Disaster Management Workshop, Delhi, India Nov.,16 th – 17 th 2011 Presentation by Frank Schulze, federal spokesman of the THW volunteers

Disaster Management states Disaster Management in Germany Federal Government BBK Civil protection Administrative assistance Disaster Management

3 National Security Structure Civil Protection: BBK, Red Cross, Fire Brigades, etc. Police Secret Services Armed Forces Agencies and Organisations

Fed. Gov. states (district government) cities and county boroughs local / regional catastrophes and calamites national catastrophes, civil defence, administrative assistance within Germany and abroad BBK emergency medical services, fire protction, technical relief National Network of Relief Organisations

5 © Technisches Hilfswerk  Federal Agency for Technical Relief  Founded in 1950  Within the Federal Ministry of the Interior  Flexible mission components, transnational support systems, global networks THW: globally unique

6 © Technisches Hilfswerk  More than volunteers  Annual budget of 178 million EUR (2010) Voluntary Commitment  Just 800 full-time employees 99% sustained by volunteers

7 7 Volunteers & full time  Volunteers can be a full alternative to full time  Most effective is a split system:  Full staff administration in disaster ministries and agencies, professionals in command and control  Volunteers as a support system in operational units and on site command  Volunteers need clear defined missions. Discussions about responsibilities, restrictions, jurisdictions, boundaries, … will discourage them.

8 Duties:  Contractual basis for volunteers (~120 h/a) Contractual basis for volunteers (~120 h/a)  Responsibility & Reliability Responsibility & Reliability  Participation in Training & Exercises Participation in Training & Exercises  Participation in Operations Participation in Operations Advantages:  Good Reputation (private life & job) Good Reputation (private life & job)  Specific technical Knowledge to be used in private life & job Specific technical Knowledge to be used in private life & job  Social values & social Integration Social values & social Integration  A good way to spend free-time A good way to spend free-time Duties & advantages

9 Challenges for volunteers  Planned or unexpected operation: “GO!” anytime & anywhere  Radio alarm system, phone-call, messenger  A volunteer has 1 to 10 alarms per year  3 hrs to 30 days per mission  Employer’s reaction: mostly support, leadership training as advantage. Salary will be re- imbursed (by legislation)  Family’s reaction: mostly support, specific human & social competence

10 Limits of volunteers  Periods of operation: changing teams to recover (international missions)  Physical & mental limits  Limits of release by their employers

11  On recommendation by relatives, friends, schoolmates  Attracted by the public image  Get new target groups: i.e. women, foreigners  Include lifetime compatibility  Paperwork: More pepper – less paper  Challenge: be attractive! How to attract volunteers

12  Fascination to help as a well trained “specialist”  Wish to belong to specific social group with good reputation (THW-family)  Long term tradition in GER  Team work & comradeship  Humanitarian aspects  International missions Motivation for volunteers

Legal Mandate  disaster relief and civil protection  international relief missions for the Federal Government  domestic technical assistance after disasters and accidents as requested by fire department, police etc.

Headquarters (located in Bonn) 8 state-/ states- associations 2 logistics centres (located in Heiligenhaus and in Mainz) 2 training centres (located in Hoya and in Neuhausen ) 66 branch offices 668 local sections with 727 technical Platoons, 1,180 special Units and 1,437 rescue groups, 8,400 vehicles and special technical equipment Structure of THW

15.  Home base for volunteers Home base for volunteers  Rooms for training lessons Rooms for training lessons  Command centre Command centre  Garages for trucks and cars Garages for trucks and cars  Repair room for equipment Repair room for equipment  Storage for small equipment Storage for small equipment Local Section (example)

16 “Modular System“: local units  Deployed in every local section (668)  Basics of all THW units  Standardised all over Germany The technical platoon

17  Deployed in all 66 regional offices  Special units for tasks, e.g. Water Hazards, Search and Rescue, Electricity Supply, Debris Clearance “Modular system“: regional units

18  Deployed in all 8 state associations  For very special interventions in particular missions  E.g. Water Supply & Treatment, Bridge Construction 3 “Modular System“: supra-regional units 24 14

19 Rapid Development (International) SEEBASEEBA Rapid Deployment Unit Search and Rescue Abroad  SEEWA SEEWA Rapid Deployment Unit Water and Sanitation Abroad  SEELift SEELift Rapid Deployment Unit Airport Support

www.thw.de20 National interventions search and rescue Command and Control Debris Cleaning BlastingEmergency power supply Mobile high capacity pumps Repairs Combatting oil Pollution llumination Temporary bridges Catering Water purification

Mission Examples  Flooding in Southern France in 2003  Power cut due to heavy snow in Münsterland, Germany in 2005  Collapse of Cologne City archive in 2009  Wreckage on the Rhine in

National Cooperation Partners 22

23 International Networks, Partners, Cooperations: Implementing contract with UNHCR: Training of new members at THW school Neuhausen Cooperation with UNJLC (Logisticians for Crisis) Founding member of INSARAG (United Nations Search and Rescue Advisory Group) Cooperation contract with GIZ, former (German Technical Cooperation) Deployment of units and experts within the European Community Mechanism on Civil Protection Training for experts on behalf of the EU Long time partner of ECHO Training, experts and intervention modules for the European Community Mechanism on Civil Protection

24 Thank you für your attention! Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) Provinzialstr. 93  Bonn  Germany Tel: ( )