Fogo Volcano on Fogo Island, Cape Verde is still very active after erupting at the beginning of April. Fogo's 33,000 islanders, some of whom used to live in the crater itself, are under constant threat of another eruption. Many have lost their livelihood -- lava swept away fields planted on rich volcanic soils.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has made available a grant of 20,720 ECU to help monitor Fogo's volcanic activity and to develop immediate and futurepreparedness plans for the island.

The Portuguese Instituto Superior Tecnico will look after this four-month project, which will involve setting up monitoring at four points on the island. The project will also mean training for local technicians in monitoring techniques, so they can go on with the work when expatriate experts leave.