The International Consortium on Landslides

Outline

The International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), created during the Kyoto Symposium in January 2002, is an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organization, which is supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), and intergovernmental programmes such as the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO; the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS); the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of the Government of Japan, U.S. Geological Survey, and other governmental bodies. ICL was registered as a legal body under Japanese law for non-profit organizations in August 2002 in the Government of Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The present domicile of the International Consortium on Landslides is Kyoto, Japan, where the secretariat is located.

The objectives of the consortium are to:

• 1. promote landslide research for the benefit of society and the environment, and capacity building, including education, notably in developing countries;

• 2. integrate geosciences and technology within the appropriate cultural and social contexts in order to evaluate landslide risk in urban, rural and developing areas including cultural and natural heritage sites, as well as contribute to the protection of the natural environment and sites of high societal value;

• 3. combine and coordinate international expertise in landslide risk assessment and mitigation studies, thereby resulting in an effective international organization which will act as a partner in various international and national projects; and

• 4. promote a global, multidisciplinary programme on landslides.

The central activity is the International Programme on Landslides (IPL). Other activities planned include international co-ordination, exchange of information and dissemination of research activities and capacity building through various meetings, dispatch of experts, landslide database, and publication of “Landslides”: Journal of the International Consortium on Landslides.

The outline of ICL and the relationship of ICL, IPL and Research Centre on Landslides (RCL) are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows the structure of ICL. ICL members come from one of four categories of intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, governmental and public organizations, and other organizations and entities. Members are those organizations that support the objectives of ICL intellectually, practically and financially. Each member sends a representative to the Board of Representatives (BOR), which has full power for all decision of the consortium. Figure 2 shows the relationship of ICL, IPL and the Research Centre on Landslides (RCL). ICL consists of four categories of members and receives support from UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UN/ISDR, IUGS and governmental bodies such as Japan, USA, Italy, Canada and Norway. The Research Centre on Landslides was established in the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan, with possible satellite centers elsewhere.

Fig. 1

ICL Structure (attached separately)

Fig. 2

Relationship for ICL, IPL and RCL

Officers and member organizations of ICL

Officers of ICL in 2004 are as follows:

• President: Kyoji SASSA (Kyoto University, Japan)

• Vice Presidents: Peter BOBROWSKY (Geological Survey of Canada), Paolo CANUTI (University of Firenze), Romulo MUCHO (Instituto Geologico Minero y Metalurgico, Peru), Peter LYTTLE (U. S. Geological Survey)

• Executive Director: Kaoru TAKARA (Kyoto University, Japan)

• Treasurer: Claudio MARGOTTINI (Italian Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Environment/CIVITA Consortium, Italy)

• Assistants to the President: Rafi AHMAD (University of the West Indies, Jamaica), Nicola CASAGLI (University of Firenze, Italy), Yasser ELSHAYEB (Cairo University, Egypt), Hiroshi FUKUOKA (Kyoto University, Japan), Oddvar KJEKSTAD (International Centre for Geohazards, Norway), Zieaoddin SHOAEI (Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Iran), Alexander STROM (Institute of the Geospheres Dynamics, Russia Academy of Sciences, Russia), Fawu WANG (Kanazawa University, Japan/China)

Committees and coordinators

• IPL Review Committee: Yasser ELSHAYEB (Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt), Coordinator; Jan VLCKO (Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia), Assistant Coordinator

• Task Force for Resources Mobilization: Oddvar KJEKSTAD (International Centre for Geohazards, Norway), Coordinator; Peter LYTTLE and Paula GORI (U.S. Geological Survey), Claudio MARGOTTINI (Italian Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Environment/CIVITA Consortium, Italy), and Kaoru TAKARA (Kyoto University, Japan), Assistant Coordinators.

• Committee for ICL Library and Information Dissemination: Hiroshi FUKUOKA (Kyoto University), Coordinator; Nicola CASAGLI (University of Firenze), Assistant Coordinator.

• Committee for Capacity Building: The committee is under construction by reorganizing three previous committees for Publication, Capacity Building and Events.

• ICL Award Committee: Peter BOBROWSKY (Geological Survey of Canada), Coordinator; Paolo CANUTI (University of Firenze), Assistant Coordinator

ICL member organizations with their representatives (board members) and alternative representatives (deputy board members)

• 1. Geological Survey of Canada, Canada, Peter BOBROWSKY/Baolin WANG

• 2. Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME), Greece, Nikos NIKOLAOU/ Eleftheria POYIADJI

• 3. ENEA (Italian Agency for New Technologies Energy and Environment), Italy, Guiseppe DELMONACO/Claudio PUGLISI

• 4. Consiglio Nazionale dei Geologi, Italy, Pietro Antonio De PAOLA/Gerardo NOLLEDI

• 5. University of Firenze, Earth Sciences Department, Italy, Paolo CANUTI/Nicola CASAGLI

