Speakers at an international conference underscore the need to regulate unchecked quarrying and mining in State

Experts attending an international conference on landslips risk reduction organised by the Institute of Land and Disaster Management (ILDM) here have called for sustainable land use practices and active measures involving public participation for preventing the occurrence of landslips in Kerala. The speakers underscored the need to regulate unchecked quarrying and mining.

Surya Parkash, Head, Geo-Meteorological Risk Management Division, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), stressed the need for micro-level landslip hazard zonation and ecosystem-based approaches for mitigating the risks.

Dr. Parkash was addressing a technical session on ‘Physiographic vulnerabilities of Kerala to landslides’ on Friday. He underlined the importance of establishing last-mile hazard communication systems and updated standard operating procedures.

Every local body ward in the State must have an evacuation response team, in addition to strengthened local resource groups, he said, pointing out that Kerala is highly vulnerable to changing climate-related dynamics given its geography.
Revenue Minister K. Rajan, addressing the conference, said best practices in risk reduction from across the globe will be introduced for disaster management in the State. The ILDM will collaborate with universities and research institutions in this regard, the Minister said.

Muralee Thummarukudy, director, G20 Global Initiative Coordination Office, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), delivered the keynote address. ILDM director D. Sajith Babu presided. E. Shaji, Department of Geology, University of Kerala, presented a paper on 'Role of groundwater in triggering landslides.'

Hilma Israel from Namibia, a postgraduate student at the MG University, and Dereck Mamiwa, Lecturer, Malawi University of Business and Applied Science, presented papers.