training the trainers in landslide management

European Università degli tclm Urbater, France Morphosis Progetti Commission Studi del Sannio, e Tecnologie, Italy Italy

newsletter n.2 Presentations, didactic materials and the field trip guide are available in uring the week of the 25th to the web site of the project at Dthe 29th of September 2006, http://www.tclm.info the TCLM Training Activities were held. n this edition of the TCLM Thirty experts from 14 European Inewsletter, there is this countries participated in a three day presentation of a new project dealing classroom program and in a two day with similar subject matter to the field trip. TCLM course. The training program was based The EUROPEAN COMMISSION on the following topics: - Directorate-General for ❍ Location of the study sites RISK MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT within the Community ❍ («Quindici» Landslide – Italy; «Chaos de Coumely», HAZARD ASSESSMENT Action Programme in the field of Civil ❍ «Les Gorges de Luz», «Gripp» Rock falls and PRE-EVENT ACTIVITY Protection has funded the project: ❍ «Cap de Mont» Landslide – France; «Log pod POST-EVENT ACTIVITY FRANE - Future Risk Assessment ❍ Mangartom village» - Slovenia; «Ventnor, Isle of E-DECISION/E-LEARNING TOOLS as a New European approach to Wight» – UK) landslide hazards. The field trip was organised with The starting date was 1/1/2007 and a low probability of evolution as a the following itinerary: DAY 1 - from the end date is the 31/12/2008 with a very catastrophic event but may Benevento to Quindici, Sarno, Nocera duration of 24 months. have very large direct and indirect Inferiore, Amalfi Coast and Agropoli: The Consortium that manages the impact on men, infrastructures and high-velocity landslides. project is composed of: environment. This impact is becoming ❍ University of Sannio (Italy, increasingly dangerous due to the project leader); rising anthropisation of the territory ❍ Urbater (France); (continuous construction of new ❍ Morphosis Progetti e buildings, roads, railways, etc…). Tecnologie Srl (Italy); Methodologies for the identification ❍ Isle of Wight Centre for the and mitigation of risk are therefore a Coastal Environment (UK); major issue. ❍ University of Ljubljana As a matter of fact, many (Slovenia). experiences during critical In synthesis, FRANE focuses on development of landslides have shown landslides management, in its techno- a lack of methodologies and above DAY 2 - from Agropoli to Pisciotta: low- scientific, land-planning and civil all a non-systematic approach of velocity landslides protection aspects. Geological, geo- interpreted risks. Risk management mechanical and monitoring data of 7 is in practise accomplished by landslides (study sites) will be used to local and regional authorities assess risks in different situations. only during the critical event in a The rationale and the main project necessarily improvised way. This objectives can be summarised as “reactive” approach induces negative follows: consequences on the identification Landslides affect many areas in procedure. For instance, very expensive Europe. They are characterised by training the trainers in landslide management page 2 tclm newsletter n.2

