Expert engagement in participatory processes: translating stakeholder discourses into policy options

This paper demonstrates an innovative role for experts in supporting participatory policy processes with an application to landslide risk management in the Italian town of Nocera Inferiore. Experts co-produce risk mitigation options based on their specialized knowledge taking account of local knowledge and values by directly coupling stakeholder discourses with option design. Drawing on the theory of plural rationality and based on a literature review, interviews and a public questionnaire, stakeholder discourses are elicited on the landslide risk problem and its solution. Armed with the discourses and in close interaction with stakeholders, experts provide a range of technical mitigation options, each within a given budget constraint. These options are subsequently deliberated in the participatory process with the intent of reaching compromise recommendations for landslide risk mitigation. As we show in an accompanying paper, “Compromise not consensus. Designing a participatory process for landslide risk mitigation” (this issue), the provision of multiple co-produced policy options enhances stakeholder deliberation by respecting legitimate differences in values and worldviews.

     

Stakeholder perspectives on barriers to landslide risk governance

European Union directives as well as national legislation are placing great emphasis on the inclusion of stakeholder perspectives in the governance of risks from natural hazards. This should help decision makers formulate better policies. However, to date, there is little information on stakeholders’ perspectives with respect to landslide risk governance. This paper addresses the gap by reporting on research in Nocera Inferiore, Italy. The research is based on a documentary analysis, 43 semi-structured interviews and a survey submitted to 373 residents. The political instability, the unfairness of national funding allocation across municipalities and the residents’ lack of knowledge about risk assessment and emergency planning are some of the main barriers to effective risk governance. Moreover, there are divergent, sometimes even opposite, stakeholders’ views on several issues, such as the relevance of illegal development in risky areas. The results highlight the importance of addressing these divergent views and including the plurality of voices as a prerequisite for inclusive risk governance. The research provided essential background information for a participatory process, which was designed to support decisions on landslide risk mitigation measures in Nocera Inferiore (Linnerooth-Bayer et al. this issue). The methodology will be of more general interest to researchers and policymakers intent upon including stakeholder perspectives in natural risk governance.

     

Contextualizing vulnerability assessment: a support to geo-risk management in central Africa

European Union directives as well as national legislation are placing great emphasis on the inclusion of stakeholder perspectives in the governance of risks from natural hazards. This should help decision makers formulate better policies. However, to date, there is little information on stakeholders’ perspectives with respect to landslide risk governance. This paper addresses the gap by reporting on research in Nocera Inferiore, Italy. The research is based on a documentary analysis, 43 semi-structured interviews and a survey submitted to 373 residents. The political instability, the unfairness of national funding allocation across municipalities and the residents’ lack of knowledge about risk assessment and emergency planning are some of the main barriers to effective risk governance. Moreover, there are divergent, sometimes even opposite, stakeholders’ views on several issues, such as the relevance of illegal development in risky areas. The results highlight the importance of addressing these divergent views and including the plurality of voices as a prerequisite for inclusive risk governance. The research provided essential background information for a participatory process, which was designed to support decisions on landslide risk mitigation measures in Nocera Inferiore (Linnerooth-Bayer et al. this issue). The methodology will be of more general interest to researchers and policymakers intent upon including stakeholder perspectives in natural risk governance.     

Compromise not consensus: designing a participatory process for landslide risk mitigation

With the escalating costs of landslides, the challenge for local authorities is to develop institutional arrangements for landslide risk management that are viewed as efficient, feasible and fair by those affected. For this purpose, the participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process is mandated by the European Union as a way of improving its perceived legitimacy and transparency. This paper reports on an analytical-deliberative process for selecting landslide risk mitigation measures in the town of Nocera Inferiore in southern Italy. The process was structured as a series of meetings with a group of selected residents and several parallel activities open to the public. The preparatory work included a literature/media review, semi-structured interviews carried out with key local stakeholders and a survey eliciting residents’ views on landslide risk management. The main point of departure in the design of this process was the explicit elicitation and structuring of multiple worldviews (or perspectives) among the participants with respect to the nature of the problem and its solution. Rather than eliciting preferences using decision analytical methods (e.g. utility theory or multi-criteria evaluation), this process built on a body of research—based on the theory of plural rationality—that has teased out the limited number of contending and socially constructed definitions of problem-and-solution that are able to achieve viability. This framing proved effective in structuring participants’ views and arriving at a compromise recommendation (not, as is often aimed for, a consensus) on measures for reducing landslide risk. Experts played a unique role in this process by providing a range of policy options that corresponded to the different perspectives held by the participants.     

