The European Union Civil Protection Network supports ESCIP: a project coordinated by ISPRA to improve the management of environmental emergencies.
The Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISSA) is coordinating the new ESCIP project – Environmental technical-scientific Support to Civil Protection Bodies for inland Natural Disasters prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The project is promoted within the IMPEL Network (European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law - impel.eu) for the years 2025-2027 and is supported by the European Union through the Civil Protection Knowledge Network (UCPKN), the platform launched in 2021 to network and connect disaster management professionals, researchers, and policymakers, promoting the sharing of knowledge and best practices among the 35 member states and participants of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The IMPEL Network's ESCIProject initiative aims to strengthen collaboration between environmental and civil protection authorities in the management of terrestrial natural disasters—such as floods, forest fires, landslides, droughts, or earthquakes—by promoting an integrated approach to prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.
In its first year of operation, the ESCIP project launched a European survey to gather information on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and critical issues (SWOT analysis) of public organizations operating in the field of environmental emergencies, particularly those related to catastrophic natural events. The objective is to identify best practices, technical reference materials, training needs, and recommendations to improve the response capacity of national systems.
ISPRA invites all authorities, institutions, organizations, and stakeholders—including civil protection agencies, environmental authorities, NGOs, research centers, and industry operators—to participate in the ESCIP questionnaire, thus contributing to the construction of a shared knowledge framework and strengthening European cooperation on environmental emergencies.
The survey results will be incorporated into the ESCIP 2025 Report, which will provide an overview of the operational capabilities and development needs of environmental management systems in the event of a natural disaster.