Understanding of landslide risk through learning by doing: case study of Koroška Bela community, Slovenia

Abstract

Activities toward better understanding and reducing landslide disaster risk are an important part of the voluntary commitment written into the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2030. The present study highlights of the learning by doing approach implemented in the case of Potoška planina landslide, which poses a threat for community of Koroška Bela. For the first time in Slovenia, a cooperative team has been established for the purpose of raising awareness and understanding of landslide risk in the community. In addition, a combination of indoor and outdoor training sessions provides both theoretical and practical exercises on how landslides may be identified, together with their key characteristics and methods for landslide monitoring. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this team, which is made up of different sectors, a questionnaire was drawn up. The responses to the questionnaire showed that understanding of landslide hazards among the members of cooperative team is significantly better than it was before the group was established. The present research proposes a methodology whereby, through cooperative team trainings and mutual cooperation among relevant stakeholders and local authority, important steps toward understanding landslide risks can be achieved, which in particularly is important for local communities and is sure to become a focal point in the coming years, in parallel with the increasing scarcity of financial resources available at the local level.