The Declaration was adopted at the conference “Competences and Preparedness of Local Authorities from SEE for Risk Prevention and Crisis Management”, organized at the Annual Forum of Local Authorities of South East Europe, from 16-19 May 2015 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The conference gathered over 400 Mayors, representatives of national institutions, local governments, local government associations and donors to discuss the challenges local governments phased during the crisis, lessons learned and actions undertaken to improve risk prevention and crisis management.

The Declaration calls all relevant institutions to work together in risk prevention and crisis management, by: recognizing that disaster prevention policies are the most effective tool to achieve resilience; jointly elaborating and adopting risk reduction strategies; recognizing the importance of the regional and sub-regional inter-action and solidarity; acknowledging the importance of organized volunteer movement for providing immediate assistance.

Plovdiv 2015 Declaration