Compromise not consensus: designing a participatory process for landslide risk mitigation

With the escalating costs of landslides, the challenge for local authorities is to develop institutional arrangements for landslide risk management that are viewed as efficient, feasible and fair by those affected. For this purpose, the participation of stakeholders in the decision-making process is mandated by the European Union as a way of improving its perceived legitimacy and transparency. This paper reports on an analytical-deliberative process for selecting landslide risk mitigation measures in the town of Nocera Inferiore in southern Italy. The process was structured as a series of meetings with a group of selected residents and several parallel activities open to the public. The preparatory work included a literature/media review, semi-structured interviews carried out with key local stakeholders and a survey eliciting residents’ views on landslide risk management. The main point of departure in the design of this process was the explicit elicitation and structuring of multiple worldviews (or perspectives) among the participants with respect to the nature of the problem and its solution. Rather than eliciting preferences using decision analytical methods (e.g. utility theory or multi-criteria evaluation), this process built on a body of research—based on the theory of plural rationality—that has teased out the limited number of contending and socially constructed definitions of problem-and-solution that are able to achieve viability. This framing proved effective in structuring participants’ views and arriving at a compromise recommendation (not, as is often aimed for, a consensus) on measures for reducing landslide risk. Experts played a unique role in this process by providing a range of policy options that corresponded to the different perspectives held by the participants.

     

Landslide risk perception: a case study in Southern Italy

Perceptions of risk are a key issue when seeking to develop systems, practices and policies to protect local populations. This is particularly evident when risk mitigation strategies involve non-structural measures such as relocation and warning systems which presuppose the active involvement of the communities in question. This study adopts an interdisciplinary approach to studying the perceptions, knowledge and opinions on landslide risk amongst residents in Sarno, a small town in Southern Italy which was hit by disastrous landslides on 5–6 May 1998. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted in the months of March, April and May 2013 using a purpose-designed questionnaire. The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with 100 residents, 60 of whom live inside the so-called “red zone”, a territory declared at high residual risk soon after the events of 1998. The questionnaire included questions relating to perceived risk exposure, trust in institutions responsible for risk management, evaluations of risk mitigation measures and the early-warning strategy. The results of the study clearly emerges, amongst other issues, that the organisms which are responsible for risk management in Sarno need to develop more effective communication strategies in order to transmit knowledge about the actions implemented to reduce landslide risk in the area.     

Vulnerability assessment for preliminary flood risk mapping and management in coastal areas

Despite continuing technological advancement in hazard and vulnerability assessment, risk modelling and hazard mitigation techniques, losses to disasters associated with natural hazards continue and in some cases are increasing across Europe and worldwide. This paper focuses on the need to bridge the gap between technical solutions and the sociopolitical contexts in which these are produced, to better understand and create more effective risk management regimes. We do so with application of the science–policy co-production frame to landslide risk management in Italy. The methodology deployed included a desk study informed by semi-structured interviews carried out with selected key stakeholders at national, regional and municipal level. We propose a normative and analytical framework for transferring co-production into natural hazard research by presenting a matrix identifying four contexts within which co-production may unfold. The matrix is based on two axes, which distinguish between innovation and its absence in science and policy domains. We examine several examples of co-production, such as the water–soil integrated approach to risk management or the implementation of hazard/risk assessment. The results highlight that the insulation of science from the institutional context within which knowledge is produced and used is a very problematic issue. This often hinders the implementation of desirable policies and undermines the effectiveness of interventions. Moreover, innovation in science and policy does not automatically result in successful solutions for landslide risk management. Finally, results confirm the utility of co-production but also highlight methodological challenges associated with the introduction of this new conceptual paradigm into the well-structured communities of scientists and policy-makers.     

Participatory model assessment of earthquake-induced landslide hazard models

The study described in this paper investigates the relative merits of two peer-reviewed earthquake-induced landslide models using participatory model assessment. The earthquake-induced landslide hazard models assessed are a simplified Newmark’s displacement model and a recently developed knowledge-based model. Participatory model assessment involves conducting facilitated participatory processes where the model(s) are used for aiding decisions within a socio-behavioral experiment designed for collecting data to evaluate formal hypotheses about the model(s). The paper sets out the design of the participatory model assessment—a series of workshops involving experts and potential model end-users that incorporated a roleplay site selection task. Quantitative data elicited using a set of entrance and exit questionnaires were analyzed to investigate hypotheses about the models. Participants found the knowledge-based model to be significantly more complete and more informative for their roleplay task. Overall, the two models did not yield significant differences with respect to issues such as task efficiency or task outcome satisfaction. Lastly, it was found that education level and disciplinary perspectives (of those analyzed) did not significantly affect outcomes, suggesting that a wide demographic of participants can be used for participatory model assessments. Additional research is needed to assess the models in different contexts, as well as more broadly developing a set of best practices for conducting participatory model assessments of other natural hazard and risk models intended to support decision-making.     

