Mission, Vision and Strategic Priorities of

the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences ASEAN Centre

Mission and Vision

The International Eurasian Academy of Sciences ASEAN Centre (IEAS ASEAN Centre) is committed to serving as a bridge between national science programmes and the global scientific community, with Southeast Asia as its regional base and the Global South and the wider international community as its broader sphere of engagement. The Centre seeks to advance the sustainable development of human societies and promote multidisciplinary and intercultural education across geographical boundaries, different stages of economic development, and diverse cultural traditions.

Core Objectives

Objective 1: Research Excellence

The ASEAN Centre will conduct and advance international basic and applied research addressing specific challenges confronting tropical regions, emerging economies, and the wider international community. Through collaborative research programmes, the Centre will seek to advance the frontiers of knowledge in priority areas including tropical medicine and global public health, biodiversity conservation, marine ecosystems, climate adaptation, and resilient cities. Particular emphasis will be placed on translating research findings into practical and scalable applications, thereby generating tangible benefits for developing regions across Southeast Asia, the Global South, and beyond.

Objective 2: Science Diplomacy

The ASEAN Centre will provide a platform for dialogue among scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders from around the world, with the aim of accelerating evidence-informed decision-making. By facilitating communication across national borders, different stages of economic development, and disciplinary boundaries, the Centre will seek to identify and strengthen shared interests among developed countries, emerging economies, and developing nations. Through common scientific objectives, it will promote international cooperation, contribute to conflict prevention, and provide independent, evidence-based scientific assessments to support the United Nations sustainable development agenda and relevant international legal and multilateral institutions.

Objective 3: Capacity Building

The ASEAN Centre will cultivate the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists equipped to address major global challenges, with particular attention to early-career researchers from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific Island states. Through doctoral training programmes, summer schools, exchanges and study visits for young scientists from the Global South, and digital education initiatives, the Centre will foster an internationally oriented scientific workforce with interdisciplinary competencies spanning the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and policy sciences.

Objective 4: Innovation Translation

The ASEAN Centre will promote the practical deployment of science-driven technologies suited to tropical environments, emerging economies, and societies at different stages of development. By connecting academic research with global industry partners, innovation clusters—including innovation clusters associated with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)—and international policymakers, the Centre will seek to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into tangible benefits for societies worldwide. Its efforts will support regional industrial upgrading, technology incubation, and South–South cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.

Objective 5: Environmental Stewardship

The ASEAN Centre will develop and implement new approaches and systems for environmental monitoring, forecasting, and risk assessment across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Drawing on expertise in satellite-based observation, geoinformatics, and coupled ocean–atmosphere research, the Centre will focus on the protection of tropical forests, coral reef ecosystems, monsoon climate systems, and the global ocean. Its work will provide scientific support for the protection of natural systems and global biodiversity, while contributing to the safeguarding of human health.

Priority Areas of Activity

Within the institutional framework established by the statutes of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, the ASEAN Centre will focus on the following five priority areas.

Global Ecosystem and Earth-System Monitoring

The ASEAN Centre will develop new methodologies and systems for global environmental monitoring, including space-based technologies and ocean-observation networks. Continuous and integrated observation of air, freshwater, terrestrial, and marine pollution across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide—and assessment of its implications for human health and quality of life—will constitute a core area of the Centre’s work. The Centre will contribute to international monitoring networks and initiatives coordinated or supported by organizations including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and the International Science Council (ISC).

Global Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Resilience

The ASEAN Centre will advance global forecasting, prevention, and risk-reduction approaches for natural and human-induced hazards that threaten human societies. It will develop and validate multi-hazard early warning systems addressing risks associated with typhoons, monsoon-related flooding, earthquakes and tsunamis, transboundary haze pollution, landslides, and outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. The Centre will work closely with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization, and meteorological and disaster-management authorities worldwide, while promoting the South–South transfer and adaptation of early-warning technologies and expertise.

Global Geoinformation and Earth Observation

The ASEAN Centre will advance geoinformatics on the basis of globally recognized technological principles and standards, supporting international data sharing and interoperability. Through research in satellite-data processing, geographic information systems, and spatial analysis, the Centre will advance remote-sensing methodologies and technologies, with particular emphasis on global agricultural monitoring, food-security assessment, and transboundary ecosystem management. The Centre will participate in international cooperation platforms and initiatives, including the InterCarto/InterGIS conference series and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and will contribute to international efforts supporting the development of global spatial data infrastructures.

Global Clean Energy and a Just Transition

The ASEAN Centre will promote energy efficiency and science- and technology-intensive solutions to support a just global energy transition. Assessment of emissions of carbon-containing trace gases and aerosols will inform global strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation. Through research into tropical biomass energy, biogas, microalgal technologies, marine energy, and nature-based carbon solutions, the Centre will contribute to the transition towards low-carbon energy systems. These efforts will support the objectives of the Paris Agreement and sustainable development pathways tailored to the needs and circumstances of countries across the Global South.

Global Interdisciplinary and Intercivilizational Dialogue

The ASEAN Centre will serve as a bridge connecting the exact sciences, the humanities, and global decision-making. By integrating socioeconomic, humanistic, and natural-science perspectives, the Centre will address the complex interactions between human systems and global environmental change. It will promote dialogue among scientists, policymakers, ethicists, and cultural leaders representing diverse cultural and intellectual traditions worldwide. The Centre will also encourage constructive engagement between traditional knowledge systems and modern science, contributing inclusive scientific perspectives to global governance and the formulation of solutions to shared global challenges.

Grand Challenges Framework

The Earth system is confronting a number of interconnected environmental and developmental challenges of global significance. These include climate change, sea-level rise, global coral-reef degradation, transboundary air pollution, emerging and re-emerging infectious disease pandemics, and increasing pressures on freshwater and food systems in rapidly urbanizing regions worldwide. These challenges transcend national and regional boundaries and cannot be effectively addressed in isolation. The International Eurasian Academy of Sciences ASEAN Centre is committed to providing a common global framework through which scientists from different regions can share peer-reviewed scientific knowledge and evidence. By facilitating the timely exchange of robust scientific information, the Centre seeks to accelerate evidence-informed global policymaking and contribute scientific knowledge and collective expertise to humanity’s response to shared global challenges.

Science Diplomacy

The ASEAN Centre recognizes the critical role of science diplomacy in international and multilateral policymaking forums. By facilitating dialogue among scientists, diplomats, and policymakers worldwide, the Centre seeks to identify common interests among countries at different stages of development and to advance international cooperation through shared scientific objectives. It will contribute to conflict prevention and provide evidence-based scientific assessments to inform international legal institutions and multilateral governance frameworks. The Centre will work closely with the United Nations system, the ASEAN Secretariat, science and technology authorities of ASEAN Member States, the Bangkok Innovation Cooperation Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and global scientific partners to advance a science-based agenda for global governance. Through these efforts, the ASEAN Centre will strengthen the role of scientific knowledge and international scientific cooperation in addressing complex global challenges and contribute to a more evidence-informed, inclusive, and collaborative system of global governance.