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Disasters put development at risk. At the same time, the development choices made by individuals, communities and nations can generate new disaster risk. Many countries are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters that can erase decades of development and exacerbate poverty and inequality. Through its global network, UNDP seeks out and shares innovative approaches to crisis prevention, early warning and conflict resolution to help bridge the gap between emergency relief and long-term development.
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Iran is prone to disasters and it ranks as the fourth most disaster prone country in the world with floods, drought and earthquakes being the most frequent natural disasters. Ninety seven percent of the country is located on major seismic fault lines and in the worst devastating earthquake of recent years in December 2003, a quarter of the population of the ancient city of Bam – more than 30,000 people - were killed.
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The strengthening of disaster management capacities in Iran has therefore featured high on the agenda of UNDP. Based on a wealth of knowledge and experience, UNDP works closely with governmental and civil society partners to identify and strengthen national capacities in the management and implementation of early recovery programmes and disaster reduction and preparedness. UNDP is also helping to put disaster risk at the forefront of development planners’ minds in order to ensure that disaster risk is being incorporated into development planning frameworks.
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Prominent among UNDP-sponsored initiatives in Iran has been the development of an Integrated National Disaster Management Plan, a five-year national programme for capacity building to manage disaster risk, development of guidelines and organizing training courses on various aspects of disaster risk management following the Manjil earthquake in 1990, and supporting the country’s reconstruction and recovery programmes after the devastating earthquake in the city of Bam (2003).
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For further information on UNDP's services and support for disaster risk management and reconstruction in Iran contact:
Victoria Kianpour Atabaki
Programme Analyst
Energy, Environment and Disaster Management Programme Cluster
UNDP Iran
Tel:(9821) 2286 0691-4 (x 424)
Fax:(9821) 2286 9547
Email:victoria.kianpour@undp.org
