Volcano expert boosts fortunes of Caribbean island

20 November 2007

A BU-based expert on volcanic activity is supporting the regeneration of a Caribbean island recently affected by an active volcano.

Professor Nick Petford, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at BU, is working with the British Foreign and International Development Offices to aid the authorities in Montserrat.

The island, part of the Leeward Isles, is recovering from a series of eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano which rumbled into life in 1995.

Professor Petford's work in Montserrat focuses on how best to keep the islanders safe while at the same time finding ways to use the volcano as an asset.

For the last decade, the island has attracted interest from scientists and students who wish to study the volcano, as well as from a small number of tourists drawn to region after being featured by the international media.

Eruptions have continued on the island, leaving the southern part on a continued state of high alert.

Professor Petford is amongst those advising the local population on how to 'live' with the volcano in terms of monitoring and safety, and how to benefit from it by generating much needed income via tourism and other business possibilities.

He said: "A great deal of progress has been made on Montserrat since 1995, when the first recent eruption occurred.

"Thanks to aid and funding from the British government we are now able to monitor the volcano firsthand through the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

"We’re now coming to the end of a five-year recovery plan for the island and I’m now helping to write the terms of reference for a tendering process which will invite further investors to turn Montserrat from a perceived threat into an advantage for the island and the surrounding region."