An integrated approach for evaluating the effectiveness of landslide risk reduction in unplanned communities in the Caribbean

Despite the recognition of the need for mitigation approaches to landslide risk in developing countries, the delivery of ‘on-the-ground’ measures is rarely undertaken. With respect to other ‘natural’ hazards, it is widely reported that mitigation can pay. However, the lack of such an evidence base in relation to landslides in developing countries hinders advocacy amongst decision makers for expenditure on ex-ante measures. This research addresses these limitations directly by developing and applying an integrated risk assessment and cost–benefit analysis of physical landslide mitigation measures implemented in an unplanned community in the Eastern Caribbean. In order to quantify the level of landslide risk reduction achieved, landslide hazard and vulnerability were modelled (before and after the intervention), and project costs, direct and indirect benefits were monetised. It is shown that the probability of landslide occurrence has been substantially reduced by implementing surface-water drainage measures and that the benefits of the project outweigh the costs by a ratio of 2.7–1. This paper adds to the evidence base that ‘mitigation pays’ with respect to landslide risk in the most vulnerable communities—thus strengthening the argument for ex-ante measures. This integrated project evaluation methodology should be suitable for adoption as part of the community-based landslide mitigation project cycle, and it is hoped that this resource, and the results of this study, will stimulate further such programmes.     

Quantitative analysis of consequences to masonry buildings interacting with slow-moving landslide mechanisms: a case study

Quantitative analysis of consequences (in terms of expected monetary losses) induced by slow-moving landslide mechanisms to buildings or infrastructure networks is a key step in the landslide risk management framework. It can influence risk mitigation policies as well as help authorities in charge of land management in addressing/prioritizing interventions or restoration works. This kind of analysis generally requires multidisciplinary approaches, which cannot disregard a thorough knowledge of landslide mechanisms, and rich datasets that are seldom available as testified by the limited number of examples in the scientific literature. With reference to the well-documented case study of Lungro town (Calabria region, southern Italy)—severely affected by slow-moving landslides of different types—the present paper proposes and implements a multi-step procedure for monetary loss forecasting associated with different landslide kinematic/damage scenarios. Procedures to typify landslide mechanisms and physical vulnerability analysis, previously tested in the same area, are here appropriately merged to derive both kinematic and damage scenarios to the exposed buildings. Then, the outcomes are combined with economic data in order to forecast monetary loss at municipal scale. The proposed method and the obtained results, once further validated, could stand as reference case for other urban areas in similar geo-environmental contexts in order to derive useful information on expected direct consequences unless slow-moving landslide risk mitigation measures are taken.     

基于机器学习的区域滑坡危险性评价方法综述

我国滑坡灾害分布范围广,危害严重。区域滑坡危险性评价一直都是滑坡灾害防灾减灾的重要内容之一。近年来,随着大数据和人工智能技术的飞速发展,机器学习技术逐渐在滑坡灾害危险性评价方面得到广泛应用,并取得了较好效果。在大量研读文献的基础上,系统阐述了基于机器学习技术的滑坡危险性评价方法研究现状。综述从评价因子选择与量化归一化、数据清洗与样本集构建、模型选取与训练评价等三个关键环节对现有研究成果进行分析评述,最后对机器学习滑坡危险性评价方法的发展趋势提出讨论意见。     

滑坡风险评估GIS的设计与实现

对地理信息系统在评估过程中的作用进行了详细阐述,着重强调了GIS强大的数据管理、空间分析和空间量算功能在滑坡信息分析中的作用.基于模糊综合评判模型,进行了滑坡风险评估地理信息系统的设计与实现.针对地形地貌、地质条件、气候条件、水文条件、植被条件、人为活动、人口密度、工程设施和土地利用等信息,按致灾指标提取与分析、承灾指...     

