SOCIAL RESEARCH IN VOLCANOLOGY

Abstract

In November 2019, the First Congress of the Latin American Association of Volcanology (ALVO, by its initials in Spanish) which would have been celebrated in Antofagasta, Chile, was finally rescheduled to March 2020 due to the social crisis that sprung in the country. At that time, from ALVO, we pondered not only the impacts of volcanic aspects on society, but also the reciprocal effects of social aspects on volcanoes. At ALVO, we know the different cultural and historical aspects that shape volcanic territories, and we are aware of these kinds of social events and its repercussion in our social and scientific communities. For us, this shows the need to make visible what had been done and what is being done in the Latin American region in relation to disaster risk reduction: from risk management and the accompaniment in psychosocial processes of the affected communities, to the study of community vulnerabilities and to know (or acknowledge) community wisdom. We hope that the readers enjoy the Special Issue ‘Society and Vulcanology (SOVOL)’ that open up next and take part in these social and academic experiences, and that, in the end, they can have a resignification for your own human development.