Theme 1
Reducing Landslide Disaster Risk
Coordinators: Shinji Sassa, Irasema Alcántara-Ayala, Matjaž Mikoš, Kyoji Sassa
Global Promotion of Understanding and Reducing Landslide Disaster Risk is the flagship aim of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) and the Global Promotion Committee of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL) and the Kyoto Landslide Commitment (GPC/IPL-KLC) including United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), United Nations University (UNU), International Science Council (ISC), World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), and International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).
The Kyoto 2020 Commitment for Global Promotion of Understanding and Reducing Landslide Disaster Risk (Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020: KLC2020): A Commitment to the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 United Nations Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement was launched on 5 November 2020 by the adoption of 2020 Kyoto Declaration. It is expected to continue up to 2030 and even beyond to globally promote the understanding and reducing landslide disaster risk as it addresses the adverse effects of climate change.
This theme 1 is devoted to such a global framework aimed at providing key actors and stakeholders concerned with landslide risk at all levels and sectors with the tools, information, platforms, technical expertise and incentives to promote landslide risk reduction on a global scale, and is comprised of three major sessions:
- International Programme on Landslides and Global and International Activities for KLC2020
- Understanding and Reducing Landslide Disaster Risks as Cascading and Multi-Geohazards
- Landslides and Society: Cultural, Educational, Ethical, Social and Policy Aspects in Sustainable Landslide Risk Reduction
CONVENERS:
Shinji Sassa, Irasema Alcántara-Ayala, Matjaž Mikoš, Kyoji Sassa
The International Programme on Landslides (IPL) is a Programme of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) for Landslide Disaster Risk Reduction. It was originally launched in November 2002. The new IPL was defined and established by the 2006 Tokyo Action Plan “Strengthening Research and Learning on Landslides and Related Earth System Disasters for Global Risk Preparedness.” In order to promote the IPL and the 2006 Tokyo Action Plan, ICL exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with each of the seven United Nations and International Stakeholders: UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UNDRR, UNU, ISC, WFEO. The logo of IPL includes the ICL and seven global stakeholders.
The IPL is managed by the Global Promotion Committee of the International Programme on Landslides and the Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020 (GPC/IPL-KLC). The IPL activities include IPL projects proposed by ICL members and ICL Network coordinators being approved by GPC/IPL-KLC every year, and the World Centers of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction (WCOEs) are proposed and approved by GPC/IPL-KLC every 3 years. This session is devoted to activity reports of ongoing IPL projects, ICL Networks, ongoing WCOEs (2023-2026), and new proposals of IPL projects and WCOE (2026-2029).
CONVENERS:
Shinji Sassa, Xuanmei Fan, David Huntley, David Tappin
Understanding and Reducing Landslide Disaster Risks as Cascading and Multi-Geohazards are the key and important perspective to promote landslide risk reduction on a global scale. This session addresses cascading multi-hazard risks involving landslides, tsunamis and impacts on infrastructures. The landslides that trigger tsunamis represent coastal and submarine landslides, river landslides, reservoir landslides, lake landslides, as well as fjord landslides. The origins range widely from earthquakes to volcanoes, rainfalls, rising water levels, and others. The combined effects of triggering factors, including rainfall, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, can lead to greater impacts through disastrous landslides such as lahars, debris flows, rock falls, and megaslides across the earth surface. Critical infrastructures in mountains, coastal and offshore areas are at risks from cascading multi-hazards that include landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Understanding and reducing such multi-hazard risks will require developing a better understanding of the multiple mechanisms and multi-phased physics of the relevant cascading multi-hazard phenomena pertaining to landslides including landslide tsunami hazard. An international collaborative network and platform would be important for such a multi-hazard risk reduction. In this framework, this session promotes understanding and reducing landslide disaster risks as cascading and multi-geohazards at both the regional and global scales.
