About Us
The South Asia Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (SAADRI) is a platform for alliance partners to seek collective contributions towards the regional need of disaster risk reduction and climate-change induced risk resilience.
SAADRI has member countries from South Asia and beyond with the common purpose of risk reduction in the globally most-vulnerable and risk prone region. The SAADRI works in close collaboration with organizations in the region and around the world through meaningful sharing of information, knowledge, experiences, ideas and initiatives on relevant research. Science and technology, partnerships and focus on humanity are the driving forces for SAADRI.
SAADRI aims to deepen the understanding of disasters in the region and a focus on local issues including climate change impact, learn from evidence-based lessons, investigate and resolve implementation challenges, to achieve better resilience, infrastructure and technology adoption systems, improved livelihood of people, and promote societal safety culture by integrating knowledge and technologies.
Science-Policy-Practice Status reporting for the South Asia Region will be the first activity of SAADRI; and five (5) verticals are identified to start with for this year to look at early warning systems for geotechnical and hydro-meteorological hazards, resilient infrastructure, Community participation and Nature based Resilience. These WGs’ outputs are expected to be followed with implementable project:
1. WG I- Earthquake and landslide early warning system
2. WG II- Flood, cyclone and tsunami early warning system
3. WG III- Hill Infrastructure Resilience
4. WG IV- Participatory Community Resilience
5. WG V- Nature-based Resilience
The SAADRI Secretariat is hosted at the Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management (CoEDMM), IIT Roorkee, India. The commencement of SAADRI was announced on 6th November 2020 by the Director, Professor A K Chaturvedi, IIT Roorkee (India) during the First Jai Krishna Memorial Lecture (Online) in CoEDMM, IIT Roorkee in virtual presence of Ms Mami Mizutori, UNDRR Head and Special Representative to UN Secretary-General, Dr P K Mishra, Sasakawa Laureate of UNDRR and Principal Secretary of PM of India, and 500 plus other dignitaries and participants. The First Board of Directors of SAADRI has representations from 5 member countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and experts from China, Japan and Taiwan at present.
The SAADRI Website (www.saadri.net) is launched on 2nd April 2021 by Professor Hirokazu Tatano, DPRI, Kyoto University and GADRI, Secretary-General. The Inaugural SAADRI Lecture was delivered by Professor Rajib Shaw, Keio University, Japan and Co-Chair of UNDRR-APSTAAG. The Working Group Coordinators presented their Group objectives and members profile during the programme.
SAADRI has been associated with several global conferences as co-organizing partners; like 2nd DSRD 2021 with AIT Bangkok, 5th GADRI Summit 2021 (DPRI, Kyoto University), 5th WCDM 2021 (New Delhi), and APSTCDRR 2022 (Manila, Philippines) Conferences.
Background & Idea of SAADRI
Significant advances have been made in the application of damage reduction principles following the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA); yet, many challenges remain including the new ones as seen by the sharp increase of frequency of extreme weather-related disasters and the continued increase in disaster losses. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) has urged for the need to more effectively link sustainable development and impact of climate change towards a universal goal of harmonious life with nature and our planet. The SFDRR explicitly called for coordinated efforts by the scientific community to deepen the understanding of disaster risks, promote evidenced-based implementation of disaster risk reduction strategies, and transfer and disseminate scientific knowledge and technologies in support of decision-making processes. Building on the momentum of these efforts, the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI) was established in 2015 as a collaborative platform for engaging discussion, sharing knowledge and promoting networks on topics related to risk reduction and resilience to disasters.
Many participating experts at the global summit of the GADRI held on March 2019 at DPRI, Kyoto University. supported strongly the idea of promoting regional networks of the alliance for better focus on regional and local issues in DRR and promotion of sharing of knowledge and partnership in dealing with new challenges primarily brought about by climate change impact. Encouraged by this view, several researchers and experts signed a document in support of the establishment of the South Asia Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes. Thereafter, an international workshop was hosted by the Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India on 20-21 December 2019. This workshop was a kick-off meeting for instituting SAADRI. Fifty participants, academicians, researchers, practitioners from 6 countries, Japan, USA, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India actively deliberated and pledged support on the idea for the formation of SAADRI.
On 6th November 2020 during the First Jai Krishna Memorial Lecture hosted by the Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management (CoEDMM), IIT Roorkee, the IIT Roorkee Director, Professor A K Chaturvedi, has very kindly announced the commencement of SAADRI in CoEDMM, IIT Roorkee. Other dignitaries present were Ms Mami Mizutori, UNDRR Head and Special Representative to UN Secretary-General, Dr P K Mishra, Sasakawa Laureate of UNDRR and Principal Secretary of PM of India, and 500 plus dignitaries and participants online.