Landslides: Causes, Consequences and their Mitigation

von Golden Msilimba

Landslides are part and parcel of the physical environment of undulating landscape of northern and central Malawi. The population comprises poor, largely rural communities who survive on subsistence agriculture. This book focuses on both scientific causes of landslides, and the local population s awareness of landslides, their perceptions and traditional beliefs regarding landslide causes, and their coping strategies. The role of gender with regard to perceptions and coping strategies receive special attention. The author argues that traditional; beliefs play an important role in invoking explanations to why landslides occur, and that women are as aware of the phenomena as men. Coping strategies and proposed actions to combat the effects of landslides are impacted upon by traditional beliefs. Attempts to mitigate the impacts of landslides and minimize their potential for future landslides, particularly with regard to interventions by government and NGOs, must enjoy the support of the local population within the context of their perceptions of such events, or they will be unlikely to succeed