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 ancenter in Japan to serve as the secretariat for the proposed system.
(6) 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, the Asian Disaster Reduction Center wasofficially established in Kobe on July 30, 1998.

1-2. Composition
ADRC was established in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, in 1998, with mission to enhance disaster
resilience of the member countries, to build safe communities, and to create a society wheresustainable development is possible. ADRC works to build disaster resilient communities and toestablish networks among countries through many programs including personnel exchanges in thisfield.
The Center addresses this issue from a global perspective in cooperation with a variety of UN
agencies and international organizations/initiatives, such as the United Nations Secretariat forInternational Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the United Nations Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization (UNESCO), 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 anobserver organization. Armenia joined later, in August 2000, followed by the Kyrgyz Republic inJuly 2002, Pakistan in July 2005, and Yemen and Bhutan in December 2007, Azerbaijan in 2009,Maldives in 2010, and the Republic of Iran in 2012 bringing the number of member countries to30. In March 2004, the US joined as the fifth advisor country to ADRC.

30 Member Countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India,Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz, Lao PDR,Malaysia Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen
5 Advisor Countries: Australia, France, New Zealand, Switzerland, United States of America
Observer: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)

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1. Asian Disaster Reduction Center
Table.1-2-1. Counterpart List of member countries
countryorganization

Armenia

National Survey for Seismic Protection Agency (NSSP)

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 Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB)IranNational Disaster Management Organization (NDMO)

Japan

Cabinet Office

Kazakhstan

Ministry of Internal Affairs

Rep. of Korea

Ministry of Public Safety and Security

Kyrgyz

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Laos

National Disaster Management Office (NDMO)

Malaysia

National Security Council, Prime Minister's Department

Maldives

National Disaster Management Center

Mongolia

National Emergency Management Agency

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

Department of National Defense

RussiaMinistry of Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination ofConsequences of Natural Disasters

Singapore

Singapore Civil Defence Force

Sri Lanka

Ministry of Disaster Management

Tajikistan

Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense

Thailand

Ministry of Interior

Uzbekistan

Ministry of Emergency Situations

Viet Nam

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

Yemen

Ministry of Water & Environment3

Fig.1-2-1. Member Countries

1-3. Main Activities
ADRC engages in the following basic activities:(1) Information Sharing• Provision of disaster information• Sentinel Asia – A space-based disaster management support system in the Asia-Pacificregion• Promotion of the GLobal unique disaster IDEntifier (GLIDE) system• Organization of international meetings(2) Human Resource Development• Organizing conference, workshops, and trainings on disaster risk reduction• Program for inviting visiting researchers from member countries(3) Building Community Capabilities• Development and dissemination of tools for encouraging community involvement• Development of Public and Private Partnership and Business Continuity Plan (BCP) forsmall and medium-sized enterprises• Assistance with the activities to further strengthen all stakeholder coordination
mechanisms

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