Landslides

Landslides are part and parcel of the physicalenvironment of undulating landscape of northern andcentral Malawi. The population comprises poorlargely rural communities who survive on subsistenceagriculture. This book focuses on both scientificcauses of landslides and the local population'sawareness of landslides their perceptions andtraditional beliefs regarding landslide causes andtheir coping strategies. The role of gender withregard to perceptions and coping strategies receivespecial attention. The author argues thattraditional; beliefs play an important role ininvoking explanations to why landslides occur andthat women are as aware of the phenomena as men.Coping strategies and proposed actions to combat theeffects of landslides are impacted upon bytraditional beliefs. Attempts to mitigate the impactsof landslides and minimize their potential for futurelandslides particularly with regard to interventionsby government and NGOs must enjoy the support of thelocal population within the context of theirperceptions of such events or they will be unlikelyto succeed