Brief CV of IRDR Executive Director
01 February 2022

HAN Qunli is the Executive Director, International Programme Office of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (Sept 2017-). From 2018, he has been the chair of SDG Working Group of CASEarth Project, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and became a professor at the International Research Center of Big Data for SDGs of CAS.

During 1990-2017, Qunli served in UNESCO. His duty positions include the programme specialist at the Division of Ecological Sciences in the Headquarters, senior programme specialist on environment in Asia-Pacific Science Bureau in Jakarta, the Director of Tehran Cluster Office for Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and the Director of the Executive Office UNESCO’s Natural Science Sector. From June 2013 to September 2017, Qunli was the Director of the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences and the Secretary of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO. He was responsible for the development of MAB Strategy 2015-2025, organization of 4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves 2016 and establishment of the Lima Action for the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) 2016-2025.

In IRDR, which is under co-sponsorship of ISC and UNDRR, Qunli has been active to mobilize science for disaster risk reduction, and has contributed during 2019-2021 to the development of A Global Framework of Sciences in Support of Risk-informed Sustainable Development and Planetary Health. He has been active in International Consortium of Landslide and chairing the Global Promotion Committee (GPC) of IPL during 2016-2021.

Related News & Events
20 October 2026
​The IRDR Satellite Symposium "Science, Data and Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction" opened on 20 October 2026 in the Yingdong Conference Hall at Beijing Normal University. The symposium is being held alongside the 2026 Midterm Meeting of Members of the International Science Council and the Beijing Science Dialogue.
19 October 2026
The 29th meeting of the IRDR Scientific Committee opened on 19 October 2026 at the Headquarters of International Science and Technology Organizations (ISTO HQ) in Beijing, China. The three-day meeting continues until 22 October 2026, running alongside the ISC's Beijing Science Dialogue
16 October 2026
The IRDR Satellite Symposium on Science, Data and Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction will convene global experts at Beijing Normal University on 20 October 2026 to explore how science, data, and international partnerships can strengthen DRR and advance the Sendai Framework and the the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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