Sustainable landslide risk reduction in poorer countries

In developing countries many houses are built by the most vulnerable persons in unplanned settlements on land that is marginal in construction terms and often subject to high landslide risk. This paper outlines a low-cost, community-based approach to landslide risk reduction undertaken in St Lucia, West Indies. The process of establishing a Government management team integrated with joint community implementation is described. Three key elements comprising a mapping methodology for landslide risk, identification of dominant slope instability controls and implementation of low-cost sustainable measures are described. The successful pilot project demonstrates the feasibility of such a low-cost approach to landslide risk reduction and offers a major step forward in establishing appropriate preventative measures for minimising landslide risk in vulnerable communities.