BEIJING—The inaugural meeting of the Chinese National Committee for Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR-China) was held in Beijing on October 8, 2010. IRDR-China is committed to promoting a high level of international exchange and cooperation, making full use of international scientific and technological resources, and enhancing the level of disaster prevention and mitigation. The convention brought together over 40 leaders and researchers involved in this international research programme, including Prof. Congbin Fu, Vice Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and Executive Board member of the International Council for Science—ICSU), and Donghong Cheng, Executive Secretary of CAST.
The session began with an introduction to the overall progress of the IRDR Programme by Dr. Jane E. Rovins, Executive Director of the IRDR International Programme Office. There was discussion among the participating experts over the mechanisms of the Commission’s work, a comprehensive initiative to assist IRDR implementation, methods and means to coordinate the various ministries and research institutes regarding the research resources, scientific forces, major national disaster mitigation projects, and the combination of the IRDR Programme within and outside China.
According to remarks made by Fu and Cheng, IRDR-China will make dedicated efforts to smoothly implement the programme through its cutting-edge resources in science and technology. It also would like to work with the institutes involved to strengthen exchanges and enhance coordination for further science and technology development. They added that, based upon the propositions given by the participating specialists, and the vigorous support from CAS, CAST, and other prestigious institutes in the related fields, IRDR-China will endeavor to build up a platform for international cooperation programs.