Citizen Science for Disaster Risk Governance: Towards a Participative Seismological Monitoring of the Mayotte Volcanic Crisis

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 aims to mitigate natural disasters, specifically in developing regions. It promotes the adoption of people-centered disaster risk reduction approaches. Hence, citizen science represents an interesting tool to engage populations in the mitigation of disaster risk, through data collection and analysis, and in the dissemination of scientific and safety information. Herein, we evaluate the potential and feasibility of a citizen science project on the island of Mayotte (in the Mozambique Channel). Mayotte has been experiencing an unexpected volcano-seismic crisis since 2018, which has generated strong anxiety in the population. To address this, we have developed a citizen seismology program to engage Mayotte’s inhabitants in seismic data processing. First, we conducted an initial test of our protocol to identify seismic events with a set of university students. We then conducted 15 interviews with members of local administrations and associations to assess the potential for engaging the general population in this project. The results show that we are able to collect reliable data from citizens with non-professional backgrounds using the protocol designed in the project. We also show a strong demand for scientific information from Mayotte’s inhabitants, associated with a robust trust in science and scientists, despite the circulation of alternative explanations for the seismicity among the population. Based on these results, our citizen science project could be positively received by Mayotte’s inhabitants, if advertised adequately. Finally, we discuss the value of these results for disaster risk reduction in vulnerable territories.