Introduction to the International Association for Disaster Risk Reduction
Authors: Jiang Tianhai 
Published: March 2020

&lt;p&gt;The devastating impact of natural hazards on social and economic development worldwide and on the security of human and natural systems, is well-known, as is their impact on the most vulnerable. The intensity and frequency of disasters are exacerbated by climate changes, and increasing concomitant losses due to rapid urbanization and poor planning decisions, among other factors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The &lt;strong&gt;International Association for Disaster Risk Reduction (IADRR)&lt;/strong&gt; is an &lt;strong&gt;international, non-governmental,&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;professional body of individual membership,&lt;/strong&gt; devoted to the development of global disaster risk reduction (DRR) endeavors with emphases on:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Interdisciplinary, multi-sector, and multi-stakeholder cooperation among all categories of DRR professionals.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Exchanging knowledge and ideas, research outputs and practical experiences, establishing a trans-disciplinary science and technology application interface.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Promoting disciplinary development of disaster risk sciences and engineering, increasing risk awareness and education among the general public for resilient communities.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;DRR is a global challenge, complicated, interplayed, and widely dispersed. It is only through multi-national, multi-sector, and interdisciplinary efforts, that DRR challenges can be dealt with at our best. At present, there are many well-established organizations focusing on specific natural hazards (e.g., earthquake, landslides) or certain aspect of disaster issues (emergency management), while no comprehensive international association for DRR professionals of different disciplines (e.g., social, natural and healthcare sciences), sectors (engineers, urban planners, emergency responders, private), which can jointly tackle the complex real-world DRR challenges, and to connect professionals with different expertise for collaborative implementation of Sendai Framework, SDGs and Paris Agreement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is through more effective collaborations among all related communities, through broader vision and social consensus-building, through influencing policy-making process and governance at various scales of actions, and exploring application interface, that the most effective new approaches to DRR can be sought.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uniqueness and Synergies&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;An overarching networking umbrella for &lt;strong&gt;individual professionals&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A sense of belonging and &lt;strong&gt;career development platform&lt;/strong&gt; for all categories of professionals&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A &lt;strong&gt;science and application interface&lt;/strong&gt; to promote research and public education and to bring science into action&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;An &lt;strong&gt;expert and talent pool&lt;/strong&gt; of different expertise for long-term communication and transboundary cooperation&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Synergize with existing mechanisms as a united front for &lt;strong&gt;real-world DRR challenges&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Missions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;1. &lt;strong&gt;Online &amp; Offline networks&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;2. &lt;strong&gt;Filling the gaps between research, practice and policy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;3. &lt;strong&gt;Expert and talent pool of DRR professionals for expertise and career development&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;4. &lt;strong&gt;Promote disaster risk science and risk awareness&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;5. &lt;strong&gt;Information sharing and application&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;6. &lt;strong&gt;Career development&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Association was well discussed among dozens of international/national/regional DRR organizations, such as UNDRR, ISC, IRDR, ADPC, IPCC, UNESCAP, WFEO, etc., and will have an official debut on the opening of Asia-Pacific Science &amp; Technology Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APSTCDRR) in Malaysia on March 16. EGU will be our one of the first big events after our launching. We would like to share our ideas as a broader umbrella for DRR professionals for a&amp;#160;fully mobilized and proactive international community of practice for disaster resilient societies, and to ensure the safe, resilient and sustainable development of human society.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Co-Chairs of the Preparatory Committee for IADRR&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cui Peng &lt;/strong&gt;Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rajib Shaw &lt;/strong&gt;Professor, Keio University, Japan; Chair, UNDRR Science Technology Advisory Group&lt;/p&gt;