Geotechnics in the 21st Century, uncertainties and other challenges, with particular references to landslide hazard and risk assessment

There are significant challenges for the future development and application of geotechnical engineering. Developments in research, analysis and practice have taken place to advance knowledge and practice. While the scope of the profession and its discipline areas is already vast, significant extension is required in the areas of hazard and risk assessment and management. In particular, the field of natural disaster reduction requires the development of innovative approaches within a multi-disciplinary framework. Very useful and up-to-date information on the occurrence frequency and impact of different natural disasters is being assessed and analyzed by a number of organizations around the world. However, geotechnical engineers have not played a prominent part in such activities so far. Reference may be made to the research and educational materials developed on a regular basis by the Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction (GADR) with the aim of information dissemination and training for disaster reduction. Some selected illustrations from GADR are presented in an Appendix to this paper .The role of geotechnical engineers in implementing such goals is obvious from these illustrations.