The National Strategy for Preventive Civil Protection 2030, approved by Council of Ministers Resolution 112/2021 of 11 August, is an instrument to guide the State’s central and local administration by setting goals, operational areas and action to be undertaken with the engagement of strategic national sectors with a view to mitigating the vulnerabilities in Portugal.

It falls within an international context framed in three global strategies relevant to risk management, adopted in 2015:

- Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030)

- Paris Agreement on climate change

- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Strategy contains five strategic goals aligned with the Sendai Framework priorities:

- Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk

- Understanding disaster risk

- Setting strategies for disaster risk reduction

- Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response

- Engaging citizens in risk understanding. 

The Strategy intends to, by 2030, prevent new disaster risks and reduce existing ones, implement integrated and inclusive measures to prevent ad reduce the exposure to hazards and disaster vulnerability, increase the level of preparedness for response and recovery and reinforce resilience.

Risk management was traditionally based on responding to disasters, but, in line with the international framework in force, we have been witnessing a progressive shift in the paradigm of managing the consequences to manage the risks. 

The Strategy fosters cooperation between the bodies with competences in disaster risk reduction, as well as capacity building of the various players in the Civil Protection System for the implementation and proper enforcement of the instruments that enable disaster risk integrated management.
This articulation takes on special relevance at the municipal level due to close proximity to the population and effective understanding of the territory and its vulnerabilities. The success of this intended paradigm shift lies also in each of us citizens.