NATO announces flood project for Ukraine (08/12/01)

NATO announces flood project for Ukraine

NATO

BRUSSELS - In recent years, floods, landslides and mudflows in the area of the Tysa River, Ukraine, have become increasingly serious. NATO is currently developing a pilot project on regional flood preparedness and response in Ukraine, together with the neighboring countries of the entire Tysa catchment area.

Calls for the development of a pilot project in the field of Civil Emergency Planning had been made at the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers on December 15, 1999, when the NATO-Ukraine Work Plan for the implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Charter in 2000 was approved.

The main aim of the project is the creation of an effective flood warning and response system in the Carpathian region which would guarantee the protection of the population from natural disasters.

The assessment phase, consisting of site selection and definition, the assessment of the regional capabilities, data evaluation and validation, and the development of the strategy and work plans is scheduled to begin in September. This phase will take approximately six to eight months. Experts will conduct interviews in the regional centers, tour facilities and review support documentation. Implementation of the entire pilot project will take 18 to 24 months.

Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States have placed experts on hydrography and hydrology at the disposal of the project. Financial resources totaling some $200,000 (U.S.) have been committed from the NATO budget and from donor countries that are members of NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in order to fund the assessment phase of the project. Cooperation and synergy with governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations involved in similar projects in the region is also envisaged.

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