Revealing Environmental Threats: Harmonizing Indigenous Narratives with Geomorphic Hazard Thematic Maps for Community Awareness

From the perspective of natural disaster prevention, larger-scale and higher-intensity geomorphic events often have longer recurrence intervals. The impact of these events on a region is frequently underestimated unless residents have experienced them firsthand. Consequently, the success of promoting self-reliant disaster-prepared communities by the government heavily relies on the experiences of the affected population. In this context, our study integrates government cartographic data and interprets the geomorphic evidence preserved in the landscape.

We conducted in-depth interviews with elders from indigenous tribes, leveraging their rich storytelling tradition and local residents' experiences to collect observations of environmental changes, past disaster experiences, and ancestral stories. The spirit of storytelling is incorporated into the map user manual, emphasizing a place-based approach. Using the devastating impact of Typhoon Morakot in 2009 on the Tjalja'avus Tribe in southern Taiwan as a case study, we produced a geomorphological hazard thematic map of the tribe. This map utilized national environmental mapping imagery, including landslide records, large-scale landslide-prone areas, potential debris flow streams, and high-resolution digital elevation models created by unmanned aerial vehicles LiDAR.

Through a combination of multi-temporal data visuals, we highlighted recent (within the last five years) highly active landslide locations, emphasizing dynamic geomorphic features. In the context of environmental awareness and risk communication between the government and local communities, we structured the map user manual to revolve around the narrative axis of visible terrain features in the tribal landscape and experiences or stories related to soil and rock disasters. This approach allows individuals to comprehend the geomorphic influences leading to disasters in their communities, facilitating collaboration between the government and community builders. Ultimately, our initiative aims to achieve environmental management and disaster prevention goals within indigenous communities.