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Working Report of Asian Seismological Commission (1996---2004)
(Institute of Geophysics, CSB, Beijing)
I. Creation of Asian Seismological Commission (ASC) It is well known, Asia is a region of not only the most intense seismicity but also suffering serious earthquake disasters in the world. It is reported that about 830,000 people in Asia have been killed by earthquakes since the turn of the 20th Century, comprising 75% of the global figure total. The economic losses caused by earthquake in Asia made up 68% of the global losses. The latest earthquake disaster in Asia is very serious also, such as the Kobe earthquake (M=7.2) occurred on Jan. 17,1995 in Japan, caused more then 5000 people death and about 20 billion $US economic losses, the 2000 Taiwan earthquake, China with 6000 victims, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, India with 17000 victims. The earthquake vulnerability will increase more significantly with the rapid growth of economy and acceleration of social urbanization in Asian Countries. On the other hand, the genesis, preparation and occurrence of earthquake have the regional characters and the hazards related as well.
Considering the facts that most countries in Asia are developing countries with limited economic power and research activities, it is essential to unite all the efforts from various Asian countries to cooperate in the seismological field of common interests and to realize the idea of earthquake disaster reduction.
In accordance with UN’s IDNDR Project and for the purpose of promoting scientific exchange, cooperation in joint projects, upgrading of seismological research and strengthening of measures to mitigate earthquake disasters. The Seismological Society of China under the auspices of the State Seismological Bureau of China took the initiative to form ASC in early 1993. Then, A proposal for forming ASC was discussed in Tottori Japan on October 30, 1993 during The Conference of Seismology in East Asia. Delegates from 9 countries in East and South-East Asia attended the meeting. It’s lead to set up the Feasibility Study Committee (FSC) for ASC, in order to make further communication with more countries in Asia, to get their views on the formation of ASC. Most Asian Countries including India, S. Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Mongolia, Philippine, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey, Israel and Armenia show very active attitude and interest in forming ASC, for example, in the letter from Armenia, President of National Survey of Seismic Protection Dr. Balassanian. S. said “I would like to tell you that the idea of ASC creation suggested by Seismological Society of China is eagerly encouraged by the NSSP under government of Armenia. Armenia is the country that suffered the Spitak tragedy of the Dec.1988 so it is strongly interested in actively participating in the ASC.”
Under this condition, a letter sent to the President of IASPEI, Prof, Nikolaev in December 1993 to request for set up ASC within IASPEI. The response from IASPEI was very encouragement. The Executive Committee of IASPEI held meeting in Wellington on January 13, 1994 during the 27th General Assembly of IASPEI. As a guest Prof. Zhu attended this meeting, and gave a report on the issue of ASC. In the meeting, Prof. Kennett supported the concept of the ASC, but suggested that Commission broaden its scope beyond that of continental Asia so as to include Southeast Pacific nations. This suggestion was supported by other members of the Committee to help in improving North-South as well as East-West dialogue.
Prof. Froidevaux, President of IASPEI, suggested organizing a regional meeting in China to get the ASC started. An IASPEI Regional Assembly could be in China in 1996 to international participation. This idea was supported by the Committee. The Executive Committee unanimously agreed to draft an Assembly Resolution as follows: “Noting the very large population and earthquake hazard in Asia and need to improve cooperation between Asian and Pacific nations. IASPEI endorses the formation of an Asian Seismological Commission to promote academic exchange, cooperation, upgrading of seismological research and strengthening measures to mitigate disasters.”
In order to carry out IASPEI’s Resolution, especially to start the preparation work of the IASPEI Regional Assembly in 1996.as early as possible. It is stimulated by Dr. E.R. Engdahl (Secretary-General IASPEI) he pointed out that ASC must be seen as a viable organization for the Asian community before it can legitimately Sponsor meetings.
After consulting some members of the FSC for the ASC as well as to contact with Dr. Engdahl, it is decided in January 1995 to send the invitation letter to all membership countries of IUGG in Asia and South Pacific region, including India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, S. Korea, Myanmar, Syria, Thailand, Philippines, Turkey, Iran, Japan, Indonesia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Australia and New Zealand. Inviting them to appoint representatives and to attend the Guangzhou meeting in 1995 for discussing the formation of the ASC and related matters. 14 countries responded favorably to participate the Guangzhou meeting, among them, 10 countries has appointed the official Representative to ASC (besides China). They are India, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia, Japan, Iran, Turkey, Israel, S. Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and New-Zealand.
