Putting public and private entities in the Algarve to row «in the same direction» to reduce the risk of disasters and mitigate their consequences is the objective of the Regional Platform for the Reduction of the Risk of Catastrophes in the Algarve (PRRRC do Algarve), the first in gender in Portugal, which was officially created on the 19th of January, in Faro.
This platform, whose initial drivers were AMAL-Comunidade Intermunicipal do Algarve and the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), with the support of the Agency for Administrative Modernization, brings together 26 entities and aims to «be a forum for conversation, discussion and construction of innovative governance solutions», Pedro Chaves, AMAL's forestry technician, revealed to journalists on the sidelines of the signing of the platform's constitution memorandum.
It was this Intermunicipal Community staff who was given the task of boosting the Resilient Region project, which will end at the end of the month, with the launch of this platform. As António Pina, president of AMAL, illustrated, Pedro Chaves was «the cement that unites all the bricks that make up this platform».
This new structure will be responsible for creating governance models and solutions for common and regional problems in the area of Civil Protection and risk reduction.
«The purpose of the platform is to create working groups for problems that each one identifies, trying not to address very specific topics. We are going to try to create “deliverable” work products, to present them to Civil Protection, the Intermunicipal Council, the Intermunicipal Assembly and civil society», framed Pedro Chaves.
«That's why we involved such a wide range of partners. We also have representatives from the business community and academia here, through the University of Algarve, which is a very important partner. We have to involve these entities, to find out what are the problems they face”, he added.
Basically, it is about ensuring that «there is a convergence of solutions» for the same problem and that the prevention or reaction to a given catastrophe is uniform at regional level.
«In the specific case of earthquakes and tsunamis, which is a topic that concerns the mayors of the Algarve, each entity has (or should have) its own way of reacting. And what matters here is to try, in some way, to create inter-municipal operability between these entities and ensure that they all respond in the same direction», exemplifies the AMAL technician.
From here, solutions based on technology can emerge, «but always as a response to specific problems», but also responses of another nature.
Faced with a certain situation, platform members may come to the conclusion, for example, that “the best way to raise awareness of the population is to provide an application or create a platform, so that they always receive notifications on their cell phones. But we can also come to the conclusion that the most effective way of communicating is by putting up posters in the street».
In addition to AMAL and ANEPC, representatives of the 16 municipalities of the Algarve, the Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires (AGIF), Águas do Algarve (AdA), Associação de Turismo do Algarve (ATA), Associação de Turismo do Algarve (ATA), Associação of Algarve Hotels and Tourist Resorts (AHETA), Algarve University Hospital Center (CHUA), National Republican Guard (GNR), Safe Communities Portugal (SCP) and the University of Algarve (UAlg).
“This really is an important milestone for the region. The image of the Algarve is, once again, reinforced, because we continue to work to make it increasingly safer for our residents and visitors», considered António Pina.
«The importance of the work to be carried out in reducing the risk of catastrophes in the Algarve (in this specific case, fires, earthquakes and tsunamis) is undeniable and we, the 16 mayors and all these entities, are working in the same direction, that of making the Algarve in a Resilient Region", concludes the President of AMAL.
The Regional Platform for the Reduction of the Risk of Disasters in the Algarve (PRRRC do Algarve) is part of the Resilient Region 2.0 (RR2.0) project. A project that results from a partnership between AMAL, ANEPC (National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority) and LabX – Center for Innovation in the Public Sector of AMA (Agency for Administrative Modernization), whose protocol was signed in 2021.
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