The critics integrates Pevolca

El Hierro: The crisis was not only sismovolcanic. Tremors have also been among scientists

CIRA MOROTE MEDINA:
Special Plan of Civil Protection and Emergency Response for Volcanic Risk, the famous Pevolca, which manages the geological crisis of El Hierro, has invited a group of researchers from the two Canarian universities and other scientific organizations to come to the island for a meeting. This gesture, which has been practiced in the past, now has a special character, because the guest list contains some names which, so far, were excluded from the discussion and decision-making bodies. Those involved do not say a peep, but peacetime seems to be coming.

This change in the wind coincides with leaked complains to senior officers of the CSIC for a certain opacity in the transmission of data on the eruptive process to the rest of the scientific community, according to El Pais.

Although some of these guests have stayed away to find that their experience was not required by the Pevolca, some, most notably Juan Carlos Carracedo, has been very strong and has been arguing that the management of the crisis has been the "international laughing stock". It was priceless to see him taking notes, sitting among the residents of La Restinga, in a Pevolca talk about the volcanic process.

At the front of the Scientific Committee have been María José Blanco and Carmen Lopez of IGN, who have been saved of criticism from Carracedo for their "impeccable" interpretation of seismic data, and Ramon Ortiz, Joan Martí, CSIC, have also left their mark on the island but seem to have passed into the background, unfortunately for journalists, who gave Ortiz headline after headline.

Another open front is the composition of the eruptive material. Rhyolite, basalt, trachyte, perlite ... The truth is that the issue has become a matter for fourth millennium and has caused opened fighting among some of the protagonists. The tensions are obvious, but always denied, though, by all parties.

The crux of the issue perhaps lies in the fact that professionals who have spent years studying and publishing papers on the volcanic activity in El Hierro have been ignored by those responsible for managing the crisis, when their vision may have contributed to, at least, elements of discussion. This veto has been denied by María José Blanco and Juan Manuel Santana, Director General of Security and Emergency, who have told this newspaper that anyone who has applied for scientific [inclusion?], within the framework of the Plan, has been welcomed.

As for universities, the fact is that the rules governing the Pevolca is to have both schools as members, but has not been the case in practice. That led to the creation of a committee, both outsiders, which was attended by representatives of the ULPGC and La Laguna, but had no real room for maneuver. The University of Gran Canaria, in the words of Vice Chancellor for Research, Fernando Real, says that this new approach "is very positive and will help improve on the best scientific coordination of the eruptive process." Will the tremor ceased?