A workshop was held at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, in the Philippines, on 5-7 December 1999 to discuss, among other things, the need for an Asian programme similar to the Reduction of Earthquake Losses in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (RELEMR). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and UNESCO have been cooperating with scientific organizations of the eastern Mediterranean region since 1993 within the framework of RELEMR and it eventually served as a model for the creation of RELSAR (Reducing Earthquake Losses in the South Asian Region. This meeting is the 7th of a series of International Workshops on Seismic Analysis in South-Asia.

The Asian region has the highest level of seismicity on the planet; consequently it has suffered from many of the largest earthquakes in history.
The high seismic risk in the region was recently highlighted by the September 1999 magnitude 7.4 earthquake in central Taiwan, which caused more than 1,000 deaths and billions of U.S. dollars in damage; and by the 26 January 2001 magnitude 7.5 earthquake in Bhuj, India.
The majority of earthquakes in the Asian region originate in areas of plate convergence where one tectonic plate slides beneath another plate (subduction zones). In addition to generating large earthquakes, plate subduction often gives rise to volcanism. However, large earthquakes are not always associated with subduction zones. Faults where horizontal motion takes place (strike-slip faults) also generate devastating earthquakes.
Strike-slip faults in China and Mongolia are responsible for numerous destructive earthquakes, often with magnitudes between 6.0 and 7.5 and occasionally greater than 8.0.
In response to this risk, most nations have increased the number and quality of seismic stations used to monitor earthquake activity.
The optimal use of these data for regional earthquake monitoring is a major challenge that will require the exchange of data, software, and expertise among the interested nations.