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UN recognizes Matosinhos as a pioneer in natural disaster reduction

According to the UN, Matosinhos is the first city in Portugal to receive the title of Resilience Center in Europe



The city of Matosinhos, in northern Portugal, has just been recognized by the United Nations for its pioneering strategies to reduce forest fires.

The announcement came during a meeting of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bali, Indonesia.

At the event, the province of Potenza, in Italy, received the title of “Center of Resilience in Europe”. The special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, said that “the efforts of Matosinhos and Potezan are an inspiration.”

For her, “world leaders should rethink the way they prevent and manage natural disasters and need to recognize that reducing risk is an investment, not a cost”.

The Mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro, said that she believed in the “power of positive support and in valuing prevention, self-protection and the resilience of the population.”

According to the UN, Matosinhos is the first city in Portugal to receive the title of Resilience Center in Europe and the recognition comes from the various local initiatives to minimize the severity of natural disasters.

The 10-year “Zero Fires” strategy, for example, has paid off: Matosinhos recorded 24 forest fires last year, compared to 108 in 2015.

The Portuguese city also carried out more than 3,000 awareness campaigns with communities between 2009 and 2019. Last year, the municipality launched the «Matosinhos Casa Segura» initiative, where people can learn, through simulations, how to deal with risks of fire in daily routines.

The municipality is also in the initial phase of collaboration and exchange of experiences with cities in Brazil and also with Dili, capital of Timor-Leste.

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