The International Workshop on Earthquake Risk Reduction in the Northeast Asian Region was opened 30th November morning and it will go until 3rd December 2009 with one day visit to China National Training Base for Search and Rescue and Visit to the China Earthquake Networks Center. The event is hosted by the Chinese Earthquake Administration under the aegis of UNESCO, in close cooperation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This International Workshop, with more than 25 high-ranking experts in the field, is scheduled for three consecutive days’ workshop and one day visit the Chinese facilities on earthquake and will illuminate questions around the innovative concepts, instruments, modeling techniques, institutional framework and data sharing at regional level in terms of Earthquake risk reduction. 

UNESCO is exploring the timeliness, possibility and opportunity of pursuing a cooperative activity on earthquake data analysis which will be jointly promoted by UNESCO and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the sub-region of North East Asia comprising the, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.  As an integrated part within the successful evolution of UNESCO-USGS cooperation on earthquake risk reduction, the workshop constitutes an opening chapter for another USGS proposed initiative to UNESCO for the set up of a concerted regional strategy on earthquake risk reduction in Northeast Asia.  Built on the success of similar collaboration between UNESCO and USGS in the Middle East and South Asia, achieved in the nineties and past decades, a more fruitful cooperation is to be revealed. The first step in this planned effort is this international workshop, which is hosted in China by the China Earthquake Administration, under the aegis of UNESCO and in closed cooperation with the USGS.

These activities involve seismologists and earthquake engineers.  Beyond their scientific value and merit, these programmes offer a forum for scientists and engineers from countries presenting a diversity of contexts to work together under UNESCO’s umbrella and discuss regional approaches to improve collaboration in earthquake data exchange and analysis. Earthquake threatens each one of us. It is difficult to predict and its suddenness and severity result in havoc, loss of lives, environmental damages, economic loss and social disruption on a massive scale. The more we know about the causes and of the hazard, the better we will be prepared and equipped to mitigate its risks and manage post disaster relief and rehabilitation work. The workshop provides a platform for sharing of current scientific research on earthquake studies in six countries of the Northeast Asia Region. With recipient of participants from diverse disciplinary and national contexts, the workshop advocates application of an inter-disciplinary approach in the field, and is expected to synergize national expertise and lessons learnt that would upgrade current collaboration in earthquake data exchange and analysis.