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undreds of volcanologists from 48 countries are scheduled to take part in the eighth International Cities on Volcanoes convention that will be held in Yogyakarta on Sept. 9 to 13.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry geological agency head Surono said that Indonesia was selected as conference host because the country had millions of citizens living near 127 volcanoes.

'€œFour million people live near volcanoes [...] This accounts for why we are entrusted to host the conference,'€ Surono said in Yogyakarta over the weekend.

Two other factors that made Yogyakarta an appropriate host, he said, were the proximity of Mount Merapi, which has its own '€œMerapi-type'€ eruptions, as well as the many communities that dot the slopes.

'€œMt. Merapi has become a world laboratory and our tagline is '€˜Merapi Menyapa Dunia'€™ [Merapi greets the world],'€ Surono said.

Adopting '€œliving in harmony with volcanoes'€ as the central theme, the conference will discuss volcanology and the cultural practices of those living near volcanoes.

The conference will also discuss how science and technology can be integrated with local cultures to reduce the risk of disaster.

Studying volcanoes scientifically, according to Surono, was important, but it was also important to understand the culture of people living near them. The meeting, he added, was expected to bridge the two approaches to studying volcanoes.

He said Mt. Merapi was an interesting object to study because of the huge number of residents in the vicinity of the volcano. The volcano'€™s devastating 2010 eruption, for example, displaced around a million people.

'€œIn 2011 there was a major volcanic eruption in Japan, but that eruption only displaced 90 persons,'€ Surono said.

Subandriyo, who is head of the Yogyakarta-based Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center (BPPTKG), said that the committee had prepared a trip to Mt. Merapi for the participating volcanologists at the conference.

Previously, participants have visited Mt. Lokon in North Sulawesi, Mt. Sinabung in North Sumatra and Kawah Ijen (Ijen Crater) in Banyuwangi, East Java.

Since the 2010 eruption, Mt. Merapi continues to show activity, though at present there are no indications of a major eruption event occurring in the near future. Meanwhile, after laying dormant for 410 years, Mt. Sinabung erupted in 2010, 2011 and 2013, and has been continually erupting ever since.

Last week, residents living near the slopes of Mt. Slamet in Central Java were distressed by an uptick in volcanic activity.

'€œMy wife and my children are afraid that if Mt. Slamet suddenly erupts at night, we will not be prepared [to evacuate],'€ Markum, a resident of Banyumas regency in Central Java, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

In response to the increased activity, the mountain'€™s alert level was raised from level 2 to level 3 on August 12. Since then, the authorities have banned climbers from climbing the mountain.