Thomas Hofer

Watershed and Forest Management for Landslide Risk Reduction

Landslide hazard can be influenced by natural resource management and rural development related activities, such as forest management, road construction, agricultural practices and river management. Vegetation cover and its utilizations may play a role in mitigating the risk of landsliding. Moreover and above all, it does play a role in mitigating the processes leading to increased landslide hazard, such as gully erosion. Thus, forest management and development are of particular concern. But all people living in mountain areas rely on the soil stability for their livelihoods, and their livelihoods may influence this soil stability. Therefore all related activities have to be done on an appropriate way in order to promote soil and slope stability.

Introduction: The International Year of Mountains Challenge and Opportunity for Mountain Research

Mountains are complex and fragile ecosystems characterised by vertically, highly differentiated climatic conditions and often by an abundance of water and rich biodiversity. Mountains are high-risk environments: avalanches, glacial lake outbursts, landslides and earthquakes threaten life in mountain areas. Remoteness and difficult access hamper development in mountain regions. Therefore, mountain areas are often marginalized. Despite these constraints, mountains offer significant opportunities. Mountain dwellers have adapted to life in steep and harsh conditions and have developed sophisticated techniques for farming, water use, forestry and communication. The agro-biodiversity as a function of altitude, exposition and farmers’ crop selection is huge. Mountain inhabitants have also developed a rich cultural diversity. Therefore, people living in lowland areas or in big cities increasingly prefer mountains for recreation.

FAO's Work on Sustainable Mountain Development and Watershed Management

Abstract With its mandate to work on natural resource management, food security, and livelihoods and its attention to the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has played a leading role in sustainable mountain development for many years. In 1992, FAO was appointed task manager for Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 entitled Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development (UNCED 1992) and acted as the lead agency for the International Year of Mountains in 2002. FAO is a member of the Mountain Partnership and hosts its Secretariat. From 2003 onward, FAO has also been mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to lead the annual observance of International Mountain Day on 11 December. Every two years, FAO prepares the Secretary Generals Report to the United Nations General Assembly, in which it describes the status of sustainable mountain development at the national and international levels and provides suggestions for consideration by the Assembly. This statement reviews the latest actions in FAOs program on sustainable mountain development, watershed management, and forest hydrology, which includes normative work, a strong field program, and support for international processes. In addition, it summarizes the latest achievements of the Mountain Partnership.

FAO's Current Engagement in Sustainable Mountain Development

Abstract Mountain ecosystems and watersheds are essential for long-term sustainable global development and poverty alleviation and can make an important contribution to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Freshwater, rich biodiversity, and other natural resources provided by mountains are vital for the livelihood of billions of people. However, recent environmental, economic, and social developments such as climate change, increasing natural disasters, population growth, the expansion of commercial agriculture, and urbanization compromise the ability of mountain ecosystems and watersheds to provide essential environmental goods and services. Degradation and decreasing water flows seriously affect agricultural production and food security and threaten the supply of water to large urban centers in the lowlands, while water, energy, and food are likely to be the main scarcities in the coming decades. Watershed management and sustainable mountain development (SMD) are necessary and appropriate approaches to address these challenges and need a prominent place on the international agenda.

Landslides, Land-Use Systems and Food Security

Landslides pose considerable risks to the environment. They threaten the lives of people and livestock and destroy land-use systems and agricultural production. This has heavy impacts on the livelihoods of affected people, their economic situation and food security. It is a stark fact that it is often the poorest and hungriest people who are the most seriously hit by these dramatic events. In developing countries, poor and marginalized people are often forced to settle and to cultivate land in hazard-prone areas due to population pressure and, accordingly, the effects of landslides on lives and assets can be disastrous.

The FAO and Mountain Partnership Engagement With Mountains

Abstract With its mandate to work on natural resource management; food security; and livelihoods; and its attention to the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has played a leading role in sustainable mountain development for many years. In 1992, the FAO was appointed Task Manager for Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 (Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development) and acted as the lead agency for the International Year of Mountains in 2002. The FAO hosts the global Secretariat of the Mountain Partnership and, from 2003 onward, has also been mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to lead observance of the International Mountain Day, every year on 11 December. Over time, the FAO has progressively built up a conceptual and operational framework that links sustainable mountain development to forest hydrology and watershed and risk management. This Platform Statement provides an update on the FAOs regular program on sustainable mountain development, watershed management, and forest hydrology, which includes normative work, a strong field program, and support to international processes. Further, it summarizes the latest achievements of the Mountain Partnership.

FAO’s Work in Sustainable Mountain Development and Watershed Management—A 2015 Update

As many of the world’s poor and food-insecure people live in mountain regions, sustainable mountain development is an important part of the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). Over the years, FAO has played the leading role in sustainable mountain development within the UN system; it was appointed task manager for chapter 13 of agenda 21 in 1992 and acted as the lead agency for the International Year of Mountains in 2002. From 2003 onward, FAO was also mandated by the UN General Assembly to lead the annual observance of International Mountain Day on 11 December. Every 2 years, FAO prepares the secretary general’s report to the UN General Assembly, which describes the status and progress of sustainable mountain development at the national and international levels and provides suggestions for consideration by the Assembly. FAO is a member of the Mountain Partnership and hosts its secretariat.This review of the latest actions of FAO’s program on sustainable mountain development, watershed management, and forest hydrology—which includes normative work, field activities, and support to international processes—updates our previous statement (Manuelli et al, 2014) and summarizes the latest achievements of the Mountain Partnership.

Watershed Management: An Approach for Landslide Risk Reduction Through Integrated Landuse Planning

Landslides pose considerable risks to the environment. They threaten the lives of people and livestock and destroy land-use systems and agricultural production. This has heavy impacts on the livelihoods of affected people, their economic situation and food security. In developing countries, poor and marginalized people are often forced to settle and to cultivate land in hazard-prone areas due to population pressure and, accordingly, the effects of landslides on lives and assets can be disastrous. People and their land-use systems, on the other hand, can influence the occurrence of landslides. Besides the physical causes and triggers of landslides such as geological failures, erosion processes and heavy rainfall events, activities such as forest harvesting, road construction, mining, unsustainable agricultural practices and overgrazing have been found to have an impact on shallow landslides. Their influence on deep-rooted landslides is, however, minimal.