The Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West Indies is the agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes and volcanic activity for the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean countries as well as the Dutch islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin. Scientists at the Unit maintain a volcanic surveillance and warning system in these countries, conduct research on the distribution and frequency of earthquakes in the Eastern Caribbean and provide advice on earthquake and volcano related issues to governments of the contributing countries. Close links are also maintained with similar organisations in the region such as the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP) which is responsible for volcanic and earthquake monitoring in the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, the Fundacion Venezolana de Investigaciones Sismologicas (FUNVISIS) and the Universidad de Oriente (UDO) which monitor earthquakes in Venezuela. In addition to providing services in volcanology and seismology to the governments of the contributing countries, the Unit also provides consultancy services in various aspects of Applied Seismology, Engineering Geophysics and Geology to both local and international insurance companies and civil engineering establishments.

The Unit is primarily funded by the governments of Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, and Antigua-Barbuda. External project funding is also provided by a number of external agencies and private companies including:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID/OFDA)

The British Department for International Development (DFID)

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)

The Atlantic Natural Gas Company

British Gas