Please support TVNI operations with a donation (see top of page(your tax deductible donation will generate an emailed receipt).

 

 

 

 

Climate change consequences and land mismanagement, when combined, can result in serious disasters, this is particularly so in high rainfall tropical locations. The most devastating are concentrated water flows at times of extreme rainfall events resulting in land slides, flooding, infrastructure destruction, loss of life and serious reduction in economic output. Similarly the aftermath of earthquakes often result in unstable and highly erodible slopes that slip and end up as major sediment flows in downstream catchments. The Vetiver System can provide very significant mitigation in the prevention and rehabilitation of such damage, including the stabilization of slip prone shallow slopes, soil erosion control, levee and dike stabilization, river bank stabilization, road and highway stabilization, bridge abutment stabilization, and the stabilization of building sites. The Vetiver System's effectiveness has been proven time and time again including the protection and stabilization of highways in El Salvador against the impact of the 1998 Hurricane Mitch; the protection of a key railway line in Madagascar against annual cyclone damage that previously shut down the railway every year for months on end; the protection of sea dikes in Vietnam against the worst typhoons in 50 years; and the stabilization of highways in China, Malaysia, and Vietnam against slippage due to tropical rainfall events. These and other examples are well documented on this web site. For more information on disaster mitigation go to our archives or download the handbooks at the bottom of this page.

Presentations on Disaster Mitigation

- Coastal erosion
-
Upland flood control
-
River banks
-
Canals,
dyke and levee banks
- Dams
-
Land Rehabilitation
-
Can the Vetiver System be used for coastal protection in West Bengal's Sundarbans? (video of presentations (India, Bangladesh and Vietnam and discussion - 2021)

Disaster Mitigation, Flood and Erosion Control in Haiti

Short paper by Mike Benge. Senior Agro-Forester

THE USE OF VETIVERS IN COASTAL ENGINEERING

A single hedge of Vetiver grass planted on the outer slope of a dike can reduce the wave run-up volume by 55%, in contrary with sod-forming grasses that give no reduction. Planting multiple hedges along the contour of the outer slope might result in even more reduction. The application of Vetiver grass on existing dikes may provide a substantial reinforcement of these dikes. Read more

Jamaica

Vetiver System for Mitigation of Storm Induced Disasters for The Caribbean Region. This power point was prersented at a recent conference in Jamaica, and shows some of the consequences of Caribbean storms and examples, from other countries that have similar problems, as to how the Vetiver System can reduce the damage.

THE VETIVER SYSTEM FOR SLOPE STABILIZATION - AN ENGINEERS HANDBOOK
This book describes the problems relating to slope stabilization and the use of VS for disaster mitigation. It has some excellent images and case studies. The book can be downloaded at no charge or purchased from Amazon.com

DISASTER MITIGATION
US GULF REGION

VETIVER SYSTEM FOR US GULF REGION
It is hurricane season again, and we will be reminded once again to do more for coastal and levee protection. The Vetiver System is one tool that can help provide protection in the long term. Here is a revised technical fact sheet to support VS use in the Gulf states.