Psychosocial response to a no-build zone: Managing landslide risk in Iceland

Land use planning has been promoted as a key measure to decrease the risk of natural disasters including landslides, however, there is a dearth of research on how the impact it has on the psychosocial wellbeing of affected people. This ethnographic study examines the risk management of the Svínafellsheiði mountain in south-east Iceland. Scientific monitoring suggests that an estimated 60–100 million cubic metres of bedrock could fall onto the glacier below, and cause flooding or a tsunami in the proglacial lake. A no-build zone was in place between 2018 and 2020 to prevent a further increase in the number of people exposed to the hazard. Our results indicate that the no-build zone had adverse effects on the psychosocial wellbeing of those affected including frustration about a perceived inability to make changes to their home and business operations, leaving them feeling that their future was uncertain or on hold. These frustrations also acted as a persistent reminder of the risk posed by the unstable slope, reinforcing anxiety and undermining people’s ability to gain respite through day-to-day routine. Based on the findings, we recommend that land use planners take the psychosocial wellbeing of affected communities into account when contemplating no-build zones, and that psychosocial support be offered especially when a small group of people face an existential threat for an extended period.