Between 18th and 25th May, a team of independent experts, sponsored by the European Commission, participates in a mission in Italy with the aim of supporting local authorities through a thematic review, conducted by peers. Focused on rural fire risk management in that country, it highlights the best practices and shares development recommendations in the face of identified challenges.
After the application process, Portugal is represented by expert João Carlos Verde, current deputy for integrated management policies at AGIF, selected by the European Commission. He is joined by Richard Marques, Subr-Regional Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection in the Algarve. This working group is also joined by experts from Spain, France, and the Czech Republic.
The Italian authorities have requested a peer review of the existing rural fire-risk management in the country, under the peer-review programme in the EU civil protection scheme, with particular attention to governance, prevention and stakeholder involvement, matters of which AGIF has been working on domestically and internationally.
In this context, the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations support both member states as well as those participating states under the EU civil protection scheme in order to review their policies and practices, taking advantage of the experience, strengths and challenges that other countries face, which makes it possible to share recommendations that increase the efficiency of already ongoing local initiatives.
The experts, who act independently, will have the opportunity to interact with relevant agents in the sector, and conduct a technical analysis that will contribute to the reduction of vulnerabilities and the definition of strategies. This analysis will be included in a report to be delivered to the Italian government, but which will also benefit other European countries.
This is the second time that ASIF has participated in this peer-review process, having participated in a similar review in Greece in January.
