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Conference on managing volcano opens in Comoros
Experts from around the world have gathered in Moroni, the capital of the Union of the Comoros to discuss the Karthala volcano.
To find out more about this, UN Radio's Derrick Mbatha spoke on the line to Moroni with Opia Mensah Kumah, the Representative of the UN Development Programme in the Comoros.
KUMAH: The purpose of organizing this conference is two fold: one is to assure that the population is protected, two: to see how we can exploit the social and economic potential of the volcano because volcanoes also can be economic and assets for development. So we are looking at the conference to address two issues that are of concern to us at the UN: protection and sustainable development.
MBATHA:Right. You have said that the volcano has erupted four times over the past three years. It sounds like a dangerous volcano.
KUMAH:It is indeed.
MBATHA:So, how can we assure that the population is protected if this volcano is behaving this way?
KUMAH:That is why we are doing this conference. We are looking at the volcano from three angles, actually.
MBATHA:Right.
KUMAH:The first is purely scientific: to try to understand the behaviour of the volcano a bit more. The second aspect is looking at the disaster risk reduction element. This is, I guess, where your question was coming from.
MBATHA:Right.
KUMAH:So for that purpose, the UN community which has expertise in disaster risk management and disaster preparedness and response are here to share experiences and we have, of course, other specialists from different countries which have gone through volcanic eruptions to share experiences of how they have prepared and responded. We are hoping to come out of this with clear tools and instruments that we can use, implement within context of ongoing programmes to afford protection of the people.
(duration: 4'08")
