Japan: Launch of the IDRiM Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management
The international Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (the IDRiM Society), and its Journal (IDRiM Journal) were launched in Kyoto, Japan, at the 9th IIASA-DPRI Forum on Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM Forum).
The past 9 IDRiM Forum series have been held under an initiative of DPRI - the Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University and IIASA- the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and promoted also by many national and international organizations including Beijing Normal University, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES, Iran), National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC/EC) and other organizations.
The move to set up the IDRiM Society based on the IDRiM Forum achievements was enthusiastically welcomed and its Charter approved by more than 100 international experts, practitioners, and individuals from more than 20 different countries working in the disaster risk management field.
The group of founding members composed of Prof. Norio Okada (Director, DPRI), Dr. Aniello Amendola (IIASA), Prof. Hirokazu Tatano (DPRI), Dr. Mohsen Ashtiani (IIEES), Dr. Reinhard Mechler (IIASA), and Dr. Ana Maria Cruz (to be soon affiliated with DPRI) announced that IDRiM Society’s main objective is to promote interdisciplinary research on integrated disaster risk management contributing to the implementation of success models for efficient and equitable disaster risk reduction by people, businesses and governments exposed to the vagaries of nature.
A key ambition of the society is to foster integration between disciplines, stakeholders, levels of government, and between global, regional, national, local and individual efforts in disaster risk management that fill the gap between theory and practice. At the initial stage its secretariat will be placed at DPRI, Kyoto University.
The Society’s International Journal of Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM Journal) which was also agreed to be published will promote knowledge transfer and dissemination of information, concepts and methodologies on integrated disaster risk management and validated implementation technologies. A prestigious interdisciplinary editorial board has been nominated and will take office in January 2010.
For more information on the IDRiM Society and Journal contact Dr. Hirokazu Tatano ([email protected])
or Dr. Ana Maria Cruz at ([email protected])