KATHMANDU / FARIDABAD — Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, founded by spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), is set to host the 7th World Landslide Forum (WLF7) at its Faridabad campus in Delhi NCR, India, from November 23 to 27, 2026. Organized in collaboration with the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), this marks the first time the world's largest landslide conference is being held in India.
The five-day international conference centers on the theme "Landslide Science and Practice for Safe and Resilient Communities." India becomes the fifth country to host the triennial forum, following previous editions in Tokyo (2008), Rome (2011), Beijing (2014), Ljubljana (2017), Kyoto (2021), and Florence (2023). More than 1,900 authors from 75 countries and over 700 scientific papers from 760 institutions will be presented, with over 1,280 foreign delegates expected to attend.
Conference Schedule and Technical Sessions
Pre-conference workshops are scheduled for November 22, focusing on cutting-edge topics including Artificial Intelligence for landslides, satellite-based monitoring using Sentinel-1 and NISAR, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), Digital Twins, and geospatial modeling.
The main conference from November 23 to 27 will feature specialized technical sessions. Key discussions include Session 1.3 on landslides and society covering cultural, educational, and policy dimensions; Session 2.3 on landslide early warning systems; and Session 2.6 on landslide cataloging and inventory standardization. The forum aligns with the Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020 (KLC2020), the Sendai Framework, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Relevance and Participation Details for Nepal
The forum holds significant importance for Nepal, where annual monsoons cause fatal landslides. Research by Amrita University demonstrates that combining IoT sensors with AI can provide early landslide warnings up to 24 hours in advance. Amrita has conducted landslide research since 2006, deploying wireless sensor networks in Munnar, Kerala, and an AI-based system in Sikkim at the request of the Indian government across 70+ sites with 300+ sensors.
Highlighting the objective, Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, stated, "Every advancement in landslide science must ultimately save a life, a home, or a livelihood." Amrita’s program has been recognized as a World Center of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction for three consecutive terms (2017–2026).
Participants from Nepal, as a SAARC member nation, are eligible for a discounted Early Bird registration fee of $150 (approximately NPR 14,250) plus 18% GST until November 15, 2026, after which standard SAARC rates apply. Registration, abstract submissions, and workshop bookings can be completed online at www.wlf7.org via the myWLF7 portal. A total of 200 student grants are available for authors of accepted abstracts, alongside a 15 percent group discount for institutions submitting five or more abstracts.
The conference is supported by major industry and institutional partners, including the Geological Survey of India (GSI), ISRO, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Department of Science & Technology, PFEPL, Campbell Scientific, NHIDCL, TRE ALTAMIRA, Coal India, and BGC Engineering. For inquiries, organizers can be contacted at [email protected] or lead coordinator Dr. Aadityan S at [email protected].
