Introduction

The 6th World Landslide Forum (WLF6; https://wlf6.org) was held from November 14 to 17, 2023, in Florence at the Palazzo dei Congressi (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
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WLF6 logo

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The WLF6 was focused on landslide science for sustainable development as a contribution to the Kyoto 2020 Commitment for Global Promotion of Understanding and Reducing Landslide Disaster Risk (KLC2020) (Sassa 2021), a commitment to the Sendai Landslide Partnerships 2015–2025 (Sassa 2015), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda, and the Paris Agreement (Casagli et al. 2022, 2023).

The Forum provided a platform for fruitful collaboration between landslide researchers and stakeholders to define common priority actions for landslide risk reduction at the global level. The Forum addressed key aspects related to landslide analysis, landslide monitoring and early warning, landslide modeling, landslide hazard and risk assessment, mitigation techniques, landslide triggering mechanism, and climate change.

The 6th World Landslide Forum was attended by a broad international audience interested in landslide disaster risk reduction: research and academic institutions, UN organizations, EU institutions and agencies, national governments and local authorities, non-governmental organizations with an interest in and activities related to disaster risk reduction, international and national civil protection and disaster relief organizations and agencies, and the private sector engaged in research, development, and practical application of landslide risk reduction technologies and solutions. In particular, the WLF6 was attended by more than 1200 participants from 61 countries. In total, 853 abstracts were submitted: 643 oral presentations and 210 e-posters.

The Forum was a sustainable event in line with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The venue, the Palazzo dei Congressi, is located in the city center of Florence, in a strategic position within walking distance of the city’s main attractions. No printed material was provided to the participants. The detailed scientific program, the schedule, and all general information were available on the congress app. The program and the proceedings of the Forum were distributed to the participants in electronic form and can be downloaded from the Forum’s website (wlf6.org).

The 6th World Landslide Forum was awarded the Medal of the President of the Italian Republic, which is awarded for events of great scientific and cultural importance (Fig. 2).

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Medal of the President of the Italian Republic

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Organizers, organizing committees, patronage, partners, and sponsors

Organizers

International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), UNESCO Chair on Prevention and Sustainable Management of Geo-Hydrological Hazards, University of Florence, Italy, and the Global Promotion Committee of International Programme on Landslides and KLC 2020 (GPC/IPL-KLC).

ICL supporters

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), International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)

Forum Chair

Nicola Casagli, University of Florence

Co-chairs

Kyoji Sassa, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University, Secretary General of ICL

Paolo Canuti, Chair holder, UNESCO Chair on Prevention and Sustainable Management of Geo-Hydrological Hazards, University of Florence

Medal and patronage

WLF6 has received the Medal of the President of the Italian Republic and the patronage from 37 public institutions, including five Italian Ministries: Minister of Environment, Minister of University and Research, Minister of Civil Protection, Minister of the Interior, and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport.

Partners

It has received the partnership from 19 national and international associations.

Secretariat

Secretary General: Veronica Tofani, University of Florence

It was composed of 16 members from the University of Florence (Casagli et al. 2023).

International scientific committee

It was composed of 24 members including ICL members and internationally recognized scientists in the field of landslide research and landslide risk reduction (Casagli et al. 2023).

Local organizing committee

It was composed of 42 members including the members of the ICL Italian network and staff from University of Florence (Casagli et al. 2023).

Sponsors and exhibitors

21 sponsors and 27 exhibitors

Report

General information

The Forum was planned for November 14–17, 2023 (Table 1). November 13 was dedicated to the ICL/IPL meeting. The opening plenary session was held on November 14. Parallel scientific sessions were held from November 15 to 17. Eleven workshops and side events were organized during the Forum. The closing plenary session took place on November 17 in the afternoon.

Table 1 WLF6 general program
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A total of 1202 participants from 61countries from 4 continents attended the Forum (Tables 2 and 3).

