1.1. Preventing and mitigating the consequences of natural and man-made disasters in the cross-border area

The project aims at increasing the capacity of specialized institutions for reaction in case of forest fires and for prevention against forest fires and other disasters in the cross-border area Bulgaria - Turkey. For the needs of the project, specialized equipment for forest fires will be delivered - three vehicles plus personal equipment for the Bulgarian partner and one vehicle for the Turkish partner. The project envisages establishing study rooms in the buildings of the partners for training of children for reaction in cases of forest fires and other disasters.

For this purpose there will be elaborated training materials and a Guide on fire safety and civil protection with common preventive methods. Training materials will be targeted at the young people in the cross-border region. Field exercises and demonstrations of the new equipment will be conducted with participation of children which have successfully passed the training.

As a result of the project the capacity of the responsible institutions from both countries for effective intervention and managing forest fires will be improved and the awareness of young people to the consequences of natural disasters will be raised. Suppied specialized equipment will limit the damages from fires and will contribute to nature protection in the cross-border region.

Project status: Finished

The project partners have implemented the activities according to the schedule.

As it is known forest fires are rarely limited to the territory of one district or region. The forest fires cause serious ecologic, social and economic problems. The constant climate change, global warming and human activities increase the risk of forest fires which decreases the forestation and increases the pollution of the environment. The fires affect the protected areas - homes of rare animals and plants. This causes serious damages to the flora and the fauna. The question which arises is how fire services in the cross border region can meet the needs for information exchange about the possible risks, for transnational intervention and assistance and common activities for prevention. This has been the purpose of the project. The training activities in the field of prevention and mitigation of the consequences are targeted to the young people in the cross border area. We elaborated a Guide on Fire Safety and Civil Protection describing joint methods to prepare the youths for proper reaction in case of various disasters. The Guide includes prevention measures, activities for self-protection, for mitigation of the consequences of all types of disasters that can occur in the cross border area. As a result, 200 children from Bulgaria and Turkey participated in trainings for increasing their abilities in self- protection, prevention and reaction in case of forest fires and other disasters.

Besides,  the new equipment  supplied under the project (three specialized vehicles for forest fires, 36 pcs. of personal equipment for forest fires and one firefighting vehicle) ensure faster and more effective approach in extinguishing the forest fires in the cross-border area.

Project activities increased the cross-border cooperation between the Regional Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection and Edirne Municipality in the field of forest fires. The partners achieved two main goals: The first - young people in the cross-border region trained in prevention and safety by using common methods against forest fires. The second goal - the responsible institutions in the cross- border region with increased readiness for reaction in case of forest fires and for fast mitigation of the damages.

Project materials:

Project promotional materials are available HERE.

Project Flyer (Bulgarian version) is available HERE.

Project Flyer (Turkish version) is available HERE.

Project products:

Guide on fire safety and civil protection (Bulgarian version) is available HERE.

Guide on fire safety and civil protection (Turkish version) is available HERE.

Presentation for the Training of children: “Forest fires and disasters” (in Bulgarian language) is available HERE.

Presentation for the Training of children: “Reaction in case of forest fires and other disasters and first aid” (in Bulgarian language) is available HERE.