CONVENERS:
Matjaž Mikoš, Irasema Alcántara-Ayala, Beena Ajmera, Giuseppe Di Capua
By definition, landslide related studies are often subject to many factors that can negatively influence the impartiality, transparency, inclusivity, and standards of conduct of individuals. Today more than ever before, landslide researchers need to critically evaluate all stages of their work from site selection, project goals, participation, output dissemination, quality control, data sharing, authorship, accountability, and other issues based on a foundation of ethical values and practice. This session provides an opportunity to present and discuss a suite of topics, case studies and strategies that are germane to ethical landslide research. We encourage practitioners to submit contributions related to landslide ethics as examples include conflicts of interest, gender/ageism biases, questionable peer reviewing, breaches of standards, work safety avoidance, developed country favoritism, information hoarding, rumor impacts, social media abuse, limiting education, and respecting privacy are but a few examples of the many ethical issues that can impede the positive growth and progress in landslide studies.
KLC2020 also defines in its Action 5 «Promote open communication with local governments and society through integrated research, capacity building, knowledge transfer, awareness-raising, training, and educational activities, to enable societies and local communities to develop effective policies and strategies for reducing landslide disaster risk, to strengthen their capacities for preventing hazards from developing into major disasters, and to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of relief programs.”
This Session therefore also aims at knowledge exchange among diverse stakeholders (from academic institutions, research institutions, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, engineers, policy makers, local communities, …), including ICL community how Open Science and Open Educational Resources can and should be developed in the field of capacity development and education for landslide risk reduction. Reports and expertise papers, case studies and best practices papers are welcome to shed light on how these new educational and research ways have already been or may be successfully applied worldwide in future to meet Sendai Framework 2015-2030 for Disaster Risk Reduction and Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the field of Landslide Disaster Risk Reduction.
Theme 2
Remote sensing, site investigation, monitoring and early warning
Coordinators: Maneesha Vinodini Ramesh, Veronica Tofani, Jan Klimeš
Landslides pose significant threats to infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems worldwide, necessitating a multidisciplinary approach to risk assessment, monitoring, and mitigation. This theme will explore cutting-edge technologies and scientific methodologies that enhance our ability to detect, investigate, monitor, and predict landslides.
The theme focuses on the integration of remote sensing, geotechnical site investigation, real-time monitoring systems, and early warning frameworks to improve landslide hazard assessment and disaster resilience. Advances in satellite-based imaging, LiDAR mapping, ground-based sensor networks, machine learning, and AI-driven predictive models will be key discussion points. A combination of remote sensing, site investigation, monitoring, and early warning enhances landslide risk assessment and disaster preparedness. The integration of geospatial data, field investigations, and real-time monitoring helps in early detection, mitigation, and response to landslide hazards.
Theme 2 “Remote sensing, monitoring and early warning” welcomes contributions related to case studies, state of the art research and application on landslide monitoring, use of Earth Observation (EO) data for landslide investigation, risk assessment and management, analysis of displacement monitoring data for landslide prediction, development of innovative early warning systems, SAR interferometry, geophysical imaging, multi-platform and multi-sensor monitoring data.
Theme 3
Testing, modeling and mitigation techniques
Coordinators: Binod Tiwari, Sabatino Cuomo, Beena Ajmera, S. S. Chandrasekaran
Landslides annually cause a significant loss of lives and properties globally. While comprehensive efforts – both with soft and hard measures – are required to mitigate landslide hazards, field as well as laboratory-based investigations, testing, and modeling play significant roles in designing and implementing the mitigation measures. In the past few decades – due to the advancement of computing and sensing technology – we have witnessed a significant advancement in landslide investigation and laboratory as well as field testing methods. Moreover, with the significant enhancement in high-speed computing infrastructure, availability of robust computer programs, advancement of artificial intelligence techniques, availability of better materials for physical modeling, and improvement in sensor as well as internet technology, both numerical and physical modeling techniques on landslide related research/investigation have shown a massive evolution. As a result, more advanced landslide mitigation techniques have been become available, as compared to several decades ago. This theme covers many sessions that will include presentations from a wider scope pertinent to recent advancements in landslide testing, modeling, and mitigation techniques.
