ASIAN DISASTER REDUCTION CENTER

Section 1

1.

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 has three pillars of activities to achieve its goals and objectives:
Information sharing. This includes the ADRC website, GLobal unique disaster
IDEntifier (GLIDE) number system, Sentinel Asia, and Asian Disaster Reduction
Conference (ACDR).

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

Cooperation among member countries and partner organizations. This includes
development and promotion of innovative tools as well as forging partnerships andnetworks to advance community resilience to disasters.

After 21 years of functioning as part of the Urban Disaster Research Institute (URDI),
ADRC became independent and obtained a corporate status in April 2020 following thelaunching of the 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 andadvisor countries) as well as partner organizations.

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Section 1

Figure 1.1. Map of Member and Advisor Countries

1.2.1. Member and Advisor Countries
At the outset, ADRC was comprised of 22-member countries, 4-advisor countries, and 1observer organization. Gradually, the membership expanded with Armenia joining in August
2000, the Kyrgyz Republic in July 2002, Pakistan in July 2005, Yemen and Bhutan inDecember 2007, Azerbaijan in 2009, the Maldives in 2010, the Republic of Iran in 2012, andTurkey in 2018 bringing the number of member countries to 31. In March 2004, the US joinedas the fifth advisor country to ADRC (Table 1.1. Member and Advisor Countries).

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Table 1.1. Member and Advisor Countries
Section 11998(At the time of foundation)

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 and Russia(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 AgenciesCountryCounterpartArmenia

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)IranNational Disaster Management Organization (NDMO)

Japan

Cabinet Office

Kazakhstan

Ministry of Emergency Situations

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Ministry of the Interior and Safety

Kyrgyz Republic

Ministry of Emergency SituationsLao PDR

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

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 & Local Government Affairs

Philippines

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)

RussiaMinistry of the Russian Federation for Affairs for Civil Defence, Emergencies andElimination of Consequences of Natural (EMERCOM)

Singapore

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

Sri Lanka

Disaster Management Centre (DMC), 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 Authority (AFAD) , Ministry of Interior

Uzbekistan

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Viet Nam

Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development

Yemen

Ministry of Water & Environment

Section 1

Republic of Korea

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

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