was given by Varnes in 1984: risk only a few works have been done (i.e. is the probability of an event of Leone et al., 1996) on vulnerability. a given magnitude multiplied by Finally, it does not exist any well consequences. defined procedure to include the Since then a lot of technical and results of the risk analyses in land scientific papers have been written on planning and civil protection this topic (i.e. Einstein, 1988, Cherubini organization and decisions, taking the C., Giasi C.I. & Guadagno F.M., 1993, legal framework into account. Canuti & Casagli, 1994, CALAR, 1999). Recent works (IUGS Working Group on Landslides, 1997, JTC1, 2005) propose the following multidisciplinary procedure for quantitative risk analysis of slopes: ❍ Hazard analysis: analysis of the probability and characteristics of the potential landslides; Foto Quindici: ❍ Identification of the http://www.commissario2994.it/home/ elements at risk, i.e. their number quindici_h.jpg and characteristics; Fonte: Il Commissariato di Governo per l’ ❍ Analysis of vulnerability of Emergenza idrogeologica in Campania the elements at risk; ❍ Calculation of the risk from monitoring systems have been the hazard, elements at risk and installed on several large landslides vulnerability of the elements at risk. without any well-established methodology linking the interpretation of the measures Foto Log pod Mangartom village: and the understanding of http://www.zrc-sazu.si/giam/log.htm deformation mechanisms to the Fonte: Anton Melik Geographical Institute practical questions concerning the management of the risk, population The FRANE project intends might be evacuated based on an thus to deepen the hazard analysis excessive use of the principle of of different types of landslides, by precaution. the application of geological, geo- Furthermore, risk can extend well mechanical and statistical methods, beyond local damage (for instance, Foto Ventnor: to improve the general framework of risk of river damming which may http://www.ventnor-iw.co.uk/landscape.html landslide risk management and help induce major hydrological hazards: Fonte: Ventnor-IW Web Site civil protection units to react based floods, inundation of sewage plants, on a well defined strategy. Particular loss of drinking water resources), so However the evaluation of hazard attention is given to numerical that it must be considered in a wide is still made through different models where finite elements, perspective. approaches leading to results which boundary elements and finite What do we know about landslide differ from the qualitative and difference methods will be applied risks? A “theoretical” definition quantitative point of view. Besides in three dimensional conditions on training the trainers in landslide management page 3 tclm newsletter n.2

responsible for the care and the same slope stability problems, information with other countries and protection of land and environment: objectives being to help building for sharing in the joint development ❍ national civil protection operational responses and efficient of the management-planning concept organisations responsible for mitigation actions. A multidisciplinary for landslides. legislation and strategic policy; approach will thus allow to carry out Furthermore, as above mentioned, ❍ local authorities responsible a comparative analysis of different although the responsibility of for the development planning and the hazard prediction methods. territory is that of national and local management of land; Then, it is foreseen to develop authorities and chiefly civil protection, ❍ associations, professional ranks, the vulnerability and risk analysis personnel in these departments etc… for several landslides considering have limited experience in some 2. Professionals directly involved in short and long term perspectives, natural hazards and, particularly, the field of management of land and direct and indirect consequences, as in landslide risk management. This environment: well as technical and social impacts, proposal will not only aim to develop ❍ geologists; engineers; using tree event techniques. The how management planning can be agronomists; botanists; foresters. combination of the results obtained undertaken, but will also consider how 3. The education sector: in relation with hazard analysis and to bring together experts and decision ❍ post-graduate students in through the risk approach will allow makers from different countries geology, in environmental engineering the development of a new practical to work together and benefit from and in earth and environment science. and quantified risk assessment each other’s skill and experience to Indirect beneficiaries at different approaches which will be applied to achieve a truly integrated approach to stages of the FRANE project will several sites. Effort will be oriented landslide risk assessment. include: towards operational tools, methods ❍ the national and regional and criteria so that civil protection environmental industry and their units and services can react based on service providers. the best practice. The multidisciplinary programme The last point is crucial for the of activities is built on a four-stage FRANE project: national and regional structure: authorities, such as Civil Protection ❍ Phase A: Data collection and are normally responsible for natural organisation. hazards management. They operate ❍ Phase B: Development of risk within a framework of national and assessment methodologies. local legislation which in turn takes ❍ Phase C: Application to account of international charters Foto: Landslide in Pyrenees management for civil protection units. and conventions. They are faced http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/ ❍ Phase D: Dissemination of risk with the difficult task of protecting 1150970500045379320nNWJzq management methodologies. the territory and the conflicting Fonte: http://www.webshots.com demand for access to part of it from agricultural settlements, building Finally, taking into account all the and wood industry, etc... The problem previous considerations, three specific is particularly complex in all Europe groups will be targeted within the with relevant areas at risk. participating countries and also in The objectives and, consequently, the whole EU. Precise numbers are the relevance of the FRANE project impossible to quantify. to this group lies in the opportunity These target groups are: info: [email protected] for the exchange of experiences and 1. Authorities and organisations [email protected]