Safe Village and Safe People
Safe Village and Safe People (Aldeia Segura Pessoas Seguras) are two programmes set up by Council of Ministers Resolution 157-A/2017 of 27 October, the goal of which is to protect people located in the urban/forest interface through the implementation and management of protection areas and safe havens in the clusters, as well as raising the population’s awareness to preventing risk behaviour and adopting self-protective measures and preparedness for wildfires, in order to strengthen their safety.
Safe Village (Aldeia Segura) is a programme to protect population clusters and protect the forests and sets structural measures to protect people and goods, as well as buildings on the urban/forest interface, through the implementation and management of protection zones for clusters and strategic infrastructure, identifying critical points and safe havens.
The Safe People (Pessoas Seguras) programme fosters awareness raising sessions to prevent risk behaviour, self-protective measures and carrying out evacuation drills, together with the municipalities.
Aim
The aim of these programmes is to protect the people located on the urban/forest interface through the implementation and management of protection zones and safe havens in clusters, as well as raising the population’s awareness of risk behaviour and the adoption of self-protective and preparedness measures concerning wildfires, in order to strengthen their safety.
Implementation
The implementation of the "Safe Village " and "Safe People" programmes falls under a protocol between the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), and the National Association of Parishes (ANAFRE). Under this protocol, implementation is done on two levels:
- Strategic level (falls under Central Administration through the ANEPC): drafting standards for the entire country, complemented with awareness-raising campaigns and national-scope warning systems
- Operational level (municipalities and parishes are charged with this)): enforcement on a local scale of the concrete protection and awareness-raising measures, making the most of being close to the citizens and the capacity for local agents to mobilize their communities, strengthening trust and encouraging the population’s participation.
Action is carried out on the following levels under this scope:
Protecting clusters – initiatives to manage protection areas for the clusters in urban/forest interfaces in order to reduce the possibility of buildings being affected by wildfires
Preventing risk behaviour – awareness-raising initiatives to reduce the number of ignitions caused by risk behaviour when using fire
Awareness-raising and warning the population – initiatives to raise awareness and inform the population of the risk of wildfires and the self-protective conduct to adopt in the event of being close to a wildfire
Evacuating clusters – initiatives to prepare and enforce a spontaneous or deliberate evacuation of a cluster if a wildfire is too close
Safe havens and shelters – initiatives to select and prepare venues or buildings in a certain cluster to operate as a shelter (closed) or safe haven (open air) during a wildfire in the cases where this option is either the most feasible or the only one possible.
Guide to assist the implementation of the Safe Village Safe People programme
The aim of this guide is to aid in the implementation on a local level of a series of activities that may be carried out for the protection and safety of people and their estate, if a wildfire is imminent or under way, complementing the national initiatives carried out by Government.