应对全球变化的中国地质灾害综合减灾战略研究

为了探索极端气候事件引发重大地质灾害的综合减灾防灾战略,提高主动减灾防灾的科技能力与管理水平,积极应对全球变化条件下中国地质灾害防治面临的挑战,本文在"全球灾变事件与重大地质灾害减灾战略研究会"与会专家汇报和讨论的基础上,结合近年来国内重大地质灾害事件,从新构造与地震活动,气候变化,人口与城镇化进程三个方面开展分析,试图探讨我国2010年重大地质灾害多发,群发的原因,并对我国地质灾害今后面临的总体形势做出宏观研判。综合分析认为:①近年来全球构造运动和地震活动进入一个新的相对活跃期,我国处于欧亚地震带和环太平洋地震带的交汇区,是现今构造地震活动强烈响应区,尤其是印度板块的强烈活动,使青藏高原周缘地区的地震活动频繁,断裂活动增强,内外动力耦合作用下的地质灾害频发是总体趋势;②全球气候变化引起的极端气候异常条件使地质灾害的成灾模式趋于多样化和复杂化,由于中国大陆是全球最大大陆性气候和海洋性气候交汇地带,也是地貌高差气候变化最大的地区,特别是2010年长时间干旱,汛期集中的高强度、长持时的降雨、局部强暴雨导致大规模滑坡泥石流灾害,尤其是在青藏高原周缘等内动力作用强烈地区,导致地质灾害频发;③人口增长、城镇化进程及工程经济活动是地质灾害发生不可忽视的重要因素,城镇化建设和工程经济活动规模大,且逐步向生态地质环境相对脆弱的地区转移,城镇人口密度快速增加,特别是山区城镇自主防灾减灾意识薄弱,直接导致地质灾害伤亡和损失程度加重。为了应对全球变化条件下的中国地质灾害形势,提高我国地质灾害防灾科技能力与管理水平,从我国地质灾害防灾减灾的现状分析入手,充分借鉴国际自然灾害综合减灾与风险管理的成功经验与策略,从推进中国地质灾害风险管理的角度提出了7点综合减灾建议,以期起到抛砖引玉的作用,推动政府管理部门、专业技术人员参与地质灾害综合减灾的广泛交流与讨论,促进防灾减灾科技与策略在实践中应用,为应对全球变化的中国地质灾害综合减灾集思广益。     

Interdisciplinary and participatory approaches: the key to effective groundwater management

The challenges of a changing world, which are progressively threatening sustainable use of groundwater resources, can only be rationally and effectively addressed through close collaboration between experts and practitioners from different disciplines. Furthermore, science and management need to build on stakeholder opinions and processes in order to generate useful knowledge and positive outcomes in terms of sustainable and equitable groundwater management. This essay provides a discussion of the status of and vision for participatory and inter-disciplinary approaches to groundwater evaluation and management as well as a conceptual framework and relevant research questions that will facilitate such approaches.     

Dynamic analysis and numerical modeling of the 2015 catastrophic landslide of the construction waste landfill at Guangming,Shenzhen, China

Since lots of underground and slope excavation works were conducted during the urbanization process, an increasing number of sites in ravines around a city have been used to stockpile a large amount of excavated soils. This brings a huge challenge for researchers and managers in the risk evaluation and mitigation of potential dangers of these man-made construction waste landfills. This paper describes a recently large landslide of the construction waste landfill, which occurred at a site of Guangming new district in Shenzhen, China, on December 20, 2015. This catastrophic landslide caused the death of 69 persons and 8 persons are still missing. In this paper, this landslide was numerically simulated and analyzed. In spite of neither high-intensity rainfall nor antecedent rainfall, a slope of this landfill with a relative height of 111 m sided and caused about 2.34 million cubic meters of the soils to travel over a gentle terrain more than 1.2 km. This means that the landslide mobility index (H/L = 0.092) is much lower than a general designed value and the values in most other cases. A depth-integrated continuum method and a MacCormack-TVD finite difference algorithm are adopted, in this paper, to numerically simulate the dynamic process of this large landslide. It is found that a Coulomb friction model with consideration of the pore water pressure effects can well reproduce the main characteristics of the dynamic process of this landslide. Sensitivity analysis has demonstrated that the high pore water pressure in the soils plays a significant role in its mobility and is a key factor to the severity of this landslide.     

Quantitative risk assessment of landslides with direct simulation of pre-failure to post-failure behaviors

Most previous studies on the quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of landslides focused on the probability of slope failure at the pre-failure stage and adopted empirical models for consequence analysis. The conventional approaches simplify the relationship between the pre-failure state and the post-failure behavior and cannot reasonably account for the effects of uncertainty on the entire landslide process. In this paper, an efficient QRA method that involves the direct simulation of the entire landslide process is proposed. A QRA formula that considers the probability of only those landslides that can impact the element at risk is used. The coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian method is used to simulate the entire landslide process and to identify slopes that can impact the element at risk and determine the failure consequences. The subset simulation method is adopted to efficiently estimate the probability of landslide impact, and parameter uncertainty is considered. Two case histories of landslides are investigated. First, the 2011 Baqiao loess landslide in Xi’an, China, is investigated, and the results of the proposed method are compared with those of the conventional approaches. Second, the proposed method is applied to assess the risk of the 2015 Ganjingzi landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir. The effects of the risk mitigation works are also discussed.

