IPA Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2001

The International Palaeontological Association (IPA), aims to promote and coordinate international cooperation in palaeontology and to encourage the integration and synthesis of all palaeontological knowledge.

Membership is open to individual palaeontologists.
Palaeontological societies are welcome to corporate membership.
Associate members are international organisations who seek cooperation with the IPA.

The IPA General Assembly meets every four years at the International Geological Congress where the Executive Committee is elected. The latter consists of President, 4 Vice-Presidents, Secretary-General, Treasurer, 2 Members-at-Large, the Past President and Past Secretary-General.

Officers for the period 1996-2002 are:

J. A. Talent (Australia)

W. von Koenigswald (Germany)
A. C. Riccardi (Argentina)
Jin Yu-gan (China)
A. Yu. Rozanov (Russia)

D. L. Bruton (Norway)

R. L. Kaesler (USA)

R. Lane (USA)

Chang Meemann (China)

Financial support from IUGS was withdrawn in 1990. The income of the association is derived from corporate membership (11 in 2001; 12 in 2000) at the rate of USD 7.50 per 100 members rising by increments of this sum for the next hundred and so on, and from a proportion (USD 25), of each individual subscription to the international journal of palaeontology and stratigraphy, Lethaia. In 2001 this amounted to USD 6,025* from 241 subscriptions (254 in 2000).

*Only USD 5676 were credited in 2001, the remaining USD 425 will appear on the accounts for 2002.

The new publishers of the journal, Taylor & Francis, now quote all prices in USD (not NKr.) and for 2001 the cost was USD 210 for institutional subcribers and USD 99 for individual subscribers. These prices include distribution of the printed version as well as free electronic access to the full text of the journal. According to JCRV 400-Sci (Journal Citation Reports-Science Edition of 08/16/99), Lethaia has an impact factor of 0,729 and a ranking of 17/27.

Numbers of subscribers to Lethaia continue to fall and now stand at 740 (760 in 2000). The Lethaia Foundation see this as a global trend caused by reduction of library funding. Reduction in the numbers of palaeontologists or a generation shift where the personal library is no longer a priority, might explain the fall in Europe, Canada and Australia. It is a major task of the IPA committee to encourage more palaeontologists to subscribe to Lethaia.

By-Law (3) of the constitution states: The Directory of Paleontologists of the World and Fossil Collections of the World, should be revised and new editions published every eight years. It is now planned that IPA will publish them electronically (see below).

Individual members and corporate member organisations of IPA, are welcome to use the IPA logo when advertising meetings planned by them. The association considers applications for grants of USD 500 to cover the costs of initial planning. Normally it is expected that this sum will be repaid when the meeting is successfully concluded. Funding is usually made well in advance of the meetings. Funding was provided (and repaid) for the Third International Conference on Trilobites and their Relatives held in Oxford, 2-6 April. Some 120 palaeontologists from 20 countries attended this meeting where three days of formal sessions took in almost 60 oral and 25 poster presentations. A mid-conference half-day visit was made to famous Dudley area in the west midlands. Regrettably foot and mouth disease caused the planned excursions to Scotland and Wales to be cancelled. The IPA treasurer warmly acknowledges the fact that the organisers were able to pay back the initial funding.

In September, the webmaster, Michael Cormack, announced a new web site for the IPA (http://ipa.geo.ku.edu/), featuring general information about the association, its officers, rules and by-laws, links to the publishers of Lethaia and Fossils & Strata, and symposis information. The two on-line databases, Directory of Paleontologists of the World and Directory of Fossil Collections of the World, are now part of the IP site. The site is becoming immensely popular and over 1,500 paleontologists have now entered appropriate data.

Attempts have been made by IUGS to improve relations with affiliated organisations and the Secretary-General was invited to join a task group set up under the chairmanship of Robin Brett, past President of IUGS, to discuss how this could be done. In a reply dated 31/7/01, the Secretary-General pointed out that IUGS withdrawal of funding from IPA in 1990, was interpreted as indicating that the IPA was not regarded as a valuable affiliate.

Whilst IPA still encourages its members to support the IGC, it sees its own international palaeontological congresses to be organised every four years, starting with the first in Sydney, Australia in July 2002, as being more important.

The IPA membership is represented in all geological organisations of importance. Its membership of over 1200 indicates that it should have a vote on the IUGS executive. Furthermore, it would be an important voice in the planned "Advisory Board on Research and Development".

Governmental backing is needed to fulfill the aims of saving threatened fossils sites around the world. IUGS and IPA should co-operate and the latter have a say in the IUGS "Grants Programme" and contribute to a statement under "Political/Geological background".

IPA would be willing to write a profile for publication in Episodes.

This reply resulted in a December meeting in Oslo with the newly elected President of IUGS, Dr. F.J. de Mulder. At this it was decided that IPA would:

- Seek to propose candidates for the Balzan Prize.

- Seek to propose a programme of Biogeology in the forthcoming IUGS International Year of Planet Earth .

- Discuss intergovernmental steps to protect endangered fossil sites.

- Develop suggestions as to how palaeontology could be made more attractive at future IGCs.

- It was agreed that these points would be raised at the forthcoming International Palaeontological Congress in Sydney, July 2002.

By the end of the year, plans were finalised for this meeting to be held in Sydney, Australia from 6-10 July 2002. The meeting, sponsored by the IPA, the Australasian Association of Palaeontologists, Macquarie University Centre for Ecostratigraphy and Palaeobiology and the Australian Museum, will take place at Macquarie University. The President of IPA is Chairman of the Organising Committee.

Associated with the Congress will be two symposia in honour of Professor Geoffrey Playford and the late Jane Gray together with meetings of specialist groups and two IGCP projects (nos. 410, 421 and 471).

A new IPA executive committee will be elected at this meeting and a search group, led by the Secretary-General, will act as an election committee.

The Palaeontological Society of China has proposed that this meeting be held in China in 2006. Further details are expected early in 2002.

The association wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the treasurer, Roger Kaesler, for his management of the enclosed accounts and to Mrs. Gerd Halvorsen of Taylor & Francis, for the Lethaia accounting.

In April 2001, the Secretary General and the Treasurer submitted a signed statement to the US Internal Revenue Service seeking to register the IPA as a charity pursuing educational aims and therefore exempt from paying tax. The Treasurer awaits the outcome with interest.

The IPA remains solvent thanks to the generosity of the Lethaia Foundation who will continue to support the association as long as sales of Lethaia permit.

In 2001 the IPA has:

Continued planning the first International Symposium of Palaeontology to be held in Sydney,Australia, in July 2002.

Updated and considerably improved the IPA web site with the addition of directories.

Sought closer ties with IUGS and suggested areas of future co-operation.

Sponsored the Third International Symposium on Trilobites and their relatives.

Agreed to sponsor the Second International Symposium of Palaeontology to be held in China in 2006.

David L. Bruton
Secretary-General

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