Dear DRMKC subscribers, 

Please take note of the short training course organized by DG ECHO on  “Economics for Prevention & Preparedness”. It is a follow up to the study done with the World Bank, a breakdown of the reports (Investment in DRM in Europe, Financial Risk and Opportunities to Build Resilience in Europe) into a digestible format, targeting DRM practitioners, from both EC and the Member States. Deadline for registering is 29 September. 

Please note that the correct email address for the registration is ECHO-B2-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu.

Training course: Economics for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness 

1-8-15 October 2021 (3 modules of 120 min each) 

Summer of 2021 saw floods devastating parts of Western Europe and fires ravaging Mediterranean countries causing human, environmental and economic losses that could make recovery from the COVID-19 crisis even harder. Between 1980 and 2020 disasters caused by natural hazards alone affected nearly 50 million people in the European Union. These resulted in an economic loss of on average, €12 billion per year. 

Under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the European Commission and the World Bank conducted the study “Economics for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness” to model the potential impact of floods and earthquakes on Europe's society and economy and quantify costs and benefits of investments in disaster resilience. The study calls for 'smart' disaster resilience investments, enhanced financial preparedness instruments and targeted capacity-building efforts. 

This series of 3 training modules (120 min each) will explore the analytical methods applied and provide a chance to hear from the experts involved in the study and to learn more about the findings through discussions and hands-on exercises. 

Please see details on how to register at the end of this notice.

Session 1: Friday 1 October 12:30-14:30 CET

Modelling disaster risks in Europe to understand the economics of disaster prevention and preparedness. 

The session provides an overview of natural hazard risks affecting the European Union and covers the fundamentals of disaster risk analysis before demonstrating EU-wide analysis of flood and earthquake risk in support of further economic analysis. There will be contributions from expert hazard and risk analysts from the World Bank, JRC, and other risk analytics partners. 

Session 2: Friday 8 October 12:30-14:30 CET

Financial risk and opportunities to build resilience in Europe: funding gaps and disaster risk financing instruments. 

The session offers expert insights into country-level and regional-scale analyses conducted for the EU, which underpinned estimation of macro-economic impacts and identification of disaster risk financing as an opportunity to reduce impacts of disasters on people, economies, and governments budgets. Hands-on exercises and presentations will elaborate the methods used in both the macro-economic analysis and the analysis of funding gaps in managing the fiscal impacts of disasters in the EU. 

Session 3: Friday 15 October 12:30-14:30 CET

Investing in disaster risk management in Europe makes economic sense: cost-benefit analysis of investments in disaster prevention and preparedness

The session presents different types of investments available for the management of multiple hazards and provides guidance in methods, opportunities and challenges of carrying out cost-benefit analyses. The approach is based on the World Bank's 'Triple Dividend of Resilience' Framework, which shows that, in addition to preventing human and economic losses during a disaster, DRM investments can actively contribute to wealth, wellbeing, profit, growth and sustainable development. 

How to register:

Please send an e-mail with your contact details to the DG ECHO B.2 Secretariat ECHO-B2-SECRETARIAT@ec.europa.eu. 

Deadline for registering is 29 September. You will then by e-mail receive three separate WebEx links, one for each session. lt is encouraged that participants attend all three sessions.