1. Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)

1. Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)
1-1. History of the Establishment of ADRC
Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) opened its office in Kobe, Japan, on 30 July 1998.
The major steps leading up to formation of ADRC are described below.
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)At its 42nd General Assembly in December 1987, the United Nations designated the 1990s
as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), and adopted a resolution
aiming to sharply reduce the damage caused by natural disasters around the world, particularlyin developing countries, through joint international action.
World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction
In May 1994, the UN held the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction inYokohama, Japan, to conduct an interim review of the decade-long IDNDR initiative and topropose an action plan for the future. At the meeting, the “Yokohama Strategy for a Safer
World” was adopted, highlighting the importance of international cooperation in regions thatshare common types of disasters and disaster reduction measures. Disaster reduction activities
have since been promoted throughout the world based on this strategy.
Ministerial-level Asian Natural Disaster Reduction Conference
As the first step toward regional cooperation under the Yokohama Strategy, the IDNDRSecretariat organized a meeting in Kobe in December 1995 to formulate a policy on disaster
reduction cooperation in Asia. Cabinet members in charge of disaster reduction from 28
countries attended the meeting, which concluded with the adoption of the Kobe Disaster
Reduction Declaration. This declaration consists of ideas for promoting international
cooperation in disaster reduction, including a Japanese proposal to launch a feasibility study
on a system for coordinating disaster reduction efforts in the Asian region.
Asian Natural Disaster Reduction Experts Meeting
The government of Japan and the IDNDR Secretariat jointly organized an expert meeting inOctober 1996 to hash out how a central disaster reduction system, as stated in the Kobe
Disaster Reduction Declaration, might be created for the Asian region. The meeting wasattended by key personnel in the disaster reduction bureaus of 30 countries, and they agreed to
study the creation of the tentatively named “Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)” toserve as a secretariat for promoting activities under the proposed system.
Asian Disaster Reduction Cooperation Promotion Meeting
The government of Japan and the IDNDR Secretariat jointly organized a meeting in Tokyo11

in June 1997 to discuss activities to be undertaken by the proposed center for disaster
reduction system. Once again, key personnel from the disaster reduction bureaus of 23
countries attended the meeting, whose overall goal was to promote cooperation in disaster
reduction efforts through specific actions. A proposal was made at the meeting to establish acenter in Japan to serve as the secretariat for the proposed system.
Establishment of ADRC
With momentum gathering from this series of meetings, the government of Japan discussed
the organization, budget, and other aspects of the proposed office with the other countries
involved. With the cooperation of Hyogo Prefecture, ADRC was officially established in Kobe
on 30 July 1998.

1-2. Composition
ADRC was established in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, in 1998, with mission to enhancedisaster resilience of the member countries, to build safe communities, and to create a society
where sustainable development is possible. ADRC works to build disaster resilient
communities and to establish networks among countries through many programs includingpersonnel exchanges in this field.
The Center addresses this issue from a global perspective in cooperation with a variety ofUN agencies and international organizations/initiatives, such as the United Nations Office forDisaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific (UNESCAP).
At the outset, ADRC was comprised of 22 member countries, four advisor countries, and an
observer organization. Armenia joined later, in August 2000, followed by the Kyrgyz Republic
in July 2002, Pakistan in July 2005, and Yemen and Bhutan in December 2007, Azerbaijan in2009, the Maldives in 2010, the Republic of Iran in 2012, and Turkey in 2018 bringing thenumber of member countries to 31. In March 2004, the US joined as the fifth advisor country
to ADRC.
Reference: Corporate Status
20 years have passed since the establishment of ADRC in 2018. As its member countries
have increased from 22 to 31 countries, as well as ADRC and its activities have beenwell-acknowledged in the DRR field, ADRC has decided to be apart from the umbrella ofUrban Disaster Research Institute and reconfigure the domestic organizational structure. On
12 November 2019, ADRC was incorporated as Asian Disaster Reduction Center Foundation
and will further accelerate its activities from the fiscal year 2020.

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