Lithuania: Capabilities, Organisations, Policies, and Legislation in crisis management and disaster response

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Abstract:

As in the other Baltic Region States the organisational structure is centralised, i.e. coordinated and mostly organised by the central national civil protection authority, as is the case with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Additionally, the use of private rescue services is low in the Baltic Countries.

The National Security Strategy establishes the basic goals and means of the national security policy. The aim of the Lithuanian National Security Strategy is to provide a vision of the state’s development, its national interests and the necessary actions for their implementation.

The civil security system and the civil protection system of Lithuania is comprised by the Government, the state and municipal institutions, economic entities, public organisations, civil protection forces such as fire and rescue, police, state border guard, medical services, public security service, state food and agriculture service, other emergency services, forces of economic entities, volunteers, the emergency commissions and emergency operation centres.

The management of civil protection in Lithuania is organised in three levels - national, regional (county) and local (municipal). At national level, the Government, the Government Emergency Commission, the Emergency Management Centre, the Ministry of National Defence, the Civil Protection Department, the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service, Ministries, and other public authorities are the main stakeholders entitled to make strategic decisions on the implementation of civil protection measures.

At county level, administrations of county governors, county civil protection departments, and county emergency management centres are responsible for organising and ensuring preparedness for emergencies as well as for assisting when necessary in their relief.

At municipal level, mayors of municipalities, civil protection departments, civil protection personnel, municipal emergency management centres, fire protection, search and rescue services, warning and information, evacuation, civil protection services and economic entities are responsible for organising preparedness for emergency situations and when required mitigate their effect.

International cooperation in Lithuania in the field of crisis management is coordinated by the Fire and Rescue Department, which is subordinated to the Ministry of Interior. Individual ministries and other state civil security institutions also participate in international civil protection activities.

Crisis management institutions part of the civil protection and rescue system, Training Centre, other educational institutions of civil protection as well as the forces of the civil protection and rescue system are financed by the state budget, while the economic entities are financed from their own resources.

The systems for training in the field of civil protection are quite different in the Baltic region, however they share some basic features. Education in civil protection and rescue has a legal foundation in all of the Baltic Region countries. Basic and advanced education at the national level is standardised through the use of certificates, as well as the development of educational and training curricula. All of the Baltic region states have specialised schools and colleges which carry out education in civil protection and rescue area.