The first OIE regional workshop on the role of Veterinary Services on animal welfare in natural disasters for Balkan countries

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The first OIE regional workshop on the role of Veterinary Services on animal welfare in natural disasters for Balkan countries was held 26 – 28 November 2018  in Termo, Italy.

The workshop was attended by representatives from central and local Veterinary Services coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, as well as by representatives from civil protection services of the FYR of Macedonia and Romania. Prominent international speakers and animal welfare NGOs’ representatives also attended the meeting. The meeting provided an introduction to the necessary information to develop a Veterinary Services – Contingency Plan (VS-CP) with focus on animal welfare issues, via a series of technical lectures on:
(i) disaster management cycle;
(ii) risk analysis;
(iii) available IT tools;
(iv) communication strategy;
(v) public awareness;
(vi) planning and building capacity for response in emergencies.

A panel discussion was also organised to set out the roles and responsibilities of different actors in a flooding scenario and the importance of networking and collaboration for emergency preparedness and management. Working groups exercises ensured discussions on the identification of the main elements of a VS-CP in case of flooding.

Participants noted that contingency planning needs to be considered to improve animal welfare in disaster management. They agreed that several areas will need further reflexion, namely:
(i) coordination with civil protection services;
(ii) role and position within the system for all relevant actors, including veterinary services, farmers, business operators and other stakeholders;
(iii) education, training and simulation exercises;
(iv) communication strategies;
(v) possible agreements for mutual assistance with neighbouring countries.

As a follow up, the OIE Platform Secretariat in collaboration with IZSAM will conduct a survey on the present state of implementation of the OIE guidelines on disaster management and risk reduction related to animal health and welfare and veterinary public health. The participating countries committed to draft a VS-CP and to present it during the next meeting proposed for November 2019.

Agenda

List of participants

Meeting report

Workshop presentations:

Session 1 ‐ Introductory session- setting the scene

Training, communication and public awareness in disaster management – Barbara Alessandrini (IZSAM)

Session 2 – Understanding the countries’ situation  

Countries’ presentations on Veterinary Services preparedness for non-epidemic emergencies, natural disasters faced, main critical issues addressed, solutions adopted, lessons learned and challenges

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
FYR of Macedonia
Greece
Kosovo*
Montenegro
Romania
Serbia

Group activity (Opera method): lessons learnt and after-action review by the Balkan countries addressing animal welfare issues in natural disaster situations:
Introduction – Silvia D’Albenzio (IZSAM)
Results 

Session 3 – Flooding scenario

Managing animal welfare in flooding scenarios sharing country experience from Serbia –  Saša Ostojić  (Serbia)

Veterinary public health in floods – the Italian experience  –  Marco Leonardi (Civil Protection – Italy)

Disaster management cycle  – Matthew Price (APHA, UK)

Panel discussion: Roles and responsibilities of different actors in a flooding scenario
– Loïs Lelanchon (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
– Jackson Zee (Four Paws)
– Rossella Pedicone (UNAITALIA)

Specific aspect related to floods and potential cascading effects, focusing on cross-border dimension – Žaklin Acinger-Rogić (Croatia)

Group exercise: Elements to consider in the VS-CP’s  preparedness phase in regard to animla welafre in a flooding scenario – Results

Group exercise: Elements to consider in the VS-CP’s  response phase in regard to animla welafre in a flooding scenario – Results

Session 4 – Towards developing Veterinary Services Contingency Plan

OIE collaborative activities relating to emergency management  – Paolo Dalla Villa (IZSAM)

Conclusions and next steps – Fabien Schneegans (OIE)

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence