Lincei appeal: to avoid landslides 'a cultural change is needed'

" Landslide resilience cannot be based exclusively on technical knowledge , technological capabilities and organization : a cultural change is needed that involves the population and political decision-makers ." This is the appeal of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, just as these days events of this type are affecting various parts of Italy starting from Cadore , where a new landslide has made access to Cortina difficult. The document, drawn up following the conference on the topic organized in Rome on June 5 , highlights the critical issues that still exist . "Although knowledge and forecasting capabilities have improved, knowledge of landslide phenomena remains incomplete . One obstacle - the report states - is the lack of systematic and homogeneous mapping of landslides, which is essential for developing reliable forecasting models and for informed planning ." The authors of the document give as an example the events of May 2023 in Emilia-Romagna , when over 80 thousand landslides were recorded in 6 thousand square kilometers, many areas that until then had not been identified as unstable. To improve the ability to defend the territory and population from landslides, the steps to be taken highlighted in the report are still many : from the need to recognize and map landslides immediately after they have occurred to that of exploiting all available technologies , such as satellite ones, from improving monitoring to financing the necessary structures and the inclusion of new qualified personnel .