In the Guangzhou Meeting, Dr. Engdahl, Secretary General, IASPEI, briefly reviewed various steps taken in connection with the formation of ASC. Prof. Zhu Chuanzhen informed of the support of the countries in Asia and South Pacific region to the formation of ASC. There was also support from the representatives of various countries to the formation of ASC and for interaction among the member Countries to mitigate earthquake disaster. After a detailed discussion, draft statutes were prepared for ASC to act upon these Statutes Placed in the IASPEI Bureau meeting in Boulder during July, 1995. Dr. Harsh K Gupta and Prof. Zhu Chuanzhen were nominated to the positions of Acting President and Acting General Secretary of ASC, respectively. It was decided to hold a IASPEI Regional Assembly in China during August 1-3, 1996 just before the International Geological Congress.
It was also proposed that a nominating Committee will be constituted at IASPEI General Assembly at Boulder for nominations to be made and approved during the first General Assembly of ASC/Regional Assembly of IASPEI in China. The Statutes of ASC were adopted at the Council Meeting of ASC in Tangshan, China held on August 2, 1996. ( as shown in the Appendix)
II. Major activities of so far The ASC has been meeting during the IASPEI Assemblies. In addition to that it held four meetings. In the following, some details of the same are given:
First Meeting of ASC: August 1-3, 1996; Tangshan, China IASPEI, the Asian Seismological Bureau of China, and the Municipal Government of Tangshan City, China, were the principal sponsors. The Assembly was attended by a total of 278delegates, 92 of them from outside China representing 29 countries/regions. A comprehensive abstract volume consisting of a total of 280 abstracts was brought out. The scientific topics focused on: Earthquake precursors; Earthquake Hazard Assessment; Data Acquisition and Processing; Active Tectonics and Crustal Movement; Strong Motion Seismology; Earthquake Source Physics; Wave Propagation; Geothermics and Volcanology; Recent Devastating Earthquakes in Asia; Tomographic Imaging; Societal Impact of Impending Earthquakes; Induced Seismicity.
Although at its 1995 General Assembly, IASPEI had already granted commission statutes to the ASC. It remained necessary to complete this process by taking the steps required to formally establish the Asian Seismological Commission. This was accomplished at the first ASC Council meeting held on 2 August 1996 and Chaired by Dr. E.R. Engdahl, at which statutes for the commission were adopted. Officers elected and a time and venue for the next ASC General Assembly set. Dr. Engdahl noted that IASPEI is pleased to welcome the ASC to its family of regional commissions and to recognize the newly elected officers: President, Dr. Harsh Gupta Vice President, Dr. Kazuo Hamada Dr .Gary Gibson Secretary-General, Prof. Zhu Chuanzhen The Secretariat of ASC located in Beijing,China.
IASPEI especially encourage all Asian and Pacific member nations to actively participate in the new commission. Also a visit to the Tangshan Earthquake Museum ruins of 1976 Tangshan earthquake were organized in the afternoon on 2 August 1996. A report of this meeting has appeared in the EOS Transaction, AGU, Vol.78 No.14, 1997.
Second Meeting of ASC: December 1-3, 1998, Hyderabad, India The Second Meeting of the Asian Seismological Commission and Symposium on “Earthquake Hazard Assessment and Earth’s Interior Related Topics” (ASC98) was held at the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad India during 1-3 December 1998. There were about 200 participants with 70 participants from outside India from 26 Countries. The event was sponsored by IASPEI, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Department of science and technology, Government of India and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.
Earlier, a pre-meeting “international training course on Seismic Monitoring. Data analysis and exchange” was organized during 15-30, 1998. The course was attended by 25 trainees from 10 countries. The main topics covered in this course were: basics of seismology and seismometry, data acquisition, observatory practice, data analysis, earthquake source parameters and mechanisms. A series of lectures, practical experiments in the field and plenty of hand-on exercises on computers were held also, scientific excursion to the epicentral site of the devastating later 1993 earthquake which is situated about 250km away from Hyderabad was organized. UNESCO, IDNDR, COSTED, IASPEI , GFZ, DST and INSA sponsored the course.
A detailed report of ASC 98 has appeared in the Committee for Developing Countries, IASPEI Newsletter Vol.8 No.2, December 1998. Third Meeting of October 10-12, 2000 Tehran, Iran
The Third Meeting of the Asian Seismological Commission and Symposium on “Seismology Earthquake Hazard Assessment and Earth’s Interior Related Topics” (ASC 2000) was held at the Institute of Geophysics, Tehran University, Iran during 10-12 October 2000. This meeting was sponsored by ASC, IASPEI, Ministry of Culture and Higher Education of Iran, Committee for Reduction of Natural disasters in Iran etc.
About 300 abstracts were received, which focused on wide spectrum of research subjects related to Seismology and the Earth’s Interior. More then 150 participants from 23 countries attended the meeting.
As an implement of IASPEI’s training and education program, a pre-symposium “International Regional Training course on Seismology and Mitigation of Seismic Disasters” was organized by LOC. The new methods to determine the source parameters were discussed and were followed by computer practices. New understanding of seismotectonics, prediction studies, inversion methods and the use of internet facilities etc were among the topics that were included in the course. More than 25 trainees from 6 countries attended the course. The symposium was followed by two technical workshops, which entitled “Educating and Public about Earthquake Hazard and risk” and “Seismic Networks and Site Selection” respectively. Post-Symposium a field trip to East Central Iran where eight major earthquakes occurred in the last three decades was organized also.
According to the Statutes of ASC, the new-members of ASC Bureau were elected in the Council meeting of ASC at Tehran. They are: President: Prof. S. Balassanian (Armenia) 1st Vice President: Dr. D. Rhoades (New-Zealand) 2nd Vice President: Prof. M. R. Gheitanchi (Iran) Secretary-General: Prof. Zhu Chuanzhen (China) A detailed report of ASC 2000 has appeared in the Committee for Developing Countries, IASPEI Newsletter, Vol.8. No.2, December 2000.
Fourth Meeting of ASC: November 24-26, 2002, Kathmandu , Nepal Fourth General Assembly of ASC and Symposium on Seismology, Earthquake Hazard Assessment and Risk Management was held from 24-26 November 2002, in Kathmandu, Nepal. About 150 seismologists, geologists, earthquake engineers. civil engineers, disaster managers, etc. from 22 countries participated.
The National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET) was the main organizer the co-organizer was the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Thailand (ADPC) and Sponsors were Ministry of Science and Technology (NOST) HMG/Nepal, IASPEI, ASC, and B.P. Koirala India-Nepal Foundation. Dr. Upendra Devkota, Minister For Health and Science and Technology. Nepal attended the Opening Ceremony, and addressed the participants at the Inauguration.
This conference had three parallel sessions broadly classified into Science, Engineering and Implementation of Earthquake Risk Management Actions. A Poster Session and a Shake Table Demonstration also took place. The conference underscored the need to use the science of seismology and geology in reducing the impact of earthquakes for which it was necessary to establish and strengthen dialogue and sharing of knowledge/vision among scientists, earthquake engineers, disaster risk reduction specialists, policy-makers and administrators.
Pre-Symposium Training Course on Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction for Cities (EVRC) was held from 18-22 November 2002 by NSET in collaboration with ADPC and the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). 30 participants from 9 nations attended the training program.
