Interregional commission "Risks prevention"
“Day after day we improve our
techniques to know when and how a disaster will occur even
if there are still some weak points such as the prediction
of earthquakes. However, informing or knowing that the
disaster is going to happen does not prevent it from
happening. It enables the decision makes to take some
disposals and save thus numerous lives.
What about the urban heritage? It is stuck, it cannot move
of find a shelter and it is often very vulnerable. The
urban heritage enhancement is threatened if we do not take
into account those risks that we sometime name “major
risks” and which threaten the sustainable development of
our cities. Our will is that local authorities and people
in charge of the management of our cities become aware of
the risks to which they are exposed and commit with the
local stakeholders in an approach aiming at reducing the
vulnerability of the heritage and reinforcing their
capacity to react in case of disaster
(…)
M. Jacques Fayes, head of the information office and of the
inter-ministry coordination in the French ministry for
Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Territory
Planning (M.E.E.D.D.A.T.), Paris,
France.
The members of the Alliance of European
Cultural Cities (A.V.E.C.) are starting this year a
cooperation work with the French ministry for Ecology,
Energy, Sustainable Development and Territory Planning
(M.E.E.D.D.A.T.) and the group AFAQ-AFNOR around the issue
of risks prevention.
The following projects
will be set up within 5 years:
1° A réflexion work within the
Alliance of European Cultural Cities (A.V.E.C.) with 2 main
themes :
The QUALICITIES®’ referent document contains the various criteria to be respected in order to be awarded by the A.V.E.C. It was designed within the framework of a European project co-financed by the EU (Programme INTERREG IIIC).
2° The setting up of a summer course dealing with the issue of natural risk prevention in the A.V.E.C. cities for students of the Master courses designed within the framework of the EU project “Magisthere” (Programme Leonardo). The interregional commission “create awareness towards heritage” animated by Rennes Metropolitan District will dal with this project.
3° A common work on the memory of natural disasters / events in the historic cities of the A.V.E.C.
4° A work to increase awareness of the Mayors in Europe regarding the prevention of risks and the responsibility of information of the citizens as far as their city and heritage is concerned.
A mayors’ day could be organized to inform them.
5° A reflexion work to inscribe the question of prevention of risks in the master plans of the historic areas of the cities.
