ASIAN DISASTER REDUCTION CENTER

Asian Disaster Reduction Center

Established in 1998, the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) is a regional initiative aimed at enhancing
disaster resilience, building safer communities, and creating a society where sustainable development is
attainable among its 31-member countries (Annex 1: History of Establishment of ADRC).

1.1

Key Activities

ADRC activities, as reported in its Annual Report, are focused on three pillars:·Information sharing. This includes the ADRC website, GLobal unique disaster IDEntifier (GLIDE)
number system, Sentinel Asia, and Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR).

·Human resource development. This includes the Visiting Researchers (VR) Programmes as well as
seminars, workshops, and training on disaster risk reduction.

·Cooperation among member countries and partner organizations. This includes development andpromotion of innovative tools as well as forging partnerships and networks to advance community
resilience to disasters.

After 21 years of functioning as part of the Urban Disaster Research Institute (UDRI), ADRC became
independent and obtained a corporate status in April 2020 following the launching of ADRC Foundation.
Under this newly reconfigured status, ADRC gained greater flexibility in performing its international
operations as well as bolstering its domestic activities.

1.2

Composition

ADRC is composed of member and advisor countries (Figure 1.1 Map of member and advisor countries) as
well as partner organizations.

Figure 1.1 Map of member and advisor countries

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Section 1

1.

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1.2.1

Member and Advisor Countries

Section 1

During its establishment, ADRC was comprised of 22-member countries, 4-advisor countries, and 1-observerorganization. Gradually, the membership expanded with Armenia joining in August 2000, the Kyrgyz
Republic in July 2002, Pakistan in July 2005, Yemen and Bhutan in December 2007, Azerbaijan in 2009, theMaldives in 2010, the Republic of Iran in 2012, and Turkey in 2018 bringing the number of member countries
to 31. In March 2004, the US joined as the fifth advisor country to ADRC (Table 1.1 Member and AdvisorCountries).
Table 1.1 Member and Advisor Countries

1998(At the time offoundation)

India, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Singapore, Sri Lanka,Thailand, Republic of Korea, Tajikistan, China, Japan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea,
Bangladesh, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Laos andRussia (Member countries: 22)
Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand and France (Advisor countries: 4)
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (Observer)

2000

Armenia

2002

Kyrgyz Republic

2004

USA (Advisor country)

2005

Pakistan

2007

Bhutan, Yemen

2009

Azerbaijan

2010

Maldives

2012

Islamic Republic of Iran2018

TurkeyADRC’s counterparts are the disaster risk management (DRM) agencies (Table 1.2 ).

Table 1.2 Counterpart Agencies

Country

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Counterpart

Armenia

Regional Survey for Seismic Protection (RSSP), Ministry of Emergency
Situations

Azerbaijan

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Bangladesh

Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief

BhutanMinistry of Home & Cultural Affairs

Cambodia

The National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM)

China

National Disaster Reduction Center of China

India

Ministry of Home Affairs

Indonesia

National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB)ASIAN DISASTER REDUCTION CENTER

Section 1

CountryCounterpart

IranNational Disaster Management Organization (NDMO)

Japan

Cabinet Office

Kazakhstan

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Republic of Korea

Ministry of the Interior and Safety

Kyrgyz Republic

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Lao PDR

National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Ministry of Labour and SocialWelfare

Malaysia

National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA)

Maldives

National Disaster Management Authority

Mongolia

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

MyanmarMinistry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement

Nepal

Ministry of Home Affairs

Pakistan

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

Papua New Guinea

Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs

Philippines

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)

RussiaMinistry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies andElimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM)

SingaporeSingapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

Sri Lanka

Disaster Management Centre, Ministry of Defence

Tajikistan

Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense

Thailand

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Ministry of Interior

TurkeyDisaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), Ministry of Interior

Uzbekistan

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Viet Nam

Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD)

Yemen

Ministry of Water & Environment

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1.2.2

Partner Organizations

Section 1

To contribute to the efforts of disaster risk reduction in Asia, ADRC considers a global perspective incooperation with a variety of UN agencies and international organizations/initiatives, such as the United
Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

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