Finland peer review report 2013 - Building resilience to disasters: implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015)

This report presents the second peer review undertaken by Finland to assess progress in the implementation at national level of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (HFA). It aims to: 1) establish state-of-the-art approaches to each of the HFA Priorities for Action; 2) identify good practices and shortcomings/areas needing improvement; and 3) develop recommendations to achieve further progress. It identifies good practices and areas for improvement and proposes a series of recommendations across the five HFA priorities.

The peer review process, a governance tool, takes advantage of a policy exchange among peers to facilitate the exchange of best practices, examining the performance of the ‘reviewed country’ in disaster risk management policy. It helps to strengthen mutual understanding and trust in the results, based on exchange of experiences and non-binding recommendations aimed at policy improvement.

Finland volunteered to be the second country to undertake such a peer review, with the overall objectives to: (i) enhance the effective implementation of and reporting on the HFA, contributing to improved policy-making on disaster risk reduction through external assessment and mutual learning; (ii) increase the consistency between the national disaster risk reduction policies and stimulate transferability of good and innovative practices; (iii) contribute to developing and implementing EU policy initiatives in disaster risk management in EU Member States as well as in neighbouring countries; (iv) encourage awareness-raising through broad involvement of stakeholders in the review process and wide dissemination of the results; and (v) foster policy dialogue in Europe and enhance regional cooperation between countries exposed to common hazards and risks.

This review is undertaken within EU cooperation in disaster risk management, which provides a framework for cooperation and mutual learning between Member States in the field of disaster risk management and civil protection.