Main purpose of the commission and justification
The commission on volcanic hazards and risk will be dedicated to applied volcanology, a key realm of volcanology that occupies the front line between academic research and governmental organizations that are responsible for decision-making and policy processes that reduce the impact of volcanic hazards on society. The commission will focus on understanding, quantifying and communicating the hazards, the extent and likelihood of their occurrence and assessing their impacts and the societal vulnerabilities they create from near to far-field.
Recently, there have been numerous and high quality initiatives by the larger community on the topic of hazard and risk science (see previous activities section below), however many of these efforts are driven by individual research projects and collaborations. The IAVCEI community still lacks a unified long-term vision for the advancement of science related to volcanic hazards and particularly in considering volcanic risk. Instigating a commission on volcanic hazards and risk is both timely and community-driven. There is both a research push from volcanologists working at the frontiers between volcanic hazard and risk and a societal pull coming from the increased need for systematised, universal approaches to analysing and characterising volcanic hazards. There are difficult fundamental questions that need to be asked about the role of volcanologists in providing and driving advice and analysis in this domain and it will become more important to provide a professional forum for that discussion.
In July 2013, a proposal for a new commission on hazards and risk was finalised, submitted and subsequently accepted by IAVCEI. We have formed a interim leadership team (comprising the principal commission proponents), who are initiating the commission activities and will carry the commission though to COV8 in 2014, where a 3-year leadership team will be decided by open vote. Subsequent leadership will be decided at IAVCEI general assemblies on a 4-year cycle.
Interim leadership:
Commission leader, Eliza Calder
Vice-chair (hazards), Jan Lindsay
Vice-chair (risk), Jo Gottsman
These commission officer roles were ratified at COV8.
Commission Working Groups
Working Group on Hazard Mapping
Working Group on Communication of Hazard and Risk
See the following pages for background information about the commission: