Photo: Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap (MSB)

Extreme weather events and natural disasters, such as heavy rainfall, floods, volcanic eruptions, snowstorms and landslides, can disrupt supply chains and cause significant damage to infrastructure, homes and livelihoods. Such phenomena are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, increased political instability and the rise in hybrid threats, heightening the risks of blockages to energy, gas and trade flows. Additionally, tensions within the Nordic Region arise from competing political goals, such as the push for a green transition and greater self-sufficiency, which can lead to conflicts over land, water and other resources. 

In this evolving risk landscape, a resilient society capable of withstanding and managing both environmental disasters and human-made crises is essential. Regions and municipalities play a key role in building resilience and supporting civil preparedness by fostering cooperative capacities, developing innovative solutions for sustainable transitions and ensuring access to food, raw materials, energy and essential services in both times of peace and during crises.

This report forms part of a Nordic project aimed at exploring how regional policy can contribute to enhancing civil preparedness and resilience in Nordic rural areas during times of crisis. For the purposes of this study, civil preparedness is defined through the following key aspects:

In addition to this policy brief, a digital collection of local and regional examples of civil preparedness has been developed within the scope of this project. For further details on EU regional policy, the common Nordic regional policy and the individual regional policies of the Nordic countries – along with an examination of how civil preparedness is addressed within regional policies of the Nordic countries and regional outlooks for each country – a set of digital fact sheets has also been produced during the project.

The Robust Regional Civil Preparedness project was conducted by Nordregio between March and October 2024. The study is based on document reviews, semi-structured interviews, digital information searches and text analysis.

A working group with broad-ranging linguistic skills was a key in interpreting concepts such as "regional policy", "civil preparedness" and "crisis preparedness", as the definitions and use of the terms vary across the Nordic countries and autonomous territories.

Case studies were conducted in eight rural regions, municipalities and autonomous territories: North Jutland Region (Denmark), Kymenlaakso (Finland), Faroe Islands, Greenland, Múlaþing Municipality (Iceland), Rogaland County (Norway), Jämtland Härjedalen Region (Sweden), and Åland.

Textual analysis was applied to the findings from national regional policy documents and the case studies, including document reviews and interviews with key informants. The aim was to identify strengths and weaknesses from current examples of crisis preparedness at the sub-national level, as well as to determine how state, regional and municipal policies can support civil preparedness and resilience.