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Institutes and Centres in the Natural Sciences

Last update:19 December 2024

Category 1 Institutes

UNESCO’s Category 1 Institutes, which are an integral part of UNESCO, build scientific capacity in Member States, essentially in developing countries.


  • Trieste, Italy

    ICTP is a driving force behind global efforts to advance scientific expertise in the developing world. Although operating with significant autonomy, the programmes of this institute are an integral part of the UNESCO Natural Sciences Sector programme.  ICTP hosts , a UNESCO programme that works to support sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy and diplomacy. The and , an international initiative to promote the role of women in science, innovation, technology and engineering, and a programme unit of UNESCO, are both hosted by TWAS.

  • )
    Montreal, Canada

    As part of its mandate,  collects and disseminates science statistics across the United Nations system gathering data from more than 200 countries and territories through its biennial survey and partnerships with key organizations. Science statistics are used in particular to compile the UNESCO Science Report. 

Category 2 Centres and Institutes

Category 2 centres and institutes contribute to the execution of UNESCO’s programme through capacity building; the exchange of information in a particular discipline; theoretical and experimental research; and advanced training. They are under the auspices of UNESCO but are not legally part of the Organization; they are associated with it through formal arrangements approved by the General Conference. These centres and institutes form a vast network of associated centres in the fields of water, renewable energy, science policy, biotechnology, geosciences, the basic sciences and remote sensing.

Science Policy


  • Beijing, China
  •  
    Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran

  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Basic sciences and Engineering


  • Sao Paulo, Brazil

  • Yaounde, Cameroon

  • Beijing, China

  • Nice, France

  • Accra, Ghana

  • Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico

  • Lisbon, Portugal

  • Mǎgurele-Bucarest, Romania

  • Kigali, Rwanda
  • (ITCA)
    Chiang Mai, Thailand

  • Kiev, Ukraine

  • Hanoi, Viet Nam

  • Hanoi, Viet Nam

Engineering


  • Beijing, China

  • Beijing, China

  • Aalborg, Denmark

  • St Peterburg, Russian Federation

Biotechnology


  • Faridabad, India

  • Rehovot, Israel

  • Mashad, Iran

  • Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Karachi, Pakistan

Renewable energy


  • Marrakech, Morocco

  • Moscow, Russian Federation

Earth sciences

  • International Research Centre on Karst (IRCK)
    Guilin, China

  • Langfang, China

  • Beijing, China

  • Reykjavik, Iceland

Disaster Risk Reduction


  • Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  • Regional Education and Research Center on Earthquake Risk Management and Resilience for West and Central Asia at the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES)
    Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Ecological sciences


  • Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Castellet I la Gornal, Spain 
  • Global Research and Training Centre for Internationally Designated Areas (GCIDA)
    Jeju Island, Republic of Korea

  • Reykjavik, Iceland
  • (CoEB)
    University of Rwanda in Huye, Rwanda

Water sciences


  • Parque Tecnologico Itaipú Binacional, Brazil and Paraguay

  • La Serena, Chile

  • Beijing, China

  • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

  • 6th of October City, Egypt

  • El-Qanater, Egypt
  • African Regional Centre for Ecohydrology (ARCE)
    Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Koblenz, Germany

  • Thessaloniki, Greece

  • Tsukuba, Japan

  • Cibinong, Indonesia

  • Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran

  • Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

  • Teheran, Islamic Republic of Iran

  • Almaty, Kazakhstan

  • Kuwait City, Kuwait

  • at the K-Water Institute, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
  • Regional Centre for Shared Aquifer Resources Management (RCSARM)
    Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Mexico City, Mexico

  • Delft, the Netherlands

  • Delft, The Netherlands

  • Kaduna, Nigeria
  • Regional Centre for Water Management Research in Arid Zones (RCWMRIAZ)
    Pakistan
  • Regional Water Research Centre on Hydrology of Headwater Catchments (RWRC-COMSATS)
    Abbottabad, Pakistan

  • Poland
  • Belgrade, Serbia

  • Belgrade, Serbia
  • Khartoum, Sudan

  • Stockholm, Sweden 

  • University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom

  • Montevideo, Uruguay
  • International Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Water Systems Dynamics, (ICIReWaRD)
    Montpellier, France
  • Regional Experimental Centre for Sanitation Technologies (CERTS)
    Uruguay

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