New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS): The Ministry of Mines said on Tuesday that the Geological Survey of India (GSI) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with The Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection of the National Research Council (CNR-IRPI), Italy, for collaboration in landslide forecast and early warning.

"The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on December 6, 2024, approved the proposed MoU between GSI and CNR-IRPI. This partnership aims to enrich the knowledge and acquire skills in landslide forecasting and early warning through collaborative research. It is crucial to enhance and scale up India's Landslide Early Warning Systems (LEWS) to international standards, enabling better prediction and mitigation of landslide-related damages, and to overcome the situation like Wayanad landslide in Kerala," the Ministry added.

GSI has established a state-of-the-art National Landslide Forecasting (NLFC) facility at GSI, Kolkata, to develop and operationalise the regional LEWS in all the landslide-prone states/Union Territories in India within a planned timeline to reduce landslide risks in India.

The vision of NLFC is to provide timely information on landslide forecasting to the stakeholders and to the community for preparedness and minimising landslide risks.

At present, NLFC is providing live forecast reporting daily in the Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts of West Bengal and Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu.

Along with that, ground testing of the bulletin is in progress in 13 districts.

The Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (CNR-IRPI), Italy, is a leading institution in developing regional LEWS models, featuring granular spatial and temporal resolutions, including nowcasting capabilities.

This collaboration will help integrate GSI's landslide inventory, susceptibility, and forecast maps with PM Gati Shakti, enhancing resilience and reducing vulnerability in fragile hilly terrains.

The LEWS will act as a critical tool to secure lives and prevent destruction in hill areas, facilitating sustainable development and environmental protection.

Plans are in place to expand the forecasting system to include more districts, with improved spatial and temporal resolution, across highly landslide-prone regions, the statement added.