5th ASC General Assembly (ASC2004) and Symposium on Seismic Hazard Evaluation and Risk Reduction hosted by the Armenia Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth (AASPE) were held during 18-20 October, 2004 at Yerevan, Armenia under the overall guidance of Prof. Serguei Balassanian. There were about 200 participants from 50 countries outside Armenia and about 60 from Armenia---the largest meeting ever held by the ASC. About 140 oral presentations and 50 posters were presented. The 3-day symposium was preceded by a 15-day training course on “ Recent Trends in Seismic Networks, Data Processing and Exchange, Hazard and Risk Assessment, and Disaster Mitigation” which was attended by about 30 participants. The symposium was followed by a 1-day visit to the Spitak area where a devastating earthquake in 1988 had claimed about 25000 human lives. At the Council Meeting of ASC, a new Bureau was elected for the period 2004-2008 with the following Members: President Prof. Zhu Chuanzhen First Vice President Prof. Sergei Goldin Second Vice President Dr. Cao Dinh Trieu Secretary General Dr. R.K. Chadha Member Prof. K. Hirahara
Two subcommissions were set up by ASC Council Meeting as follows: 1. Commission on Earthquake Prediction 2. Commission on Education and Outreach
It was also decided that 2006 ASC General Assembly will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
III. Future Programs (1) Implementation of ASC Pilot Projects on the assessment of seismic risk in Asian-Pacific regions With the increasing scale of disasters projected for the 21st century by the experts, the ASC should play an important role as a catalyst and coordinator for the earthquake Hazard Assessment and Risk Management Strategy developed and implemented in Asia-Pacific region for prevention of the earthquake hazards impact on population, vital infrastructure and property. By understanding for benefit and safety for the most vulnerable developing countries in Asia and Pacific region, the ASC should undertake practical steps by way of the ASC pilot projects which include following subjects *Further improvement of the Seismic hazard evaluation in developing countries *Seismic risk assessment: regional and local contexts. *Seismic risk reduction in the selected most vulnerable urban areas *Current Seismic hazard assessment for early warning and notification.
The Steering Committee for the Projects consists of 8 persons they are: Professor Balassanian Serguei (Armenia) Professor Chuanzhen Zhu (China) Professor Cheitanchi M.Reza (Iran) Dr Gibson Gary (Australia) Dr. Gupta Harsh (India) Dr. Rhoades David (New Zealand) Professor Zhongliang Wu (China) Dr. Matsu’ura (Japan) The duration of the project should be 3 years.
The potential funding sources include International organizations (UNESCO,UNDP, World Bank etc) as well as regional organizations (ADPC, Asian Band etc) and National Sources (The ASC Member countries) The implementation of the ASC pilot projects will promote the ASC further capacity building through networking and cooperation.
(2) ASC Cooperation plan a. ASC-SHR collaboration Interdisciplinary study on earthquake hazard, risk and strong ground motion plays an important role in the reduction of earthquake disasters. Recent developments in seismological observation and modeling provide this research field with an unprecedented opportunity to bridge seismologists and earthquake engineers. Exchange of technical know-how and experiences regarding to the preparedness and management of earthquake disasters will significantly promote the advancement of engineering seismology. Through mutual discussion and consultation, ASC will cooperate with the IASPEI Commission on Earthquake Hazard , Risk and Strong Ground Mation (SHR) to make joint study on the following topics: ① Evaluation and quantification of earthquake hazard or risk; ② Long-term earthquake prediction, statistical seismology
b. ASC-ADPC Collaboration Recognizing the need to consolidate and intensify mutual collaboration to achieve their shared goals for promoting effective seismic risk assessment and earthquake vulnerability reduction of population and infrastructure. The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and The Asian Seismological commission (ASC) have agreed to cooperate in areas of mutual interest as indicated below: *Collaboration in organizing training courses, seminars and other capacity building activites aimed at earthquake vulnerability reduction in the Asian region; *Provision of technical support to implementation of earthquake vulnerability reduction programs in high risk cities and provinces of Asian countries; *Regular exchange of appropriate information in subject areas of mutual interest; *Development and collaboration in joint projects in areas related to earthquake preparedness and vulnerability reduction.
IV. ASC information sources The information concerning ASC can be obtained by two websites:
ASC Newsletter will also been scheduled to publish in the future.
The activities of ASC so far were given a high appreciation in the report of IASPEI at IUGG Council Meeting in Sapporo, Japan 2003 during the 23rd General Assembly of IUGG. It has shown that what was started in 1996 has been a very successful and creative activity of IASPEI. It has been particularly helpful in bringing earth scientists from developing countries of Asia together. The Training Courses/Workshops held before /after the ASC General Assembly are extremely benefited to the participants.
However, ASC is relatively young and what was visioned in ASC Statutes in 1996 has been fully achieved. The sustainable development of ASC needs continuous support from all member countries as well as related international community.
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