined the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union. In this context, the funds of the European Union are particularly important.
The “RESCOMM” project is implemented within the framework of the IPA Program for cross-border cooperation Montenegro – Bosnia and Herzegovina and lasts until the end of July 2024. Project is implemented by the Cantonal Civil Protection Administration of the Sarajevo Canton and the Sarajevo Regional Development Agency SERDA, in partnership with the Municipality of Danilovgrad and the Ministry of Internal Affairs – Directorate for Protection and Rescue of Montenegro.
The total value of the project is 557,900 euros. The European Union provided 467,000 euros in grants, while the rest is co-financed by the project partners. The goal of the project is to improve prevention and risk management and mitigation/adaptation to climate change in the cross-border area of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the specific goal of the project, i.e. strengthening the capacity of rescue services in prevention, preparedness and response in emergency situations caused by climate change.