• 6. CIVITA Consortium, Italy, Claudio MARGOTTINI

• 7. European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, IPSC / HSU, Italy, Alois SIEBER/Dario TARCHI

• 8. International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG), Italy, Mario PANIZZA

• 9. Ehime University, Faculty of Engineering, Japan, Ryuichi YATABE/Netra P. BHANDARY

• 10. Forestry and Forest Product Research Institute, Japan, Kiyoshi TANAKA/Hirotaka OCHIAI

• 11. Geographical Survey Institute, Japan, Masanori SUGIYAMA/Tatsuo SEKIGUCHI

• 12. Japan Landslide Society, Japan, Hiromitsu YAMAGISHI/Hiroshi FUKUOKA

• 13. Kanazawa University, Faculty of Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering Group, Japan, Tatsunori MATSUMOTO/Fawu WANG

• 14. Kyoto University, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Research Centre on Landslides, Japan, Kyoji SASSA/Hiroshi FUKUOKA

• 15. Kyoto University, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Flood Section, Japan, Kaoru TAKARA/Roy SIDLE

• 16. Niigata University, Research Institute for Hazards in Snowy Areas, Japan, Hideaki MARUI/Naoki WATANABE

• 17. University of Tokyo, Department of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering Group, Japan, Ikuo TOWHATA

• 18. University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science, Japan, Kazuo KONAGAI

• 19. International Centre for Geohazards (ICG) in Oslo, Norway, Oddvar KJEKSTAD/Farrokh NADIM

• 20. Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Switzerland, Walter AMMANN/Oliver KORUP

• 21. U.S. Geological Survey, U.S.A., Peter T. LYTTLE /Randall G. UPDIKE

• 22. Charles University, Research Center of Earth Dynamic, Czech Republic, Vit VILIMEK/Jiri ZVELEBIL

• 23. Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Engineering Geology, Slovakia, Rudolf HOLZER/Ján VLČKO

• 24. Chengdu Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, LI Tianchi/CUI Peng

• 25. Chongqing Seismological Bureau, China, Renjie DING

• 26. Jilin University, Environmental Geological Disaster Research Institute, China, Binglan Cao

• 27. Northeast Forestry University, China, Wei SHAN

• 28. Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, China, Xingchun HUANG/Dexuan ZHANG

• 29. Xian Municipal Government, Lishan Landslide Prevention and Control Office, China, Qingjin YANG

• 30. Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering, Rock Engineering Laboratory, Egypt, Yasser ELSHAYEB/Hany HELAL

• 31. Mekelle University, Ethiopia, Kurkura KABETO/Trufat HAILEMARIAM

• 32. Indian Institute of Technology, India, A. K. PACHAURI

• 33. Building & Housing Research Center, Iran, S. H. TABATABAEI/M. H. Tofigh RAYHANI

• 34. International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), Iran, Mohammadreza MAHDAVIFAR/Ebrahim HAGHSHENAS

• 35. Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Iran, Z. SHOAEI

• 36. University of the West Indies, Jamaica, Rafi AHMAD

• 37. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal, Binayak BHADRA

• 38. Instituto Geologico Minero y Metalurgico, Peru, Romulo MUCHO/Antonio GUZMAN

• 39. Grudec Ayar, Peru, Raul CARRENO

• 40. Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Romania, Nicolae BOTU/Dan CARASTOIAN

• 41. Federal State Unitary Geological Enterprise Scientific Centre “HydGeo”, Russia, Oleg ZERKAL/Julia V. FROLAVA

• 42. Institute of Environmental Geoscience (IEG RAS), Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, Victor OSIPOV/Svalova VALENTINA

• 43. Institute of the Geospheres Dynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, Alexander STROM/Nikolai SYRNIKOV

• 44. Share-holding Company “Hydroproject Institute”, Russia, Alexander PIOTROVSKIY

• 45. West-Siberian Regional Center (RC”TomskGeoMonitoring), SC HydGeo, Russia, Viktor A. LGOTIN

• 46. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Land Development Department, Thailand, Aniruth POTICHAN

Figure 3 presents a photo of participants at the ICL establishment resulting from the ICL foundation meeting with the opening address of Dr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy (Deputy Assistant Director General) on behalf of Walter Erdelen (Assistant Director General of UNESCO) in Kyoto, Japan. Participants include the President, Vice Presidents, Executive Director and Treasurer of ICL, six representatives from related divisions of UNESCO, representatives from WMO, UN/ISDR, MEXT and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Government of Japan, U.S. Geological Survey and others.

Fig. 3

A joint photo commemorating the establishment of the International Consortium on Landslides on 23 January 2002, Kyoto, Japan

Further information and a membership registration form of ICL may be obtained from the Web site: http://icl.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/and by e-mail: jimu@landslide.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp.