UNESCO Establishes Research Center for Earthquake Risk Management, Resilience in Iran

The Center was established after the Iranian Parliament approved by majority vote the bill to establish the UNESCO Regional Education and Research Center for Earthquake Risk Management and Resilience for Western and Central Asia at the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES).

In 2015, in cooperation with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran in UNESCO and the UNESCO National Commission in Paris, IIEES submitted a request to the UNESCO headquarters to establish this center. After several years of continuous follow-up, technical evaluations by UNESCO experts, and confirmation of IIEES’s capability, the UNESCO executive committee granted approval for the center’s establishment. In November 2019, the establishment of this center at IIEES was proposed and approved by consensus at the 40th UNESCO General Assembly in Paris with the presence of high-ranking officials from the member states.

According to the agreement, the center’s primary mission is to facilitate earthquake risk reduction management and the development of appropriate methods for improving resilience against future earthquakes based on the physical, social, economic, and cultural characteristics of countries in Western and Central Asia.

This center will be among the few organizations in Iran with such a vast geographical scope and range of activities essential for all countries in the region. Therefore, this center can create additional capacities for the country and take the leading position in regional earthquake risk and crisis management activities by providing scientific and technological services.

Establishing this center in Iran by the consensus of all UNESCO member states can open up new horizons for cooperation with the countries of the region while consolidating Iran’s scientific position, both in the region and the world.

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