Two distinguished Chinese scientists have been appointed to lead the UNESCO Chair for Mountain Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, a significant initiative aimed at addressing the escalating challenges posed by natural disasters in mountainous regions. The announcement was made during the unveiling ceremony held in Beijing on Sunday, coinciding with the opening of the 2nd International Conference on Climate Change and Disaster Risk.
Cui Peng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist at the China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, has been named the chair of the project. Yang Saini, executive director of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk program and a professor at Beijing Normal University, will serve as assistant chair.
The initiative comes at a critical time when global climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, particularly in mountainous areas. Liu Weidong, director-general of the international cooperation bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlighted the growing complexity of these disasters, which are becoming harder to predict and mitigate.
Cui Peng emphasized the vulnerability of mountainous regions, which account for 70% of China’s territory and 30% of the global land area. He stressed that these regions must not be overlooked in the pursuit of high-quality development. The UNESCO Chair aims to reduce the loss of life and property caused by disasters and explore ways to integrate disaster reduction with regional economic development.
Yang Saini noted that China will leverage global resources and share its extensive experience in disaster risk reduction through the UNESCO platform, while also adopting effective international practices. Shahbaz Khan, director of the UNESCO Beijing Office, congratulated the scientists and underscored the importance of the UNESCO Chair program in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and building capacity in the Global South.
Wang Fawu, a professor at Tongji University and chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Geoenvironmental Disaster Reduction, expressed confidence that the new chair would produce globally impactful deliverables, further enhancing China’s role in the global disaster risk community.