Montenegro’s revision of the National DRR strategy strengthened through a UNDRR expert-reviewed assessment exercise
As part of its support to the Government of Montenegro, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Europe and Central Asia ran an expert-reviewed assessment of the zero-draft National DRR Strategy of Montenegro 2025-2030.
This exercise was launched in April 2024 at the request of the Sendai Framework National Focal Point team in Montenegro, with the aim of providing an expert analysis and set of observations in the initial drafting phase of the national strategy revision process. The UNDRR-led assessment support resulted in a set of observations and recommendations, drawn from the expert assessment exercise, shared both online and at the national strategy workshop meeting, held in Podgorica on 27 June 2024. This assessment complements the efforts driven by the Government of Montenegro in collaboration with the European Commission through technical support provided through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
The expert-reviewed assessment followed the UNDRR methodology for the assessment of national DRR strategies, based on the recommendations of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 as well as the core requirements laid out in the UNDRR publication "Words into Action guide on Developing National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies". To support the Montenegrin strategy revision process, a team of 11 international experts were convened by UNDRR, representing various National Sendai Focal Points from across the region, members of the European Science and Technology Advisory Group, Resilience Hubs of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 Initiative, as well as representatives of UN agencies in the region.
While the assessment undertaken was based on a zero-draft version of the national strategy document, a version which has evolved throughout the continuous drafting process, a number of observations raised by the experts provided valuable initial feedback confirming the orientations of the drafting process and pointing to a number of areas on which further emphasis may be placed.
Overall, the experts congratulated Montenegro for the demonstrated commitment to strengthening national and local DRR policies and capacities and for seeking out the views of a wide range of stakeholders in developing the 2025-2030 DRR Strategy and updated Action Plan. Montenegro was also praised for its effort in conducting a national risk assessment exercise on which the document is based and which is essential to ensure evidence-based decision-making, as well as the strong structure of the proposed draft. Observations were made on the need to integrate different stakeholder groups in the strategy implementation process, a need for focus on systemic nature of risk, as well as a need to set clear mandates for the National Platform for DRR and the importance of addressing disaster risk financing priorities in Montenegro.
The results were presented by UNDRR in Podgorica on 27 June, laying the ground for continued collaboration in supporting the final stages of the revision process, including through the possibility of a complementary second review in the final stages of the Strategy development exercise, as well as its implementation ahead.
This exercise accompanies a broader process at regional level, through which Montenegro will host the next Regional Platform for DRR, in November 2024 in Budva - more information here: About EFDRR | EFDRR (undrr.org).