Vitebsk regional department of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus (Vitebsk Oblast)

Daugavpils City Municipality (Latgale Region)

State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia (Riga city)

Orsha District Executive Committee (Vitebsk Oblast)

Project Description

Every year the border regions of Latvia suffer from extreme weather conditions and natural disasters caused by climate change and resulting in threats to the safety, comfort, health and life of local residents, as well as significant economic damage. To solve this cross-border problem, the proposed project aims to contribute to better preparedness for natural disasters of emergency and rescue services (ERS) and local authorities in the border regions of Latvia (Daugavpils municipality in Latvia), and their increased cooperation in the area of climate adaptation.

The project will address the common problem on several levels. First, it will help local authorities to bring together all local stakeholders and commonly develop and adopt a local climate adaptation strategy as part of their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans. Second, it will build capacities of local ERS: train them, provide them with necessary equipment and engage them in joint activities, so that they are better prepared to respond to cross-border natural disasters and extreme weather conditions. Third, the project will hold a wide information and communication campaign in order to raise awareness of local residents on how to behave in cases of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters.