International Programme on Landslides (IPL)
A Programme of the ICL for ISDR
The International Programme on Landslides (IPL) was launched to create a new global multidisciplinary programme on landslides at the first session of Board of Representatives of ICL (BOR/ICL) at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, in November 2002. The Programme was developed to a global cooperation programme through the thematic session on landslides in the second United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), Kobe, Japan in January 2015. The IPL was defined and established by the 2006 Tokyo Action Plan “Strengthening Research and Learning on Landslides and Related Earth System Disasters for Global Risk Preparedness”, the output of the Tokyo Round Table Discussion “Strengthening Research and Learning on Earth System Risk Analysis and Sustainable Disaster Management within UN-ISDR as Regards Landslides” held at the United Nations University, Tokyo, from 18th to 20th January, 2006. In 2006, the International Consortium on Landslides exchanged Memorandum of Understandings to promote IPL with each of ICL supporting organizations: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), United Nations University (UNU), International Council for Science (ICSU), and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO).
The IPL is managed by the IPL Global Promotion Committee (IPL-GPC), which consists of all of ICL member organizations, five UN organizations (UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UNISDR, UNU), two global stakeholders in Science and Technologies (ICSU and WFEO) and the International Union of Geological Science (IUGS). The Secretariat of IPL is the IPL World Centre, hosted by ICL.
The activities of IPL include many of IPL projects which are numerous, editing and publication of “Landslides: Journal of the International Consortium on Landslides”, identification and coordination of World Centres of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction(WCoEs) (20 Centres in 2017-2020), organization of a World Landslide Forum (WLF) every three years (WLF 1 at UNU in Tokyo, 2008, WLF 2 at FAO in Rome, 2011, WLF 3 in Beijing 2014, WLF 4 in Ljubljana 2017, and WLF5 in Kyoto, Japan 2020).
IPL projects are proposed by one or more ICL members or by IPL-Global Promotion Committee by submitting the IPL project proposal form by 30 March every year. Proposals will be evaluated by IPL Evaluation Committee. Proposer or a member of the project is requested to orally explain the project in the IPL-GPC which will be organized together with the Board of Representatives (BOR) of ICL every year. IPL-GPC will decide the approval of proposed project based on the evaluation committee report, oral presentation and discussion. Each IPL Project leader with ongoing status is requested to submit the annual report of the project by 30 March every year.
The World Centres of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction (WCoEs) are called and identified at every World Landslide Forum. The application documents are submitted to the ICL secretariat. ICL secretariat will pass feasible applications to the technical evaluation committee (TEC). The leader of proposed WCoE has to attend and explain its proposal at the annual ICL-IPL Conference. TEC will submit the evaluation result to the IPL Global Promotion Committee. Members of IPL Global Promotion Committee will examine based on the oral presentation by the leader and the evaluation result of the proposed document by TEC and decide the list of candidates of WCoEs. The Secretariat of the IPL Global Promotion Committee will submit the recommendation of WCoEs to the Independent Panel of Experts (IPE) which consists of non-ICL experts from United Nations Organizations and other Global stakeholders for their evaluation from the wider aspect. IPE will authorize the candidates for WCoEs which are good enough. The list of authorized candidates for WCOEs will be reported to the IPL Global Promotion Committee and approved by majority of the Committee. The list of WCoEs is announced on the first day of World Landslide Forum.