Table 2 WLF6 in figures
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Table 3 WLF6 registered participants
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Opening plenary session

Program of the opening plenary session:

  • 9:00–10:30Opening Ceremony

    • Opening address from the primary organizers

      • Nicola Casagli—ICL President and Chair of the 6th WLF

      • Paolo Canuti—UNESCO Chairholder prevention and sustainable mitigation of geo-hydrological hazard

    • Greetings from United Nations organizations

      • Tshilidzi Marwala—Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations/Rector of the United Nations University

      • Mami Mizutori—UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

      • Qu Dongyu—Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

      • Elena Manaenkova—Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

      • Lidia Brito—Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

    • Greetings from scientific organizations

      • Motoko Kotani—Vice-President for Science and Society of the International Science Council (ISC)

      • Mustafa B. Shehu—President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO)

      • John Ludden—President of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)

      • Chris Rizos—President of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)

    • Welcome messages from host organizations in Italy

      • Marco Pierini—Vice Rector of Florence University

      • Nello Musumeci—Minister for Civil Protection

      • Anna Maria Bernini—Minister of University and Research

      • Gilberto Pichetto Fratin—Minister of Environment

  • 10:30–11:00Coffee break

  • 11:00–13:00KLC2020 General Conference 2023 & Panel Discussion

    • Opening of the KLC2020 General Conference 2023

    • Signing ceremony of new KLC2020 signatories

    • Panel discussion “KLC2020 Review and way forward”

    • Adoption of the Florence Declaration on Landslide Risk Reduction

    • Joint photo of the panelists and the new KLC2020 signatories

  • 13:00–14:00Lunch

  • 14:00–16:00WLF6 Plenary lectures

    • Olivier Dewitte—Royal Museum for Central Africa

    • Landslides in tropical environments: insight from the East African Rift

    • Xuanmei Fan—Chengdu University of Technology

    • Mechanisms and prediction of earthquake and climate change induced cascading hazards

    • Jonathan Godt—USGS

    • New US National Strategy for Landslide Loss Reduction

    • Giovanni B. Crosta—Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca

    • Landslides impact on structures and infrastructures

  • 16:00–16:30Coffee break

  • 16:30–18:00Recognition and Awards Ceremony

    • World Centers of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction

    • Varnes Medals

    • IPL-KLC Award for Success

    • Hiroshi Fukuoka IPL Award

    • Oldrich Hungr Awards

During the KLC2020 General Conference 2023 & Panel Discussion, the Florence declaration on risk reduction has been adopted. The declaration is a further commitment to KLC2020, in order to share information and best practices, support research and development of new technologies, and build capacity at all levels to improve landslide preparedness and response (Figure 3). The full text of the Declaration is available at https://wlf6.org/florence-declaration/.

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Joint photo of the panelists and the new KLC2020 signatories

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During the recognition and awards ceremony, the Varnes Medal, the Oldrich Hungr Award, the Fukuoka Award, and the IPL-KLC Award for Success were presented. The Varnes Medal 2022 goes to Prof. Edward N. Bromhead and Prof. Charles Ng, and the Varnes Medal 2023 to Prof. Irasema Alcántara-Ayala. The Hiroshi Fuokoka IPL Prize is awarded to Prof. Vít Vilímek and Prof. Jan Klimeš. The Oldrich Hungr Awards were recognized to Clarence Choi and Tommaso Carlà for 2022 and 2023, respectively, while the IPL-KLC Award for Success was awarded to Maneesha V. Ramesh.

Parallel sessions program

The Forum was organized in the following scientific themes:

Theme 1: Kyoto Landslide Commitment for sustainable development

Coordinators: Kyoji Sassa, Matjaž Mikoš, Shinji Sassa, Khang Dang

Theme 2: Remote sensing, monitoring and early warning

Coordinators: Veronica Tofani, Michel Jaboyedoff, Jan Klimes, Hans-Balder Havenith

Theme 3: Testing, modeling and mitigation technique

Coordinators: Binod Tiwari, Kazuo Konagai, Sabatino Cuomo, Xuanmei Fan

Theme 4: Mapping, hazard, risk assessment and management

Coordinators: Paola Reichenbach, Snježana-Mihalić Arbanas, David Huntley, Maneesha Ramesh

Theme 5: Climate change, extreme weather, earthquakes and landslides

Coordinators: Vít Vilímek, Alexander Strom, Stefano Luigi Gariano, Dalia Kirschbaum

Theme 6: Progress in landslide science and applications

Coordinators: Zeljko Arbanas, Fawu Wang, Faisal Fathani, Beena Ajmera

For each theme, several sessions were proposed. In total, 48 scientific sessions were organized, 643 oral presentations were delivered, and 210 e-posters were presented (Table 2). The final list of the sessions with the number of oral and e-poster presentations is reported in Table 4. The WLF6 Proceedings can be freely downloaded from https://wlf6.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WLF6_ABSTRACT-BOOK_FINAL.pdf.

Table 4 WLF6 scientific sessions, number of oral and poster presentations
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