Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) is taking big steps in disaster risk reduction and resilience through its new Himalayan Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience.
The centre is working to build an early warning system for natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh and across the Himalayan region. It plans to combine traditional local knowledge with modern artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The aim is to reduce the effects of climate change and global warming by blending scientific research, community wisdom, and policy outreach.
Speaking to mediapersons, HPU Vice-Chancellor Professor Mahaveer Singh said the Centre’s work would not be limited to academic research but would also have real-world impact.
"The main objective of this centre is to take research from campus to community and up to the policy level. We will incorporate artificial intelligence and local community knowledge not only to develop an early warning system but also to introduce disaster mitigation and reduction courses in universities, colleges, and schools," Prof Mahaveer said.
Early Warning System: The Centre will use AI and insights from local communities to design an early warning system for disasters. Areas like Shimla, Dharamshala, Mandi, and Kullu will be its initial focus.
HPU has partnered with the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) in Norway and the University of Padua in Italy to use advanced Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology for monitoring hazards.
Prof Mahaveer said the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), the National Disaster Management Institute, and international partners had already agreed to work together.
"We will organise training programmes and workshops in disaster-hit or sensitive districts, and also bring community representatives to our campus for awareness. Data accuracy is crucial, whether from NASA or satellite-based systems, and AI tools will help us pinpoint specific local vulnerabilities, such as why land is sinking or frequent landslides occur," he said.
HPU is also working with the Himachal Pradesh Education Department to add disaster-related lessons into school curricula, building on existing NCERT modules.
"We are clear about college-level curriculum and even law colleges. At the school level, the challenge is deciding how much to teach in Class 6, 7, or 8. We will consult stakeholders and adapt disaster data to Himachal's context," he said.
Apart from disaster studies, the university is conducting nanotechnology research for green energy. This includes developing magnetic materials to replace rare-earth elements in electric vehicle (EV) motors, which are currently dominated by China.
"China holds 80 per cent of the world's rare-earth reserves, followed by Brazil. India has very little. Rare earths are not environmentally friendly. We are developing eco-friendly magnetic materials as an alternative. One parameter for EV motors is already achieved, and we are working on the second. Our aim is to contribute to climate change mitigation, green transportation, and environmental protection," Prof Mahaveer said.
He further said that the Centre aimed to become a landmark institution for climate change action, disaster risk reduction, and eco-friendly technology development.
"In the next 8-9 months, we expect to reach a stage where specific data can be shared with both the government and the public for early warnings. This will save lives and reduce losses in the Himalayan region," he said.
Scientist and Assistant Professor Sansar Raj Meena, a researcher at the University of Padua, Italy, one of Europe’s oldest universities where Galileo once taught, said his team would contribute advanced AI and machine learning expertise to the project.
"We work on slope stability, predictive modelling, and remote sensing data analysis for landslide risk detection. The Himalayas are vast, so we use satellite, LiDAR, UAV, and drone data for hazard mapping," Meena said. He emphasised the need to blend science with community knowledge.
"Local communities, especially elders, are scientists in themselves; they know safe and unsafe areas. We will combine their traditional knowledge with high-performance computing and big data analysis to provide actionable recommendations at the policy level,” he added.
Meena also warned about the risks of unplanned development in fragile Himalayan areas.
"A river never changes its course, but if people settle in its floodplain, the river will return one day. Rapid highway construction with slope cutting can trigger future slope failures. Environmental assessments for such projects often ignore long-term hazards," he said.
He stressed that scientific reports must be written in an accessible language for government officials to act upon.
"In developing countries, reports often remain unused because officials don't understand the technical content. We need willingness from governments to work with research institutions and local communities to implement disaster preparedness tools," he said.
Follow us
