This blog is written by David Cavell. David spent his PhD studying the formation and chemistry of Colombian volcanoes, including Nevado del Ruiz. He is currently preparing publications from his PhD and has recently joined Balfour Beatty Vinci’s Environment Team.
As an optimist, I like to think that even in the worst of circumstances, there is reason to hope for the future. As scientists today race to find a vaccine for Covid-19, it is perhaps helpful to reflect on how even in the worst situations there can be lessons to learn which can help us build, recover and become more resilient to disaster.
Learning from Disaster
Thirty-five years ago, Colombia and the world were shaken by one of the worst volcanic disasters on record. The eruption of Nevado del Ruiz on November 13th 1985 devastated the surrounding communities and killed nearly 25,000 people. The story of the eruption, its causes and devastating aftermath have been well documented.
Another story worth telling is that of the scientific and governmental response in the years following the eruption. The eruption led to the creation of a National Disaster Risk Management system, and the establishment of an agency dedicated to disaster risk management for the first time. The need to increase understanding of the Colombian volcanoes to prevent another disaster was also recognised. More scientists began studying the volcanoes from the observatory in nearby Manizales, and new scientific findings were published, first on Nevado del Ruiz and then across other Colombian volcanoes.
Throughout the past thirty-five years, the Colombian Geological Survey (Servicio Geologico Colombiano, or SGC) and its predecessor organisations have worked tirelessly alongside government, partner institutions and academia to continually build on this understanding and monitor the country’s volcanoes. The state of affairs in Colombia today, with continuous monitoring from multiple volcanic observatories alongside national plans for mitigation and communication of volcanic hazards, stands as a testament to the hard work and lessons learnt from the 1985 eruption. The SGC themselves marked the occasion this year with a virtual workshop on “Science and community building the future”, bringing together experts to share the latest research on Ruiz and the culmination of these years of work.
Perhaps most importantly of all, there has been significant effort to engage and involve those communities living alongside the volcano in this work, learning the sometimes difficult lessons from community engagement and, with international help from projects like STREVA, recording the stories of those communities affected by the eruption for future generations.
A Personal Experience
My own experience of doing science in Colombia was very much one of unexpected discovery. Though I had read about and studied Ruiz as an undergraduate, my motivation to work on Colombia for my PhD was more about my love of science and geological problems than any desire to be part of the story of the volcano. I began my project with only a short amount of time to prepare for fieldwork in an area I’d never visited before. It was an interesting time to visit, as Colombia prepared to finalise a peace deal with the FARC, the country’s largest rebel group, and areas of the country which may not have previously been accessible to scientists began, tentatively, to open up.
Me on a very wet day on the flank of Nevado del Ruiz
When I arrived in the country, I listened and learnt as much as I could from Colombian scientists’ expertise. I was taken aback by the willingness of the scientific community to help me, and by the openness and generosity of all those we met on the trip. Some opened their homes to us, and academics and members of the SGC alike were eager to help me get the most out of the study. There are far too many to thank but Dr Hugo Fernando Murcia and the team at Caldas University provided advice on Ruiz and staff and students at the SGC like Marcelo Arango Trujillo helped guide us in the field.
Today, I reflect back on how that trip had an aspect of “parachute science”* to it, dropping a couple of relatively inexperienced western PhD students into a new country to collect and return samples with few local contacts or context to work with. This directly led me to engage with and listen to the scientists and communities we encountered, and in the time since has motivated me to collaborate and learn from them. I’m forever grateful to people like Hugo, Marcelo and others on the trip who provided their time, expertise and patience to not only aid my project but to show me the importance of equitable collaboration.
But more than that I recall the emotional impact the trip had on me. I’ll always remember the morning in our hotel when a colleague and I were at a table pouring over maps of Ruiz and planning our day, and someone asked what we were doing. We briefly explained and moments later they were telling us about how they had been affected by the 1985 eruption and lost someone. Seeing the face of tragedy like that utterly changed my perspective on what I was doing, turning for me an abstract scientific puzzle into a small part of a much bigger and altogether more human story.
The primary lessons I took from my experience researching in Colombia were the importance of equitable collaboration, both with scientists and with communities, and of knowing the story, place and history you are part of.
A view of Nevado del Ruiz from Manizales. Credit to Marcelo Arango Trujillo (Check out more of Marcelo’s fantastic images on Instagram @geology_19).
New Frontiers, New Capacity and New Challenges
The last few years have been an especially exciting time to work on Colombian volcanoes, with the discovery of new volcanoes and volcanic fields as well as new insights into the deeper processes that feed them.
The motivation of the Colombian scientific community to continually build capacity and learn is striking. Everyone I met who studied the volcanoes seemed at least partly driven by the events of 1985, but more widely dedicated to deepening the understanding of Colombian geology. Most recently, this has taken the form of the Geology of Colombia book, which aims to gather all up to date geological knowledge of the country in one place. The SGC has also taken a leading role in geological mapping efforts for South America, helping enhance geological knowledge across the continent.
The collaboration in my project grew organically, but I’ve been pleased to see and be part of increasing international collaboration with Colombia. Collaborative science between the UK and Colombia has increased hugely in recent years along with major international scientific partnerships elsewhere. A great example of this is the partnership between Kew Gardens and Colombian institutions to help catalogue and preserve Colombia’s rich biodiversity, which is sadly under threat from increased mining and logging.
With Colombia looking to balance its economic development with preservation of biodiversity and managing geoscience risks, the future looks uncertain, but hopeful, for Colombia. I think of the message on the commemoration plaque for the 30th anniversary of the eruption given to me by the SGC:
“La historia es la base para construir un mejor futuro”
“This history is the basis for building a better future”
The memorial plaque given to me by the Colombian Geological Survey
*“Parachute Science” is where researchers from high-income or more developed countries conduct research in or collect samples from low-income or less developed countries without leaving any investment or benefit to local scientists, institutions or communities. This can lead to research driven by outside assumptions and needs as well as a dependence on external expertise.
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We are glad to hear you enjoyed it Judye!