The application of the concept of Technical Geology that is supported by psychology and sociology proved effective in developing mapping methods of landslide hazard through people’s participation. “Through landslide hazard mapping, people can identify safe and dangerous zones in their village, so they can sustain the environment to prevent the dangerous zone from turning into landslide hazard zone,†explained the wife of Prof. Ir. Sigit Priyanto, M.Sc., Ph.D.
She said that the mapping would also be beneficial to create regional development planning or rural land management so that land resources can be utilized for villagers’ welfare as well as to minimize possibilities of landslides. Therefore, community participation is absolutely needed in the mapping process. “This is to guarantee that the produced mapping can be really understood and utilized effectively by the villagers,†she said.
The mother of Amiluhur Priyanto and Umayra Priyanto stated that to disseminate the innovative mapping method to be utilized by people in developing countries, various scientific papers detailing concept innovation, justification and standard procedures of mapping with the social participation-based geological method have been proposed to the International Association of Engineering Geology (IAEG). “Finally, the mapping concept and method received a good response from the international community. The concept will even be presented and discussed further in the International Congress held by the IAEG from 5-10 September 2010 in Auckland, New Zealand,†she said.
Efforts to reduce disaster risk of land movement are complex. They are not only controlled by geological condition, but also by various social, psychological, economic, legal and environmental problems. According to Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, M.Sc., Ph.D., the various technical efforts to control and prevent land movement become ineffective and unsustainable if the local people do not understand this problem, not care about the technology or prevention.
“The most difficult part in reducing the risk of land movement disaster is making people aware and motivated to actively participate in mitigation efforts,†she said in the Senate Hall, Wednesday (5/5) when she was inaugurated as Professor of Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).
Delivering speech entitled Role of Technical and Environmental Geology in Reducing Risk of Land Movement Disaster, Dwikorita mentioned that to respond to the challenge in facing the risk, the British Council through the Development Partnership in Higher Education (DelPHE) program and UGM Community Empowering Field Practice (KKN PPM) since year 2007 has developed an innovative method for Social Participation-Based Disaster Risk Mapping.
Meanwhile, the development and implementation of early warning system, despite its use to save human lives, in fact have been hampered due to complicated problems from technical preparations to system application in the vulnerable zones. There are also challenges, including finding the exact location to install the equipment, the selection of the right detection tool, the accuracy of stating when the critical condition occurs, thus when the alarm goes off, and guarantee to sustain the early warning system.
Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is required. The application of Engineering Geology and Environmental Geology is much required especially to identify and predict land movement model and mechanism, so the design of the equipment and systems network can be determined precisely. “The mapping is very much needed to determine the location of installation of equipment and early detection. It is clear that efforts to minimise disaster risks require a multidisciplinary approach,†concluded the lady born in Yogyakarta on 6 June 1964.