This book employs qualitative and quantitative methods to assess and scrutinize the impacts of climatic, topographic, land use, hydrologic and geologic factors on the hydrogeological disasters particularly flood and landslide in Rwanda. The hydrogeological hazard susceptibility and its spatial distribution is also mapped by integrating geospatial techniques and mathematical modeling approach through remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS). On the other hand, questionnaires and interview are used to evaluate the community's perception on the risk of hazards. The results unveiled different zones most susceptible to the incidence of both hazards as well as their main contributing factors. Furthermore, the results revealed that the government is perceived as responsible for all mitigation measures instead of being a shared responsibility, a perception that may also contribute to the increase in susceptibility. Therefore, it is necessary to deliver the extent of disaster-related courses and trainings in both schools (from primary to tertiary level) and local community members, which helps improving the public's awareness, understanding and ability by providing a new perspective toward disaster prevention and reduction. The book provides a reference for interested readers to understand the natural and human geography of Rwanda, the distribution of hydrogeological disasters, and the policy-making of disaster prevention and reduction.
1. Prof. Dr. Lanhai Li
Dr. Lanhai LI is a research Professor at Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences. With over 30 years of research, consulting and teaching experience, he has worked in a variety of positions for institutes, universities, international organizations and private companies in China, England, Thailand and Canada. Dr. Li's primary research interest focuses on hydrogeological hazards and climate change impact assessment. He has extensive working experience in snow hydrological modeling, risk and reliability assessment of hydrogeological disasters, water and land resources management, and climate change impact assessment. He has undertaken applied research projects that integrate the mathematical modelling, database management and geographic information systems into decision support tools for resources decision makers. He has published about 200 papers in peer reviewed journals and two monographs during academic research. The publications have been widely referred by academic research and engineering design, and his research and consulting work have been recognized by a number of awards for excellence in research and outreach, and by invitations from Northern American, Asian and African organizations for seminars and workshops as well as hosting international conferences. He currently serves as the editorial board member of following journals: "Journal of Arid Land", "Journal of Mountain Science", "Arid Land Geography (Chinese version)" and "East African Journal of Science and Technology".
2. Dr. Richard Mind'je
Born on 10th May 1994 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Richard attended his basic education level from 2000 to 2012 at Groupe Scolaire Consulaire Congolais (GSCC) where he obtained his high school diploma, before joining the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK) in 2013 where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in the faculty of Environmental studies, department of Emergency and Disaster Management with a first-class honor. Based on his outstanding performance, he was admitted at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography where he has successfully been awarded a master's degree of Natural Science (MSc) in Environmental Science by June 2020. Richard is currently a Ph.D. finalist in Physical geography under the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) for Young Talents initiated and established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Richard primary research interest converges with hydrogeological-induced hazards and risk assessment. He has published numerous scientific articles in different international peer reviewed journals which are widely referred by academic research and also acted as article's reviewer. Via these articles, Richard has been invited for presentation in numerous international conferences and been awarded a number of awards for excellence and outreach. He is currently an assistant lecturer at UNILAK and the University of Rwanda (UR) in the faculty of environmental studies, and Biodiversity and Nature conservation.
