The Municipalities of the Republic of North Macedonia take steps to enter the 2030s with greater resilience
To strengthen local preparedness and support cities in reducing risk and building resilience, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia expanded its cooperation in 2024 with three municipalities from the Republic of North Macedonia: Gazi Baba and Gjorce Petrov, part of capital city Skopje and the municipality of Ohrid.
This marks the first time that municipalities from the Republic of North Macedonia have joined the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative (MCR2030). The two capital city municipalities are in the central part of the country, while Ohrid is located on the border with the Republic of Albania, where part of the border is a lake. Ohrid, with its natural, cultural, spiritual and historical significance, is the most developed tourist and cultural center and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
MCR2030 workshop in the municipality of Gazi Baba
During June 2024, the UNDRR technically supported cities in conducting the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities. The results of the Scorecards will help establish a baseline measurement of overall resilience, increase awareness of resilience challenges, and facilitate discussions on investment priorities. After workshops in each municipality, where the team presented all relevant local services and filled out the Scorecards, a project report illustrating the level of municipal resilience was drafted. This should energize the development of local policies or standalone resilience strategies aligned with the Sendai Framework.
MCR2030 workshop in the municipality of Ohrid
This project report is the result of an analysis of the progress of cities and municipalities in the Republic of North Macedonia in the process of building disaster resilience. Its aim is to show the current levels of urban and municipal resilience through the analysis of the scheme that contains the "Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient," which were developed to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the local level. With this tool, UNDRR helps municipalities not only to see the level of resilience but also to assess gaps and, with recommendations, following each essential, to set up the disaster risk management system based on the latest international standards and practices.
The Republic of North Macedonia, at both the national and local levels, shows a strong dedication and willingness to strengthen disaster risk reduction policy. The well-established national disaster risk management system is expected to provide maximum support in the coming period to strengthen municipal capacities in accordance with the Sendai Framework.