Landslide disaster risk reduction and slope resolience strategy in Malaysia

Landslides remained the fatal disaster that contributed a number of human losses due to geological hazards, slope failures, debris flow and rockfalls in Malaysia. The cascading impact is further exacerbated by increasing magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events, climate change, and anthropogenic activities in urban settings, cultural heritage-affiliated, tourism-dominated areas, and food-insecurity regions in a tropical environment.

This study reports newly launched commitment and aspiration to reduce landslide disaster risk reduction and slope resilience strategies in Malaysia. The National Slope Master Plan (NSMP) 2025-2030 is an extended version of NSMP2009-2023, a 20-year road map with aims at enhancing the country’s capacity to assess and mitigate landslide risk, marking a significant milestone towards promoting sustainable slope management practices and reducing landslide disaster risk in Malaysia. The NSMP is collectively managed by the Department of Public Work under auspices of Inter-Governmental Agency Committee for Slope Management (ICSM). It is aligned to the international DRR agenda, UNDRR Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and Malaysia’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2030. Moreover, the NSMP Action Plan 2025-2030 incorporates a holistic framework, forward-looking and action-oriented guidance to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into policies, programmes, development, and investments at all levels.

As a “living-document”, NSMP2030 serves a national guidance and primary reference for landslide disaster risk management at the national, local, and cross-sectoral levels. Remarkably, landslide and slope inventory remained a critical success factor to co-implement the multi-scale DRR plan. So far, we reported about 6441 landslides in the period of 1961-2024 and 25,608 slopes over mountainous environment, vulnerable highlands, tectonically active, hilly slope and urbanized settings. Two national guidelines are co-developed to address the multi-tier inventories for landslides and slope failures.

This study also explores new modalities of implementation, mean risk governance, inter-agency management mechanisms and integrated partnerships for de-risk investment. This study also highlights the use of nationally-supported and locally-led landslide inventories for supporting the development of highland vulnerability index (HVI) over 600,000 hectare in Cameron Highlands (Pahang), Kinta (Perak) and Lojing (Kelantan). It aims to enhance landslide disaster resilience in the vulnerable highlands by integrating comprehensive and inclusive localized DRR measures, promoting the well-being of the people, and supporting sustainable livelihoods and risk-informed development.

This transdisciplinary study emphasized progress made and achievements, to renew our shared commitments to amplifying and accelerating actions in all sectors and at all scale through 2030 and beyond, in pursuit of the global agenda and national aspiration in reducing disaster losses, preventing future systemic risk, and strengthening disaster resilience in a changing climate.