ABSTRACT
Introduction The world is experiencing an unprecedented ecological crisis today, posing an ongoing and potential threat to human social and physical existence. The debate concerning the human stake in the crisis is continuing, some accepting, others denying, the social responsibility in manufacturing the crisis. Whatever the scientific actuality herein may be, the increasing numbers of natural disasters seriously question the worth of all other measures of social development, social welfare and social policies. Based on a study conducted in a landslideprone community in Sri Lanka, this chapter views the environmental crisis as an inseparable part of the social life today which is intensely linked with all other forms of socio-economic vulnerabilities.
