The GSM Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Working Group leverages national and international collaborations with key partners such as SEADPRI-Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya and the British Geological Survey (BGS). Researchers from BGS have presented talks and been involved in key initiatives.
The Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Working Group promotes advancement of geological sciences in disaster risk reduction and climate change through national and international collaborations that foster engagement between geologists and other professionals. The Working Group also focuses on enhancing the ecosystem of geoscience services and empowering geologists as social entrepreneurs.
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The Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Working Group evolved from the GSM-IGM Flagship on Geoscience to Action for Disaster Risk Reduction (G2A4DRR), which was initiated in 2017. The Flagship was initially supported by the Newton Ungku Omar Fund project on “Disaster Resilient Cities” [http://ancst.org/nuof/] administered by Innovate UK and MIGHT; led by SEADPRI-UKM in Malaysia and University of Cambridge in the UK, with key partners such as the British Geological Survey (BGS), Universiti Malaya, Minerals and Geoscience Department of Malaysia, the Meteorology Department of Malaysia and GSM. In 2019, the Flagship continued with support from the project on “Promotion of Social Entrepreneurship in Disaster Risk Reduction to Build Community Resilience”, led by SEADPRI-UKM and funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), with involvement of GSM and other partners. The Flagship is now formalised as the GSM Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Working Group, supported by national and international collaborations.
The Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Working Group conducts initiatives to empower geologists as social entrepreneurs in disaster risk reduction, to foster community resilience to climate change. The Working Group also fosters engagement between geologists and other professionals such as planners, engineers, geospatial and remote sensing specialists, insurers and risk managers.
GSM will focus on building capacity of geologists to engage with local communities and share knowledge on the risk of landslides and other geohazards within their vicinity. This is an integral part of scaling-up the MyBahaya Platform.
MyBahaya Platform: The MyBahaya Platform was launched by the Director-General of the Mineral and Geoscience Department of Malaysia, Datuk Zamri Bin Ramli on 7 November 2023 during the 36th National Geoscience Conference (NGC 2023). The Platform is a web-based application that was developed with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada, to collate information on hazards from the community. The Project was led by SEADPRI-UKM with support from GSM and other partners. SEADPRI-UKM, GSM and other partners will now work on scaling-up the MyBahaya Platform, with focus on empowering geologists as social entrepreneurs to investigate hazards and engage effectively with the community.
Geohazard Knowledge Hub: The Geohazard Knowledge Hub is an ongoing effort to show-case information on geoscience skills (companies), geoscience experts (individuals) and geoscience solutions (case-studies), to enhance the ecosystem of geoscience services in disaster risk reduction and climate change. This will involve close collaboration with the Board of Geologists Malaysia, Institute of Geology Malaysia and other partners.
TRIGGER Project (2025-2026): The Trigger Index for Rainfall-Induced Landslide Risk Assessment for Enhanced Resilience (TRIGGER) Project aims to develop a risk-based model that establishes a scientifically robust relationship between extreme rainfall metrics and landslide loss potential. It is led by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research Initiative (SEADPRI-UKM), in collaboration with GSM and other partners. The Project is supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA), a UK Government initiative for supporting climate adaptation and resilience across Indo Pacific. The following events were convened involving GSM:
• Knowledge Exchange & Engagement Workshop: Landslide Risks, Climate Hazards and Climate Finance for Resilience, 11 March 2026, Shah Alam, Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsan.
• Workshop on Modelling Landslide Risk for Climate Finance & Resilience – Bridging the Gap, 10 March 2026, Shah Alam, Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsan.
• Earth Observation Training Program, 16 December 2025 (Tuesday), 1400-1730 (Online).
