Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Efficacy of a Programme of Landslide Risk Reduction in Areas of Unplanned Housing in the Eastern Caribbean

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Poor countries are disproportionately affected by the cost of disasters. Yet there is evidence of the benefits of seeking to mitigate the impact of a disaster, compared with the costs incurred in ‘making good’ after a major event has occurred. This article reviews a programme of landslide risk reduction in unplanned communities in the Eastern Caribbean. The construction of appropriate surface water management measures, based on the application of scientific and engineering principles, has been demonstrated to reduce the hazard from rainfall-triggered landslides. Adopting a community-based approach additionally delivers social and environmental benefits relating to employment generation, improvements in the environmental conditions within the community, and improvements slope management practices. The sustained implementation of the community-based projects has provided the necessary evidence-base for these practices to influence Government policy and practice, and gain recognition from regional development agencies. The strategic and incremental uptake of the community-based methodology is demonstrated to be an effective means for delivering physical landslide risk reduction measures in the most ‘at risk’ areas of unplanned housing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • AGS (2000) Landslide Risk Management Concepts and Guidelines. Australian Geomechanics Society

  • Anderson MG, Holcombe EA (2004) Management of slope stability in communities. Insight 6:15–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MG, Holcombe EA (2006a) Purpose driven public sector reform: the need for within-Government capacity build for the management of slope stability in communities (MoSSaiC) in the Caribbean. Environmental Management 37:15–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MG, Holcombe EA (2006b) Community based landslide risk reduction. Proceedings Institution Civil Engineers. Engineering Sustainability 159:23–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MG, Holcombe EA (2007) Reducing landslide risk in poor housing areas of the Caribbean–developing a new Government-Community partnership model. Jour International Development 19:205–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MG, Collison AJC, Hartshorne J, Lloyd DM, Park A (1996) Developments in slope hydrology-stability modelling for tropical slopes”. In: Anderson MG, Brooks SM (eds) Advances in Hillslope processes. Wiley, Chichester, pp 799–821

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MG, Kemp MJ, Lloyd DM (1997) Hydrological design manual for slope stability in the Tropics. Transport Research Laboratory, Crowthorne

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MG, Holcombe EA, Renaud JP (2007) Assessing slope stability in unplanned settlements in developing countries. Journal Environmental Management 85:101–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anstey C (2005) Country Director for the Caribbean, World Bank, quoted in The STAR 16 September 2005, p 18

  • Anthony KD (2001) Strengthening modernizing and repositioning the economy. Budget speech by The Honourable Dr. Kenny D. Anthony, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs and Information. Government of Saint Lucia

  • Bainbridge DA (2004) The price falls short. Solar Today 18:52–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird G (2004) Growth, poverty and the IMF. Journal of International Development 16:621–636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bull-Kamanga L, Diagne K, Lavell A, Leon E, Lerise F, MacGregor H, Maskrey A, Meshack M, Pelling M, Reid H, Satterthwaite D, Songsore J, Westgate K, Yitambe A (2003) From everyday hazards to disasters: the accumulation of risk in urban areas. Environment and Urbanization 15:193

    Google Scholar 

  • Carrara A (1995) GIS technology in mapping landslide hazard. In: Carrara A, Guzzetti F (eds) Geographical information systems in assessing natural hazards. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 135–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Carrara A, Guzzetti F, Cardinali M, Reichenbach P (1999) Use of GIS technology in the prediction and monitoring of landslide hazard. Natural Hazard 20:117–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charveriat C (2000) Natural Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Overview of Risk. Working Paper No. 434. Research Department, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC

  • DeGraff JV (1985) Landslide hazard on St. Lucia, West Indies-Final Report. Organization of American States, Washington, DC

  • DeGraff, JV (1987a) Landslide hazard on Dominica, West Indies-Final Report. Organization of American States, Washington, DC

  • DeGraff JV (1987b) Geologic reconnaissance of the 1986 landslide activity at Good Hope, D’Leau Gommier, and Belvue Slopes. Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies. Washington, DC, Organization of American States

  • DeGraff JV (1988) Landslide hazard on St. Vincent, West Indies-Final Report. Washington DC, Organization of American States

  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (2005) Linking poverty reduction with disaster risk management, Bonn Germany

  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (2008) Disaster Risk Management. Topic 193, Bonn, Germany

  • DFID (2004) Disaster risk reduction: a development concern. DFID, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Dilley M, Chen RS, Deichmann U, Lerner-Lam AL, Arnold M (2005) Natural disaster hotspots: a global risk analysis. World Bank, Washington, DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Easterly W (2006) The White Man’s burden. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Gay D, Rogers C (1999) Black Mallet Landslide: preliminary geotechnical evaluation, 9 pp. www.geocities.om/black_mallet/blackmalletuwi.htm

  • Gue S-S, Karnawati D, Wong S-Y (2009) Ploicy and institutional framework for landslide mitigation and risk reduction. In: Sasa K, Canuti P (eds) Landslides–Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Berlin, pp 531–554

    Google Scholar 

  • Holcombe EA, Anderson MG (2008) Implementation of community-based landslide hazard mitigation measures: the role of stakeholder engagement in ‘sustainable’ project scale-up. Sustainable Development. doi:10.1002/sd.409

  • Hulme D (2000) Impact assessment methodologies for microfinance: theory, experience, and better practice. World Development 28:79–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2004) World Disasters Report. http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2004/

  • Karawati, D, Pramumumijyo, S and Koentjoro, M (2005) Public eductaiojn on geoscience for susatianbility of life in geohazard vulnerable area Indonesia. Proceedings of the annual geoscince education organisation 2nd international meeting, Singapore, June 20–24

  • Knutson TR, Tuelya RE (2004) Impact of CO2-induced warming on simulated hurricane intensity and precipitation: sensitivity to the choice of climate model and convective parameterization. Journal of Climate 17:3477–3495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knutson TR, Tuelya RE, Kurihara Y (1998) Simulated increase of hurricane intensities in a CO2 warmed climate. Science 279:1018–1021

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kremer M, Miguel E (2004) The Illusion of Sustainability. NBER Working Papers 10324, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

  • MacLeod A, Hofmeister R.J, Wnag, Y, Burns, S (2005) Landslide Indirect Losses: Methods and Case Studies from Oregon, Open-File Report O-05-X. State of Oregon, Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Portland, Oregon

  • Mann EM, Emanuel KA (2006) Atlantic hurricane trends linked to climate change. EOS Transactions American Geophysical Union 87:233–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayoux L, Mosedale S (2005) Impact assessment for pro-poor accountability: innovations and challenges. Journal of International Development 17:187–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mechler R (2002) Natural disaster risk and cost-benefit analysis. In: Kreimer A, Arnold M, Carlin A (eds) The future of disaster risk: building safer cities. A. Kreimer. World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Mechler R (2004) Risk management and financing loss in developing countries. Verlag, Karlsruhe

    Google Scholar 

  • OFDA/CRED (2002) International Disaster Database (EM-DAT)

  • Organisation of American States (2005) The economics of disaster mitigation in the Caribbean: quantifying benefits and costs of mitigating natural hazard losses—lessons learned from the 2004 Hurricane Season. Policy Series, 7

  • Practical Action (2009) http://practicalaction.org/?id=regional_preparedness

  • Putnam R (1995) Turning in, turning out: the strange disappearance of social capital in America. Political Science and Politics 28:667–683

    Google Scholar 

  • South East Asia Disaster News Service (2006) www.duryognivaran.org/duryog/detail_bulk.php?id=53&newsindex=3&arctoday=

  • Strata Engineering Consultants Ltd (1999) Landslide Investigation at Black Mallet / Maynard Hill, Castries, St. Lucia, West Indies. Consultants Report to the Government of Saint Lucia. http://www.geocities.com/blackmallestgoslreport.htm?200623

  • Teams (1999) Position paper on the earth movement crisis of Black Mallet and Maynard Hill, 7 pp

  • UN ECLAC (1999) http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTDISMGMT/Resources/11damageoverview.pdf

  • UN (2006) Landslides: Asia has the most; Americas, the deadliest; Europe, the Costliest; Experts seek ways to mitigate Landslide Losses; Danger said growing due to Climate Change, Other Causes. News Release January 18, 2006, MR/E01/06/rev1, United Nations University

  • UNDP (2004) A Global Report. Reducing disaster risk: a challenge for development, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Relief, United Nations Development Program

  • UNDP (2005) Local risk management and disaster preparedness in the Andean Region. Systematization of best practices and lessons learned, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Relief, United Nations Development Program

  • UN-ISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster reduction) (2002) Living with risk; a global view of disaster reduction initiatives. UN Inter-Agency Secretariat, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • USGS (2003) National landslide hazards mitigation strategy – a framework for loss reduction Circular 1244

  • Wamsler C (2006) Mainstreaming risk reduction in urban planning and housing: a challenge for international aid organisations. Disaster 30:51–177

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster PJ, Holland GJ, Curry JA, Chang H-R (2005) Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and intensity in a warming environment. Science 309:1844–1846

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson PW (2001) Investigating the hydrological and geotechnical effects of vegetation on slope stability: development of a fully integrated numerical model. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Bristol

  • Wilkinson PL, Brooks SM, Anderson MG (2000) Design and application of an automated non-circular slip surface search within a Combined Hydrology and Stability Model (CHASM). Hydrological Processes 14:2003–2017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2003) Making services work for poor people. World Development Report 2004. World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank Community Based Disaster Risk Management (2007) Environmental Planning Collaborative, Ahmedabad, India and the World Bank Institute. On-line course. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBIPROGRAMS/CMUDLP/0,,contentMDK:21343111~pagePK:64156158~piPK:64152884~theSitePK:461754,00.html

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the SetSquared Partnership, UK; Governments of St Lucia and Dominica; and USAID. The authors acknowledge the assistance of the World Bank in providing editorial commentary on the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK

    Malcolm G. Anderson & Elizabeth Holcombe

  2. Sustainable Development Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA

    Maricarmen Esquivel, Joaquin Toro & Francis Ghesquiere

Authors
  1. Malcolm G. Anderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth Holcombe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maricarmen Esquivel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Joaquin Toro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Francis Ghesquiere
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Malcolm G. Anderson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Anderson, M.G., Holcombe, E., Esquivel, M. et al. The Efficacy of a Programme of Landslide Risk Reduction in Areas of Unplanned Housing in the Eastern Caribbean. Environmental Management 45, 807–821 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9431-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-010-9431-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation