EDI T O R I A L Open Access
The role of multidisciplinary research and
collaboration for improving the resilience of
communities to volcanic risk
Professor David Johnston
Significant portions of the world’s population are at risk
from the impacts of volcanic activity. While the timing of
eruptions may be unknown or uncertain, their impacts
and long term effects can be assessed. Recent eruptions
have demonstrated the devastating impacts of volcanic
activity on nearby landscapes and communities. The
2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions, although small by world
standards, highlighted the vulnerability of the modern
day global society to minor eruptions. Volcanic crises
must be planned for using a comprehensive risk manage-
ment approach that links mitigation, preparedness,
response and recovery activities. Over the last few dec-
ades it has been recognized that integrated multi-disci-
plinary research is needed to provide an understanding of
the social, economic and cultural facto rs that influence
the development of strong communities that are resilient
to the impacts of volcano hazards and able to respond
effectively when events occur.
A number of global initiatives are seeking to promote
these concepts. The Integrated Research for Disaster
Reduction (IRDR) is a
decade-long integrated research program co-sponsored by
the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Interna-
tional Social Science Council (ISSC), and the United
Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UN-ISDR). It is a global, multi-disciplinary approach to

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Correspondence:
Joint Centre for Disaster Research, GNS Science/Massey University, PO Box
30368, Lower Hutt, 5040, New Zealand
Johnston Journal of Applied Volcanology 2012, 1:1
/>© 2012 Johnston et al; licensee Springer. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License ( which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduct ion in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.