Mr. Ali
A Bakhtiari fromfIran

As a Senior Expert for the National Diisastergement Organnization (NDDMO) of Irann, I amManagcurrently serving as a Visitiing Research
her atC in Kobe. OverO
the couurse of my work,wI
ADRC
have beenb
involveed in severall internationaal anddomestic

projectss

relatedtodisasterriskmanaggement. I alsso have beenn a lecturer at theUniverrsity of Appplied Sciencee and Technnology(UASTT) of Iran sincce 2010.
My maiin responsibiilities at ND
DMO are to oversee the internationall coordinatio
on andadminnistration of all activities related to DR
RR, to dissem
minate techniical documennts on DRR, and toconduuct disaster trainings.
tDuuring my tim
me in Japan, I am expectting to studyy special proograms
typicaal of ADRC-m
member counntries in the field
fi of mainsstreaming DR
RR into develoopment plannning atthe naational and loocal levels.
Geograpphically, Iran is located inn West Asia and borders the Gulf of Oman, the PersianP
Gulf, and the Casppian Sea. Witth an area off 1,648,000 km
m2 (636,000 sq. mi), Irann ranks 18th ini sizew
Iran shares its norrthern borderr with three nations: Armmenia,amonng the countrries of the world.
Azerbbaijan, and Tuurkmenistan. Its western bordersbare withw Turkey inn the north annd Iraq in the south.
The PersianP
Gulf anda Gulf of OmanO
lie alonng its southerrn border. To the east, Afgghanistan lies to thenorth and Pakistann to the southh. The popullation of Irann is estimatedd at over 77 m
million as off 2013.
cand larrgest city is Tehran.
TThe capital
Located along the world'sw
dry beelt, most of IranIis coverred with mouuntains; the centralcparts of the countrry are compriised of desertt and are largeely uninhabitted. It is also located in th
he highmic hazard zonne of the Himmalayan belt, one of the mostm famous earthquake-haazard regions of theseism
worldd. Due to its location, Irann is a disasterr-prone counntry. Earthquaakes, floods, droughts, andd wild
fires are its most common nattural disasterss. Iran has su
uffered severre economic and social daamagebEarthhquakes are thherefore a higgh priority foor bothresultting from seissmic activitiees within its borders.
the puublic and the authorities.
JI havee visited variious researchh institutions and governm
mentalDuring my stay in Japan,
organnizations alonng with my fellow Visitiing Researchhers from othher member countries. Leessons
learneed from the GreatG
Hanshinn-Awaji Earthhquake of Jannuary 1995, thhe Great East Japan Earthhquakeand Tsunami
Tof March 2011, and other disasters thaat have caussed enormouus damage leed thegoverrnment of Jappan to changee its Earthquaake Disaster Management
MStrategy, whhich calls for effortseto be made to reduuce fatalities and economic damage. Affter the Greatt Hanshin-Aw
waji Earthquaake, 11major redevelopment projects were undertaken around Kobe and all were completed in 10 years. The
progress achieved by Kobe after such a major disaster was one that astonished the world.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to the governments of both Iran and Japanfor affording me the opportunity to participate in this program, as well as my appreciation toeveryone, especially at ADRC, who has made my time in Japan an experience that thus far has
surpassed my every expectation. Finally, I extend my deepest admiration to all those who continue todevote their time and efforts to reducing human suffering and to providing a safer tomorrow for us
all.