Implementation of community-based landslide hazard mitigation measures: the role of stakeholder engagement in 'sustainable' project scale-up

Rainfall‐triggered landslides present a major hazard to unplanned communities in tropical developing countries. We describe the MoSSaiC methodology (Management of Slope Stability in Communities) and show that landslide hazard can be reduced if tackled at the appropriate spatial and institutional sca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainable development (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) West Yorkshire, England), 2010-11, Vol.18 (6), p.331-349
Main Authors: Holcombe, Elizabeth A., Anderson, Malcolm G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caribbean
Communities
community
Community development
Construction costs
Developing countries
Environmental risk
Geological hazards
Hazards
Land use
landslide hazard
Landslides
Landslides & mudslides
Latin America
LDCs
Local communities
Management
Methodology
Natural disasters
Reduction
Risk
Risk management
Risk reduction
scale-up
Slope stability
Social ecology
Social policy
Stakeholders
Studies
Sustainability
sustainable development
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Summary:Rainfall‐triggered landslides present a major hazard to unplanned communities in tropical developing countries. We describe the MoSSaiC methodology (Management of Slope Stability in Communities) and show that landslide hazard can be reduced if tackled at the appropriate spatial and institutional scales. Stakeholder engagement – from communities to governments and funding agencies – has enabled the implementation of ‘on the ground’ construction to effectively reduce landslide hazard. Specifically, a cross‐agency management team liaised closely with the local social intervention fund, community project committees and individual residents to map the highly localized landside triggers and to design and build appropriate mitigation measures. Institutional, political and financial cycles can potentially act to destabilize such community‐based development initiatives. However, implementation of this approach in the Caribbean is shown to have reduced landslide hazard, whilst simultaneously gaining significant support from all stakeholders. The methodology outlined is an innovative and effective alternative to conventional ‘top‐down’ landslide risk reduction approaches. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
ISSN:0968-0802
1099-1719
DOI:10.1002/sd.409