From the U.S. National Committee for the Geological Sciences

Facilitating International Cooperation: The IGCP Provides Grants to Scientists
The USNC for Geological Sciences functions as the U.S. focal point for the International Geoscience Program (IGCP), a cooperative enterprise of UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). 

The IGCP is and has been stimulating comparative studies in the Earth Sciences since 1972 and facilitates international cooperation by providing small grants to scientists from developing countries, allowing them to work with colleagues from the United States and other, developed nations.

For more information, consult background materials on the IGCP homepage on the UNESCO Website or send an e-mail to IGCP@usgs.gov.  Download and review Proposal Form Guidelines (79 KB PDF).  The deadline for submission and receipt of new project proposals is now closed. 

The English Riviera Geopark Film

It is time to strenthen UNESCO's earthquake science program

In a conference in 2008, a scientist from the University of Texas forecast the likelihood of a major earthquake in Haiti. We see now that he was correct, and can only regret that there was not more done to prepare Haiti and its people for that event. Today there is a massive expression of American concern for the people of Haiti who have already suffered a huge death toll, one that is likely to increase from illnesses in the aftermath of the earthquake. The development of this poorest nation in the hemisphere has been set back for years, and it is clear already that there will be a period of years needed simply to reconstruct that which has been damaged.

There is no way to prevent earthquakes, but it is possible to build in such a way as to reduce the damage done by earthquakes and to prepare for relief to ameliorate the suffering that follows them. UNESCO's Geosciences program includes efforts to mitigate the risks of geohazards. Indeed it has created a project that is working specifically in the cities of Latin America.

In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, UNESCO moved to create a global tsunami warning system, based on a center in Hawaii. It is now time for the United States to encourage and help UNESCO to strengthen its efforts to reduce geohazard risks, especially in our own neighborhood, Latin America and the Caribbean.

UNESCO's Global Network of National Geoparks

High Force, England’s biggest waterfall
North Pennines AONB Geopark
©Elizabeth Pickett

The Global Network of National Geoparks assisted by UNESCO provides a platform of active cooperation between experts and practitioners in geological heritage. Under the umbrella of UNESCO, and through exchange between the global network partners, important national geological sites gain worldwide recognition and profit through the exchange of knowledge, expertise, experience and staff with other Geoparks.

Read more!

International Year of Planet Earth

In late 2005, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth. 2008 will be the central year in a Planet Earth triennium that will begin in January 2007 and end in December 2009. The implication of a UN proclamation is that all 191 UN nations have adopted the aims and ambitions of the IYPE and are willing to contribute to their implementation. Hence, this proclamation is the most ambitious scientific and outreach program ever designed in the geosciences, and provides an unprecedented opportunity to showcase to the world the relevance and socioeconomic importance of the Earth sciences.

This new international multidisciplinary Earth science initiative was conceived by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), which represents about 250,000 geoscientists from 117 countries. Planning for the IYPE began in 2000; twelve-organizations--IUGS, IUGG, IGU, AGI, INQUA, AAPG AAPG, ILP, IUSS, ISRIC, GSL, TNO, and AIPG -- were part of the initial effort to organize this special year for the Earth sciences and became Founding Partners.

They will share responsibility for activities in 2007-2009 with an IYPE Board of Officers and UNESCO.

Read more from UNESCO's website.

The OneGeology Project

Geological research site in the MacKenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Photo by Bruce S. Lieberman, University of Kansas, via the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery

Read the news story on the initiative from BBC News.

The world's geologists are to bring together all their maps, producing the first truly global resource on rocks. The effort calls on scientists from more than 55 nations. Organizers hope that the website will be able to display searchable rock data for the entire Earth down to the scale of 1:1,000,000. The project, which has the backing of Unesco and five other global umbrella bodies, will be a centerpiece of the International Year of Planet Earth in 2008.

Check out the OneGeology Project website.

International Year of Planet Earth

The United Nations General Assembly, meeting in New York, has proclaimed the year 2008 to be the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth. The Year's activities will span the three years 2007-2009.

The International Union of Geological Sciences and UNESCO have jointly created  a major initiative for the effort. This IUGS-UNESCO initiative consists of three phases:

* Feasibility phase (completed February 2002).
* Preparatory phase - now in train
* Implementation phase.