Unseen but not unfelt: resilience to persistent volcanic emissions (UNRESP). Case study from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua

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Even when volcanoes are not erupting ash or lava, their persistent volcanic emissions (PVE) can be highly hazardous. PVE are extremely rich in acids (for example sulphur dioxide gas), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and heavy metals, presenting a serious and persistent source of air pollution. UNRESP foundation phase will be based at Masaya volcano in Nicaragua, one of the biggest volcanic polluters in the world, which has been causing severe air pollution in populated areas for many centuries. UNRESP seeks to reduce the impact of Masaya's PVE on the local populations by introducing early warning and mitigation procedures for episodes when volcanic air pollution reaches hazardous levels.Over 30 countries on the Official Development Assistance list (ODA) may be suffering from PVE, yet, this hazard remains loverlooked by the Disaster Risk Reduction community in developing countries of the Global South. Most of the existing knowledge and best practices on dealing with PVEC originates from locations in the Global North, such as Hawaii, Italy and Japan, leaving major gaps in their institutional applications to Global South contexts. While Masaya will be used as a pilot location, the results will be applicable to other areas in Nicaragua impacted by PVE, and translatable to other countries. We are aiming to build early-warning procedures which are highly applicable and easily accessible to the populations at risk, and to improve the communication between scientists, decision makers and the local communities. We will apply a stakeholder-first approach, which enables and encourages the local communities to be involved in the building of the resilience strategies.UNRESP combines the expertise of a large and highly interdisciplinary group of UK and Nicaraguan researchers across volcanology, environmental sciences, history, human geography, sociology and anthropology. We have two volcano observatories as project partners, including Nicaragua's INETER. UNRESP also involves project partners representing the remit of public health to which our findings will be highly relevant. The project's objectives will be met through collection of new data and a review of pre-existing information, as well as through discussions and active collaboration at Nicaragua-based workshops and outreach activities.