Title: The role of community-based knowledge and local institutions in managing landslides on the slopes of Mount Elgon, Uganda

Authors: Doreen Misanya; Arne Olav Øyhus

Addresses: Department of Adult and Community Education, Kyambogo University, Kampala 256, Uganda ' Department of Development Studies, University of Agder, Farvik, Aust-Agder 4818, Norway

Abstract: The paper explores the degree to which community-based knowledge (CBK) and local institutions can be effective for disaster preparedness and management, based on a study carried out in Nametsi Parish, located on the slopes of Mount Elgon, in eastern Uganda. The study area has experienced innumerable landslides since 1933. Whereas a few of the landslides have not been disastrous, several others have had far-reaching effects on the livelihoods of people living in the area. This is attributed partly to the geographical setting, which makes the area difficult to access, and partly to socio-economic factors such as a high population growth rate and widespread poverty. Despite these aspects of vulnerability, communities in this area have survived by applying their local knowledge and establishing institutions for disaster preparedness and management. To some extent, the knowledge and local institutions have been effective, but in some cases they have not been effective in practice.

Keywords: CBK; community-based knowledge; disaster management; disaster preparedness; local institutions; Uganda; emergency management; landslide management; landslides; livelihoods; local knowledge.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2015.071044

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2015 Vol.11 No.2, pp.89 - 104

Received: 22 Jan 2014
Accepted: 02 Feb 2015
Published online: 09 Aug 2015 *

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