A policy-oriented mitigation priority framework for integrated flood and landslide risk reduction

Abstract

Disaster risk reduction in multi-hazard regions is often constrained by fragmented assessments that fail to translate hazard information into actionable mitigation priorities for subnational governments. This study presents a policy-oriented, spatially explicit framework for prioritising integrated flood and landslide mitigation, demonstrated through a provincial-scale application. The framework introduces a Mitigation Priority Index (MPI) that systematically integrates hazard intensity, exposure, vulnerability, and implementation feasibility within a unified decision-support structure. Unlike conventional hazard mapping approaches, the proposed MPI explicitly links risk classes to implementation-ready mitigation pathways, including structural, ecological, and non-structural measures, and aligns these pathways with the institutional mandates of local government agencies. Flood and landslide risks are assessed using multi-source geospatial datasets such as topography, landform, drainage characteristics, land use, and historical disaster records, and synthesized through a weighted multi-criteria analysis tailored to regional planning contexts. Results reveal clear spatial differentiation of mitigation priorities, with high-priority zones concentrated in urbanised coastal floodplains and sediment-generating mountainous headwaters characterised by steep slopes and dense drainage networks. To operationalize the framework, responsible agency-based mitigation matrices and a phased six-year implementation roadmap are developed to support budgeting, inter-agency coordination, and integration into statutory planning instruments. The principal contribution of this study lies in advancing a governance-oriented MPI framework that bridges hazard assessment and implementable disaster risk reduction, offering a transferable implementation-oriented model for provincial-scale, multi-hazard mitigation planning in developing regions.

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