Theme 3 will cover various aspects of testing, modeling and mitigation techniques pertinent to landslide research and practice through the following sessions.
Theme 4
Landslide Hazard Mapping, Risk Assessment and Management
Coordinators: David Huntley, Biljana Abolmasov, Mario Parise, Dhanya M
Theme 4 focuses on state-of-the-art approaches to mapping landslides and related geohazards, quantitative assessments of risks, and best practices for disaster-risk management. Nine sessions, with 15-minute talks and electronic posters will examine the challenges in landslide inventory mapping, temporal-spatial assessments, modelling and prediction, and disaster-risk management, along with the challenges faced by transdisciplinary research in data-scarce environments. Theme 4 sessions address the impacts of climate-driven landslides and the vulnerability of people, communities and socioeconomic infrastructure; in addition to past, current and future barriers, adaptation strategies, and paths to resilience.
Theme 5
Progress in landslide science and applications
Coordinators: Željko Arbanas, Hemalatha Thirugnanam, Faisal Fathani, Jonathan Chambers
In the circumstances of the accelerated climate change, as well as other conditions (population growth, urbanization, infrastructure development, deforestation, change of land use etc.) have an impact on the changing environment and increasing number and frequency of landslides and other geohazards in the world followed by increasing damage and number of casualties. In the last decade the significant progress has been made in landslide research and practice to prevent and response to the consequences of landslides and for the purposes of mitigation, prevention, and early warning.
The accelerated development of modern technologies enables the availability of an increasing number of modern techniques and practical applications used in the landslide science. Additionally, development of AI and including it in landslide research, especially in the field of landslides and their behaviour prediction opening new chapters and advances in landslide research and its applications. Theme 5 “Progress in landslide science and applications” contains sessions related to particular advances in landslide science and applications associated with the development of modern technologies and equipment, as well as some very specific topics in very narrow areas of landslide research, the causes of landslides and measures to mitigate the consequences of landslides.
Theme 6
Regional Landslide Case Studies
Coordinators: Chih-Chung Chung, Xuanmei Fan
Understanding and documenting landslide occurrences at a regional scale is essential for developing effective risk assessment and mitigation strategies. Theme 6 focuses on analyzing landslides within specific geographical contexts, taking into account local geological, climatic, and anthropogenic factors that contribute to slope instability.
This theme aligns with global efforts in landslide risk reduction, including the Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020 (KLC2020), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other international agreements aimed at promoting resilience against geohazards.
By examining real-world landslide case studies, this theme provides valuable insights into past disasters, their causes, and the effectiveness of applied mitigation measures. Such studies support regional and global knowledge-sharing efforts, fostering collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders.
Key Sessions
Comparative Analysis of Regional Landslides
- Investigating common triggers and failure mechanisms in different regions.
- Evaluating the role of geological, climatic, and human-induced factors.
- Identifying similarities and differences between landslide-prone areas.
Landslide Early Warning and Monitoring at the Regional Scale
- Examining case studies on successful early warning systems.
- Discussing the integration of remote sensing, ground-based monitoring, and community engagement.
- Exploring advances in real-time landslide detection and forecasting.
Regional Approaches to Landslide Risk Reduction and Policy Implementation
- Reviewing successful landslide mitigation strategies at local and national levels.
- Assessing the effectiveness of land-use planning, engineering solutions, and disaster response policies.
- Promoting knowledge exchange and capacity building among regions with similar landslide challenges.
This theme aims to enhance the scientific and practical understanding of landslides through regional case studies, contributing to the broader global effort of reducing landslide risks and improving resilience in vulnerable communities.
Proposals for Oral Sessions
Oral presentation sessions will be organized under each theme. Proposals are invited to organize oral sessions each with a minimum of six speakers. Please submit the proposals to the WLF7 Programme Committee at programmes@wlf7.org.