Landslide Risk Assessment and Mitigation in India

This book focuses on landslide hazard mapping, identification of site-specific drivers of landslide occurrence, and assessment of landslide susceptibility, vulnerability, risk and mitigation using advanced techniques and approaches. The book encompasses the use of geospatial technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and advanced statistical models to explore multi-dimensionality of landslide hazard. The book is a synthesis of research papers presented at the National Conference on Landslide Risk Assessment and Mitigation in India, organized by the Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India, 01–02 November 2022. The book is organized into four parts made up of 21 chapters. Part I deals with landslide hazard mapping. Part II covers landslide susceptibility mapping and assessment. Part III evaluates landslide risk. Finally, Part IV presents multi-disciplinary approach and holistic mechanism to devise landslide mitigation strategies. The chapters help better understand the intertwined physical processes, causes of landslides, potential risk factors, movement characteristics, and role of engineering and technology to minimize upcoming human, physical and economic losses. The book is a valuable resource for researchers, academicians, stakeholders, and policy makers.

Dr. Haroon Sajjad is a professor in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He received his B.Sc, M.Sc, M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees all from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. His present research interests include climate change/climate variability impacts, environmental management, sustainable development, watershed management and applications of remote sensing and GIS. He has six books to his credit and has published more than 100 research papers in academic journals. Prof. Sajjad has presented over 50 research papers at national and international conferences including ones held at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; University of British Columbia, Canada; University of Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa; and University of Brighton, U.K. He has chaired academic sessions at conferences and has organized academic events such as national and international conferences, workshops and training programmes. He has delivered invited talks at numerous universities. Ten doctoral degrees have been awarded to the scholars under his supervision. He is a reviewer for many scientific research journals and a member of scientific bodies and expert panels. He has completed many research projects of various funding agencies as a co-principal investigator.

Dr. Masood Ahsan Siddiqui is a professor and coordinator, Centre for Disaster Management, Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He obtained his B.A., M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. His present research fields include the application of remote sensing and GIS in watershed management and waste management. Prof. Masood has published four books and some three dozen research papers in academic journals. Fourteen students under his supervision have been awarded Ph.D. degrees. He has completed two major research projects awarded by the Department of Science and Technology and the University Grants Commission. Currently he is the principal investigator of two major research projects. He has presented many research papers at national and international conferences. As well, he has organized workshops, training programmes and conferences.

Dr. Atiqur Rahman is a professor in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He received his Ph.D. degree from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. His research interests include urban environmental management, water resource management and public health. He has published eight books and more than 100 research papers in academic journals. Prof. Rahman has presented more than 50 research papers at national and international conferences including ones held at Arizona State University, U.S.A; McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A; and the American Academy of Sciences, Texas, U.S.A. In addition, he has spoken in South Africa, Germany, Italy, France and Poland. Eight doctoral degrees have been awarded to scholars under his supervision. Prof. Rahman has chaired academic sessions at various conferences. He is a reviewer for many research journals and a member of scientific bodies in his field of specialisation. He has completed many national and international research projects.

Dr. Lubna Siddiqui is an associate professor and deputy coordinator, Centre for Disaster Management, Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. She completed her M.A. at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, and her Ph.D. at Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra, India. She specializes in population geography. Many Ph.D. degrees have been awarded to students under her supervision. She has published more than two dozen research papers in academic journals and presented research papers at national and international conferences; she has been an invited speaker at numerous universities. Dr. Siddiqui has organized many national and international conferences and training programmes in her department, and she has completed many research projects of various agencies.

Dr. Hasan Raja Naqvi is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He also worked for almost 5 years as an assistant professor in the Department of Geomatics Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia. He was awarded his Ph.D. degree from Jamia Millia Islamia. He specializes in physical geography, and remote sensing and GIS. His research interests include watershed management, soil erosion, climate change, natural resources, epidemiology, air pollution and all other issues which can be well handled by remote sensing and GIS tools. He has published more than 30 research articles in international and national journals. He has also presented research works in India and abroad, including USA,Ethiopia and China. He is currently involved in 3 major research projects funded by different organizations as a principal investigator (PI) and co-PI.

Dr. Adnan Shakeel is an assistant professor of geography in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He received his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in agriculture and food security from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, India. He has teaching and research experience of 7 years. His research interests include agriculture, food and nutrition security, livelihood studies, socioeconomic issues, sustainable development, and rural geography.

Dr. Asif is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, India. He was awarded his Ph.D. from Aligarh Muslim University, India. He hasworked as a research fellow at the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and as a research assistant at the University Grants Commission (UGC). He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in social geography, economic geography, cultural geography, geographical thought, digital cartography and regional development. He has teaching experience of more than 10 years at the university level. He has published three books and more than twenty research publications. His research interests include social and cultural geography, environmental issues, geo-political issues, remote sensing and GIS applications in geographical studies.