This event is co-sponsored by the Peter Wa ll Institute for Advanced Studies\, the Institute of Asian Research\, and t he School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.
Abstract
Landslides are a pervasive hazard in rural Nepal\, where the impa cts are manifest in very tangible ways: as a chronic threat to both lives a nd livelihoods\; and via damage to and destruction of houses\, farmland\, r oads and trails. While rural householders are very much aware of the causes and triggering mechanisms of landslides\, and have developed their own way s of reducing the risks they face\, gaps in local knowledge exist. This is particularly the case when the hazard context itself evolves\, for example\ , following a high magnitude earthquake\, which brings new behaviours to ot herwise familiar landscapes. The 2015 Gorkha earthquake\, which triggered o ver 22\,000 landslides\, the equivalent of more than 200 years of ‘normal’ landsliding\, is a case in point. Many households are rebuilding and are se eking definitive answers to their questions and concerns about the landslid e risk faced. But while landslide risk maps can be produced\, and sites can be individually assessed by technical experts\, the formulation\, communic ation\, use and even contestation of technical information and recommendati ons is poorly understood. Drawing on findings from a UK Department for Inte rnational Development-funded project on landslide risk mapping\, I provide a critical overview of landslide risk management in Nepal\, including the r ole of science and technical expertise\, and how this intersects with local knowledge\, politics\, power and agency within local government and commun ities themselves.
About the Speaker
Katie Oven is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Geography\, Durham University\, UK. Her re search focuses on environmental hazards (including landslides and earthquak es) and human vulnerability\, with a particular focus on South and Central Asia. Her recent research has explored issues of development\, policy and g overnance in the context of disaster risk drawing on field research in Nepa l. Related publications have sought to highlight the everyday lived experie nce of householders\, and have taken a critical view of the institutionalis ed concepts of vulnerability and resilience.
CATEGORIES:Featured Homepage LOCATION:Room 120\, C.K. Choi Building GEO:49.267258;-123.257967 URL;VALUE=URI:https://sppga.ubc.ca/events/event/landslide-risk-management-n epal/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sppga.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/04/82575688_82575687-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 DTSTART:20190310T100000 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR