Holistic geoethical slope portfolio risk assessment

Abstract

AbstractLandslides of natural and man-made slopes represent hazardous geomorphological processes that contribute to highly variable risks. Their consequences generally include loss of life and infrastructural, environmental and cultural assets damage.Prioritizing and mitigating slope risks in a sustainable manner, while considering climate change, is related to geoethics, as any misallocation of resources will likely lead to increased risk to the public.Until recently there was little recognition of the causes and global impacts of human actions. Today, threat-denying humans can be identified as acting inappropriately and ultimately unethically. Sustainable risk management and ethical issues should be discussed simultaneously to avoid the ‘discipline silo trap’ and hazardous omissions.This contribution discusses slope risk management at various scales, i.e. how to ensure better allotment of mitigative funds while complying with sustainability goals and geoethical requirements. In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development published a report (also known as the Brundtland Report (Brundtland 1987. World Commission on Environment and Development Report)) that defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.The three case histories discussed in this contribution show how sustainability and ethics can be fostered by using rational, repeatable, transparent quantitative risk assessment applicable at the local scale as well as on a large scale.