Assessment of Landslide Vulnerability and Institutional Mechanisms

Landslide hazards have in the last 10 years become more prominent on the Mt. Elgon ecosystem in Uganda often culminating into disasters. The community was assessed on their vulnerability to landslide hazards and the efficacy of existing institutional mechanisms in resilience and disaster risk reduction. Household interviews were conducted on 255 respondents using pretested questionnaire. Household interviews were enriched with Focused Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews. Information on elements at risk to landslides was mapped using GIS technique. Vulnerability to landslides was determined using combined results of the thirteen weighted indicators and five weighting scores. Communities in the study area are highly vulnerable to landslide hazards (64%). Predominant implemented coping mechanisms to landslides at household level were afforestation (57%) and relocation (28%). Institutional structures at policy level and community level were found to be weak. Willingness of community members to be moved to safe area is mainly determined by the size of land. Education level and monthly income are the major determinants for the adoption strategies to reduce landslide risk.