Community-Based Landslide Risk Management in Contrasting Social Environments, Cases from the Czech Republic

Abstract

The contribution presents four cases illustrating advantages as well as flaws of community-based LDRR approaches under various environmental and social conditions. It shows that the individualization along with preferred competing interests (e.g. housing development) negatively affect LDRR at the community level. Nevertheless, even under unfavourable community conditions, its individual members may still effectively protect their interests involving the local state administrations into mitigation landslide risk, which they perceived as high. LDRR on the community level could be further hindered by legal fragmentation and institutional diversification, which could prevent implementation of desired mitigation measures due to unavailability of funds or missing definition of responsibilities. Nevertheless communities can overcome even such institutional obstacle, although it requires much larger collaboration involving other external actors (e.g. non-governmental organizations).