The inauguration ceremony of the International Programme Office for the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR-IPO) was held at Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth in Beijing on November 18, 2010.

Prof. Bai Chunli, executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and vice president of CAST, Prof Fu Congbin, vice president of CAST and member of ICSU Executive Board, Dr Cheng Donghong, executive secretary of CAST, Prof. Chen Deliang, executive director of ICSU, Heide Hackmann, secretary-general of ISSC, Dr Zhang Jiansheng, director general, Department of International Affairs of CAST, Prof. Guo Huadong, director of Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.

Prof. Bai Chunli spoke highly of the program and stated that the program combined the experience and wisdom of experts throughout the world in natural sciences, social economics, health and engineering, and would be able to improve the worldwide scientific research level in disaster prevention and mitigation.

Cheng Donghong expressed that CAST would play its due role in promoting scientific cooperation in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation and work together with its counterparts in other countries to cope with the challenges of natural disasters.

Prof. Chen Deliang extended a warm congratulation on the establishment of IRDR -IPO and expressed his confidence in its smooth operation in CEODE. He stressed that IRDR-IPO was to be built into a platform for the disaster risk researchers to participate in international programs and function as an impetus for closer integration and communication between research institutions and governments.

Approved in the 29th ICSU General Assembly, the IRDR is a major new 10-year international research programme jointly sponsored by ICSU, International Social Science Council (ISSC), and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN ISDR).  It brings together the combined talents of the natural, socio-economic, health and engineering sciences from around the world to address the impacts of disasters on regional and global scales and to develop knowledge-based actions that will reduce risk and curb losses.