Regional Workshop on: “Enhancing Seismic Risk Assessment Capacities in ECO Member States”

It is a great honour to address you at the opening of this important regional workshop, co-hosted by UN ESCAP, AFAD, and ECO, on Enhancing Seismic Risk Assessment Capacities in ECO Member States. I would like to thank our co-hosts for convening this timely gathering, and to warmly welcome the distinguished delegates from across the ECO region.

The significance of our discussions today cannot be overstated. The ECO region lies within one of the most seismically active zones in the world—home to over 500 million people. In the past two decades alone, more than 330 disasters have been recorded across ECO countries, affecting more than 70 million people and resulting in immense economic losses. Behind these statistics are human lives, livelihoods, and communities whose resilience has been severely tested.

The catastrophic earthquakes of 6 February 2023 in southern Türkiye remain etched in our collective memory. With over 50,000 lives lost, hundreds of thousands displaced, and entire cities shattered, these earthquakes exposed deep structural vulnerabilities: rapid urbanization, aging infrastructure, and gaps in enforcement of building standards.

The United Nations, together with national and local partners, mobilized immediately to support rescue, relief and recovery efforts. Through specialised UN Entities such as OCHA and mechanisms such as the Area-Based Coordination system, the UN worked alongside AFAD, government counterparts, NGOs, and local communities to ensure coherence in humanitarian response, while also laying the foundation for recovery. 

The Türkiye Earthquakes Recovery and Reconstruction Report (TERRA), co-drafted by the Government of Türkiye, the UN, the EU, and the World Bank, provided a robust evidence base for recovery planning, underscoring the scale of reconstruction needs and the urgency of risk-informed rebuilding.

These experiences remind us of a crucial truth: seismic risk is not only a natural hazard challenge, but also a development challenge. Our region cannot afford to view risk assessment as a technical afterthought—it must be at the very heart of planning, investment, and governance.

Global Frameworks and Regional Imperatives

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 provides us with a global blueprint. Its first priority—understanding disaster risk—is the very focus of this workshop. Accurate, inclusive, and actionable seismic risk assessment is indispensable to all other priorities: strengthening governance, investing in resilience, and enhancing preparedness for effective response.

The UN Secretary-General has consistently underlined the urgency of prevention, resilience, and climate-smart infrastructure as cornerstones of sustainable development. The UN’s Common Agenda and the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework both call for stronger regional cooperation, data sharing, and early warning systems that leave no one behind.

In this sense, ECO’s initiative to advance seismic risk assessment aligns perfectly with global commitments. It also responds directly to the lived experiences of our countries: from Bam and Kermanshah in Iran, to Kashmir in Pakistan, to Paktika in Afghanistan, and to Hatay and Kahramanmaraş in Türkiye.

The Role of Seismic Risk Assessment

Why does risk assessment matter so much? Because risk that is not measured cannot be managed. Too often, risk assessments in our region have been fragmented—focused narrowly on hazard maps, without integrating socioeconomic vulnerabilities or systemic interdependencies. Outdated exposure data and insufficient loss estimation models have weakened our ability to prioritize investments.

But recent advances in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, fragility modelling, and geospatial data tools offer us a chance to do better. When these methodologies are combined with socioeconomic data—on poverty, gender, informal settlements, and access to services—we gain a holistic understanding of vulnerability. This is the kind of knowledge that enables governments to enforce building codes, plan resilient cities, design insurance schemes, and target assistance to those most at risk.

The TERRA Report has already shown us the value of integrating hazard and socioeconomic dimensions. It is now our responsibility to translate such knowledge into systematic practice across all ECO countries.

Türkiye’s Experience and Regional Cooperation

Türkiye’s recent experience underscores the importance of regional solidarity. Within hours of the 2023 earthquakes, dozens of ECO and international partners provided support—from urban search and rescue to medical care and emergency shelter. Yet, beyond emergency response, we now recognize the deeper need: to jointly enhance our capacities before disasters strike. This workshop as designed under the ECO Regional Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, is an important opportunity to do so.

Looking Forward

The stakes could not be higher. Every dollar invested in risk reduction saves many more in recovery. Every building retrofitted saves lives. Every data point collected and shared strengthens our collective resilience.

As the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Türkiye, I reaffirm the UN system’s commitment to work with AFAD, ECO, UN ESCAP, and all member states to advance seismic risk assessment and risk-informed development in this region. Together, we can ensure that the painful lessons of the past translate into safer, more resilient communities in the future. Let us use this workshop not only to exchange knowledge, but to forge partnerships, commit to practical steps, and build a regional architecture of resilience that reflects our shared vulnerabilities and aspirations.

May our deliberations over the next two days inspire stronger regional cooperation, practical innovations, and most importantly, a safer future for the hundreds of millions of people who call this seismically active region their home.