Han Qunli

      He is currently the Executive Director of the International Program Office for Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), a joint initiative of the International Council for Science (ISC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNDRR), and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Research Center for Big Data for Sustainable Development in China.
      From 1989 to 2017, he worked for UNESCO as Project Specialist in the Natural Sciences Sector, Senior Specialist in Environmental Sciences in the Asia-Pacific region, Head of the Subregional Office for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan and Representative to Iran and Turkmenistan, Head of the Executive Office of the Natural Sciences Sector, Head of the Ecogeography Sector and Secretary General of the Intergovernmental Man and Biosphere ( UNESCO-MAB) scientific programme. He participated in the UN Joint Initiative on Disaster Response to Major Natural Disasters and the development of the UN National Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). Prior to UNESCO, he worked in the Natural Resources Integrated Expedition Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he participated as principal investigator in large integrated scientific expeditions in Xinjiang and the Loess Plateau.