India is one of the most landslide-prone countries in the world, with nearly 15% of its geographical area susceptible to landslide hazards. The Himalayan Region, the North-Eastern states, the Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, and several parts of the Eastern Ghats experience frequent slope failures triggered by intense rainfall, earthquakes, anthropogenic interventions, mining activities, and rapid infrastructure development. Every year, landslides result in significant loss of human lives, damage to critical infrastructure, disruption of transportation corridors, and adverse socio-economic impacts on vulnerable communities. With increasing climate variability and expanding developmental activities in mountainous terrains, the frequency and complexity of landslide events continue to grow, making landslide risk reduction a national priority.

India has made significant progress in understanding and managing landslide hazards through coordinated efforts of government agencies, academic institutions, research organizations, and professional societies. National initiatives such as the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy (NLRMS), the National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM) Programme, and the recently launched National Landslide Forecasting Centre (NLFC) reflect the Government of India's strong commitment towards scientific landslide risk management. These initiatives emphasize landslide inventory development, susceptibility zonation, hazard assessment, monitoring, forecasting, early warning systems, policy interventions, and community preparedness.

The increasing investment in strategic infrastructure—including highways, railways, tunnels, hydropower projects, border roads, urban expansion, and smart infrastructure in mountainous regions—has further highlighted the importance of integrating advanced landslide monitoring, geotechnical investigations, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and risk-informed planning into infrastructure development. Modern technologies such as InSAR, LiDAR, UAV-based mapping, fibre optic sensing, IoT-enabled instrumentation, digital twins, and real-time early warning systems are transforming the way landslides are monitored and managed. These technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for improving resilience while supporting sustainable development in hazard-prone regions.

Landslide management today extends far beyond engineering solutions alone. It requires an integrated framework involving scientific research, evidence-based policymaking, institutional coordination, capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and international collaboration. Developing skilled professionals, strengthening disaster governance, enhancing local preparedness, and translating scientific advances into practical implementation remain essential components of India's long-term resilience strategy. The active participation of academia, government agencies, industry, consulting organizations, and international experts is therefore critical in addressing the evolving challenges posed by landslides under changing climatic and developmental scenarios.

The International Symposium on Landslides is an event convened, since 1972, every four years by the Joint Technical Committee on Natural Slopes and Landslides (JTC1) and the Federation of International Geo-engineering Societies: ISSMGE, ISRM, IAEG and IGS (FedIGS). Against this backdrop, the International Symposium on Landslides (ISL) 2028 provides a timely and globally significant platform for advancing knowledge exchange and fostering international cooperation in landslide science and engineering. The symposium aims to bring together leading researchers, policymakers, engineers, industry professionals, and practitioners from across the world to discuss recent advances in landslide characterization, monitoring, modelling, forecasting, mitigation, risk governance, and resilience. It will facilitate the dissemination of innovative technologies, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthen policy dialogue, and support capacity development for safer and more sustainable mountain environments.

Hosting ISL 2028 in India reflects the country's growing leadership in geohazard research and disaster risk reduction. It offers a unique opportunity to showcase India's scientific capabilities, ongoing national initiatives, and engineering innovations while contributing meaningfully to global efforts aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and resilient infrastructure development. By bringing together the global landslide community, ISL 2028 will serve as a catalyst for scientific excellence, technological innovation, policy advancement, and collaborative action towards reducing landslide risks and building a safer and more resilient future.

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