Geography | DFG Naturgefahren und alltägliche Risiken der Lebenssicherung

This study analyses the vulnerability of households to landslides (e.g. slides, rock falls)  using a case study from a rural hill district in western Nepal. Research on this natural  hazard type usually tends to focus mainly on analysing the hazard processes from a  
natural science perspective. There is a lack of social science-oriented studies on vulnerability - the social side of risk. In particular, there is a lack of studies on landslide risk within a broader risk context. Landslides are just one of many risks the inhabitants of  
rural mountain areas have to face their precarious everyday lives. 
The study starts with an overview of the physical bases of landslide processes and the impact of landslides in Nepal. It critically reviews different theoretical concepts developed in geographical risk research. Based on these concepts it presents a new analytical framework, which breaks down vulnerability into three different components: (i) local knowledge and hazard perception, (ii) livelihood strategies, and (iii) prevention and coping capacities. Empirical fieldwork was conducted over about eight months between 2009 and 2012. It was based on three villages in Rukum District. Data was collected using a multi-method approach comprising qualitative, quantitative, and participatory techniques. The analysis of local knowledge on landslides shows that the villagers have in-depth knowledge of the preparatory and triggering actors that cause landslides. They also have a detailed perception of which slopes are prone to landslides. Despite this perception, many households settle in landslide-prone areas. A major reason for this lies in the general fragility of local livelihoods. The ongoing extension of the rural road network provides strong economic incentives for settling in hazard zones along the road corridor. At the same time, the capacities of the households to prevent and cope with the impact of landslides are still limited. In particular, the financial resources of the households do not allow for expensive structural protection measures. These deficits on the household level are not compensated by government authorities on the community and district levels. In addition to a lack of financial resources, the authorities lack a legal basis to implement a proactive disaster risk reduction approach. The study shows the importance of analysing landslide risk within a broader risk context and stresses the need to complement natural scientific analyses of landslide hazard with social-science oriented vulnerability studies. 

PhD Candidate: Thomas Lennartz
Funding: DFG
Duration: 

LENNARTZ T (2015): Naturgefahren und alltägliche Risiken der Lebenssicherung - Verwundbarkeit gegenüber gravitativen Massenbewegungen in Nepal. Bd. 133. Heidelberger Geographische Arbeiten. Heidelberg.

ANHORN J, LENNARTZ T & NÜSSER M (2015): Rapid Urban Growth and Earthquake Risk in Musikot, Mid-Western Hills, Nepal. Erdkunde 69. doi:10.3112/erdkunde.2015.04.02.

LENNARTZ T (2013): Constructing Roads - Constructing Risks? Settlement Decisions in View of Landslide Risk and Economic Opportunities in Western Nepal. Mountain Research and Development 33 (4): 364–371. doi:10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-13-00048.1.