     

Generation of a landslide risk index map for Cuba using spatial multi-criteria evaluation

This paper explains the procedure for the generation of a landslide risk index map at national level in Cuba, using a semi-quantitative model with ten indicator maps and a cell size of 90 × 90 m. The model was designed and implemented using spatial multi-criteria evaluation techniques in a GIS system. Each indicator was processed, analysed and standardised according to its contribution to hazard and vulnerability. The indicators were weighted using direct, pairwise comparison and rank-ordering weighting methods, and weights were combined to obtain the final landslide risk index map. The results were analysed per physiographic region and administrative units at provincial and municipal levels. The Sierra Maestra mountain system was found to have the largest concentration of high landslide risk index values while the Nipe–Cristal–Baracoa system has the highest absolute values, although they are more dispersed. The results obtained allow designing an appropriated landslide risk mitigation plan at national level and to link the information to the national hurricane early warning system, allowing also warning and evacuation for landslide-prone areas.     

青海尖扎盆地寺门村滑坡发育特征及成因分析

滑坡形成演化及复活一直是滑坡防灾减灾领域研究的热点问题。本文在对黄河上游尖扎盆地地质环境背景分析和滑坡体野外调查、遥感解译、实验测试的基础上,分析研究了盆地内寺门村滑坡的变形过程、滑带土和堆积体特征,还原了滑坡的演化过程,厘定了滑坡复活因素,提出了黄河上游滑坡堆积体开发利用对策建议,认为（1）该滑坡是2005年之前发生的老滑坡因河流侧蚀和2018年春季人工灌溉引发的复活性滑坡;（2）滑坡体综合治理应与土地整治相结合且应选择合适的灌溉方式。研究结果对于青藏高原东北缘黄河上游地区的滑坡防灾减灾及滑坡体开发利用具有重要意义。     

工程滑坡防治关键问题初论

在概述工程滑坡灾害防治研究主要进展的基础上,从工程边坡扰动过程与机理、潜在工程滑坡危险性识别评估和监测预警3个方面,集成探索工程滑坡灾害有效预防的主要途径,强调潜在工程滑坡危险性识别评估是有效预防工程滑坡灾害的关键;从快速钻探勘察技术、快速评估和快速锚固技术,特别是深层滑坡自适应锚固技术研究方面,概述工程滑坡快速防治技术研究新进展;从主动减灾防灾理念和意识、工程滑坡风险评估与控制、综合减灾3个方面,集成研究主动减轻工程滑坡灾害的有效途径,强调构建“防、治、管”为一体的国家级综合减灾信息共享平台,是综合减灾防灾的关键。     

GIS-based landslide susceptibility evaluation using fuzzy-AHP multi-criteria decision-making techniques in the Abha Watershed,Saudi Arabia

Landslides are natural geological disasters causing massive destructions and loss of lives, as well as severe damage to natural resources, so it is essential to delineate the area that probably will be affected by landslides. Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) is making increasing implications for GIS-based spatial analysis in combination with multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) methods. It is considered to be an effective tool to understand natural disasters related to mass movements and carry out an appropriate risk assessment. This study is based on an integrated approach of GIS and statistical modelling including fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), weighted linear combination and MCE models. In the modelling process, eleven causative factors include slope aspect, slope, rainfall, geology, geomorphology, distance from lineament, distance from drainage networks, distance from the road, land use/land cover, soil erodibility and vegetation proportion were identified for landslide susceptibility mapping. These factors were identified based on the (1) literature review, (2) the expert knowledge, (3) field observation, (4) geophysical investigation, and (5) multivariate techniques. Initially, analytical hierarchy process linked with the fuzzy set theory is used in pairwise comparisons of LSM criteria for ranking purposes. Thereafter, fuzzy membership functions were carried out to determine the criteria weights used in the development of a landslide susceptibility map. These selected thematic maps were integrated using a weighted linear combination method to create the final landslide susceptibility map. Finally, a validation of the results was carried out using a sensitivity analysis based on receiver operator curves and an overlay method using the landslide inventory map. The study results show that the weighted overlay analysis method using the FAHP and eigenvector method is a reliable technique to map landslide susceptibility areas. The landslide susceptibility areas were classified into five categories, viz. very low susceptibility, low susceptibility, moderate susceptibility, high susceptibility, and very high susceptibility. The very high and high susceptibility zones account for 15.11% area coverage. The results are useful to get an impression of the sustainability of the watershed in terms of landsliding and therefore may help decision makers in future planning and mitigation of landslide impacts.