The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and the European Commission’s DG ECHO reaffirmed their partnership on coastal resilience during a bilateral meeting held alongside the final CoastWAVE 2.0 project event.
The discussion, led by Vidar Helgesen, IOC Executive Secretary and UNESCO Assistant Director – General, and Olimpia Imperiali, Project Officer at European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), focused on the contributions and impact of ongoing cooperation in strengthening tsunami early warning systems and community preparedness across the North-Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (NEAM).
DG ECHO underscored the success of the CoastWAVE initiative under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and in line with the Preparedness Union Strategy, which links regional warning systems to local action. Across its first two phases (2021–2026), the €2.4 million programme has:
Strengthened warning systems in 10 NEAM countries
Improved emergency planning, public awareness and response capacity
Delivered 14 UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready” recognitions to this end, contributing to a total of 21 by project completion in September 2026.
The project has also advanced the UN Ocean Decade’s Tsunami Programme by scaling community-based preparedness.
Looking ahead, both sides discussed CoastWAVE 3.0, if approved between 2027-2029, a proposed new phase aimed at expanding capacity in existing countries while launching activities in new ICG/NEAMTWS countries. The initiative will consider cases of all tsunami sources (seismic, volcanoes tsunamis etc.), integrate tsunami risks and impacts of people and coastal critical infrastructure and marine assets, including climate-driven sea-level rise, into national planning and early warning systems.
With coastal risks rising and warning times often limited, the partners emphasized the urgency of scaling solutions.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to deepen cooperation, positioning CoastWAVE as a leading model for multi-hazard, community-driven coastal resilience.
