1. From the slopes of Mount Pelée in Martinique to the islands of the Indian Ocean and the Brazilian cities of Minas Gerais: the birth of a vocation.
It all began in 1985 with his meeting of the renowned volcanologist Haroun Tazieff, then in Martinique, where the young geologist Éric Leroi mapped unstable slopes before joining BRGM, whose “Natural Risks” department he would soon direct. In the interim, he gained valuable experience overseeing the construction of a large earth dam as deputy project director, safety engineer, and head of the geotechnical control laboratory—where he introduced tools and analytical methods later standardized in France.
This immersion in fieldwork led him quickly to several realizations and to a working approach that would become his trademark: operational action on the ground and decision‑making must be underpinned by scientific excellence, innovation, boldness, a balance between protection and development, and pragmatism. Moreover, expertise must rely on precise, geolocated, updated, real‑time accessible—and above all exhaustive—data, not just statistics. Expert resources are too few and cannot alone solve global problems. They must leverage the most powerful sensor available—local populations—as well as powerful but universally accessible digital tools.
2. Setting the standard: norms, guidelines, and training
In 1997, at age 34, at the request of Professor Robin Fell, he joined a college of international experts in Hawaii to write a comprehensive work on landslide risk. In 2008, still alongside Robin Fell and within the Joint Technical Committee 1 (IAEG‑ISRM‑ISSMGE), he co‑authored the Guidelines for Landslide Susceptibility, Hazard and Risk Zoning—a reference text that standardizes landslide risk mapping in over 40 countries.
Thanks to his dual expertise, he developed integrated Planning & Risk approaches to help local authorities manage the difficult PLU‑PPR coexistence: in 2006, he authored more than 25 monographs for the Ministry of Environment showcasing best practices in integrating natural risk into land use planning, and in 2009 prepared a guide on risk urban planning—including floods, landslides, earthquakes—for the Ministry of Urbanism.
3. From European research to field action and Qriska
Between 1994 and 2023, Éric Leroi participated in 11 European research projects (Phusicos, Risk, Change, Safeland, TCLM, Frane, Oilos, Debris, Landslides & Mudflows, Life, Hycosi), including as coordinator for the Hycosi project. Science, excellence, and international teamwork are in his DNA. Above all, he is an engineer, and scientific research must translate into operational tools and methodologies serving territorial managers and local populations in France and worldwide.
This led him to design over 20 digital tools and develop integrated Planning & Risk methodologies—including the Qriska platform, the culmination of more than 15 years of R&D—and awarded Best Digital Innovation of the Year at the 2021 E‑Py Trophies.
4. Indian Ocean: coordinating the regional response of 5 Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
In 2011 and again from 2012 to 2014, the Indian Ocean Commission entrusted him with project management support for the implementation of “Natural Risks: Institutional and Operational Approach,” funded by AFD. The objective was to structure and implement coordinated actions among the five countries—Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles—from strategic public policy approaches and civil protection coordination to on‑the‑ground actions in resilient eco‑construction.
This multicultural and multidisciplinary coordination allowed testing early prototypes of what would become the Qriska platform, leveraging drones, GIS, and civil protection technicians. Mohéli island was fully covered with an unprecedented level of territorial knowledge enabling concrete risk reduction actions.
5. West Africa: quantitative risk assessment
Using both personal funding and World Bank grants, he conducted two major quantitative natural risk assessments— in urban Abidjan and in Grand Lahou, an area exposed to coastal erosion, flooding, and landslide risks. The approaches, involving local populations and the innovative tools he developed with collaborators (precursors to the Qriska platform), delivered remarkable results: exhaustive, unmatched territorial risk knowledge; unprecedented engagement of local populations; training of village youth who then carried out the operational work; and a powerful digital simulator that enabled validation and implementation of a large‑scale risk reduction project. Similar initiatives were launched in Mali (for UNICEF) and in Benin (for AFD).
6. Nature‑Based Solutions: the PHUSICOS experience
From 2019 to 2023, he supported the Pyrenean demonstration under the H2020 PHUSICOS project, where vegetated embankments and wooded terraces reduce rockfall risks while regenerating biodiversity. He promoted experimental block‑fall test sites to better size protective structures, and participated in Living Labs that brought together authorities, foresters, and insurers to quantify the return on investment of nature‑based solutions and leverage local territorial resources.
7. From field to digital: the genesis of Qriska
All these experiences built and reinforced his convictions: risk and territory management must rely on rigorous scientific approaches at a high level; on tools that are both powerful and flexible yet accessible to everyone; and on mobilizing local actors and populations.
The concepts of “Risk” and “Resilience,” though widely used, remain today confused, misunderstood, and misused—even by many experts. Éric Leroi has worked on these concepts for over 30 years and is internationally recognized in this field. Beyond semantics, errors around these concepts lead to poor decisions in risk reduction and territorial management.
International, institutional, or private expertise alone cannot adequately protect populations and assets, safeguard the environment, or foster balanced territorial development—they are too few and too slow. It is essential to mobilize local stakeholders (mayors and regional technicians) and communities. The populations themselves call for it—they are the sentinels of their territories, those territories they know better than anyone, sometimes endure, and through which they live. When suitable tools—especially digital tools—are provided to them, they contribute invaluable support.
Smartphones and digital applications are part of new generations’ culture, as evidenced by social networks. Developing countries—once disadvantaged—now compete with the most advanced nations; they leapfrogged to new communication tools, presenting tremendous potential to harness and benefit.
Qriska was born from all these observations: the strength of populations, continuously renewed technological advances, and a platform for real‑time collection, transmission, and sharing of geolocated—now exhaustive—information. It shifts knowledge power from states via statistical data to local and community levels, enabling finer, faster-acquired, and updated territorial insights aligned with individual needs. It’s a very good thing—it’s a major revolution. We can hope that operational action plans will finally complement general strategies that have yet to produce concrete results on the ground.
The Qriska platform is as much a technical achievement as it is a societal and human ambition. It reshuffles the cards on knowledge, governance, territory management, and risk reduction. It was high time!
A platform now oriented toward AI.