STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF RESCUE SERVICES WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE EU

During the next two years, the rescue services from Sarajevo and Danilovgrad will receive support for the development of their capacities in order to respond to natural disasters as efficiently and quickly as possible. Bearing in mind the increase in threats from fires, earthquakes and floods, the European Union finances the project “Increasing resilience of communities for risk prevention and management – RESCOMM” in order to strengthen the capacities of rescue services in local communities in BiH and Montenegro.

The RESCOMM project will enable the adaptation of regional training centers for members of the rescue services in Sarajevo and Danilovgrad and create conditions for better connection and communication between them. As part of the project, personal and specialized equipment will be procured for members of the rescue services, which will increase their safety and efficiency in case of fire and earthquake. The Sarajevo Cantonal Administration of Civil Protection will receive a new specialized firefighting vehicle, and the 5 least developed protection and rescue services in Montenegro will receive appropriate professional equipment.

The RESCOMM project was presented today at a conference in Sarajevo, entitled “Risks from climate change and natural disasters in the cross-border area of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro”, which brought together a large number of experts in this field and representatives of rescue services from both countries. One of the leading topics was the issue of climate change, how it leads to an increase in natural disasters, what are the most effective ways to combat them and what we as ordinary citizens can do to mitigate their effects.

Darko Mrvaljević, President of the Project Management Board and Vice President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad, which is the leading partner in the project, expressed his satisfaction with the established high-quality cooperation between all partners and the fact that this kind of project is recognized by the European Union and supported for financing, because it was conceived in a way that it provides concrete benefits for citizens and will enable the services that deal with protection and rescue to be strengthened and equipped, and thus greater security of citizens, natural resources, infrastructure, economy and all important aspects of security in the cross-border area will be ensured.

Professional training for rescuers will also be held as part of the project, which will enable much faster and better service operations in the cross-border area in case of fire, earthquake and flood.

The European Union finances the RESCOMM project in the amount of 467,000 euros within the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro. The project is implemented by the Municipality of Danilovgrad, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro – Directorate for Protection and Rescue, the Sarajevo Cantonal Administration of Civil Protection and the Sarajevo Regional Development Agency SERDA.