INTERNATIONAL PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

 

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2005

 

OBJECTIVES AND MEMBERSHIP

 

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.  A detailed mission statement is published on the IPA web site at [http://ipa.geo.ku.edu].

 

Corporate membership is open to palaeontological organizations and societies.  Individual membership is tied to subscription to the journal of palaeontology and stratigraphy, Lethaia.

 

CONSTITUTION

 

The Constitution of IPA, as revised July 8, 2002, is published online at [http://ipa.geo.ku.edu].

 

The Officers have drafted a revised IPA Constitution, which has been published on the IPA web site [http://ipa.geo.ku.edu] and announced in Lethaia.  The proposed revisions will allow IPA to function more effectively in this age of electronic communications.  All members are invited to examine this draft and to forward any comments to one of the officers.

 

This proposed, revised Constitution will be placed on the Agenda for the General Assembly at the International Palaeontological Congress in Beijing in 2006 for ratification by members.

 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

The Executive Committee consists of the President, five Vice-Presidents, Secretary-General, Treasurer, two Members-at-Large, the Past President, and the Past Secretary-General.

 

Effective August 2002, the officers for the period 2002-2006 are:

 

President:  Richard J. Aldridge (UK)

 

Vice-Presidents:  Luis A. Buatois (Argentina, Canada), Daniel Goujet (France), Else Marie Friis (Sweden), Jin Yugan (China), Tat'yana N. Koren (Russia).

 

Secretary-General:  Rosalie F. Maddocks (U. S. A.)

 

Treasurer:  Roger L. Kaesler (U. S. A.)

 

Members-at-Large:  Svend Stouge (Denmark), Warren D. Allmon (U.S.A.).

 

Past President:  John A. Talent (Australia)

 

Past Secretary-General:  David L. Bruton (Norway)

 

ELECTION OF OFFICERS, 2006-2010

 

At the next General Assembly meeting, during IPC2006 in Beijing in June 2006, elections will be held for a new slate of IPA officers for the term 2006-2010.  Following procedures specified in the current Constitution, the Executive Committee has begun the process for election of a Nominating Committee. 

 

The Nominating Committee will then prepare a proposed slate of candidates for presentation to the General Assembly.  Suggestions should be forwarded to the Chair (non-voting) and Secretary-General, Dr. Rosalie F. Maddocks.  Members of IPA may nominate additional candidates according to procedures specified in the Constitution (see IPA web site).

 

BUSINESS MEETING

 

The most recent Meeting of the IPA General Assembly was held during the First International Palaeontological Congress in Macquarie, Australia on July 8, 2002.  Minutes of that meeting were published on the IPA web site as Appendix 1 of the IPA Annual Report for 2004.

 

 The next meeting is scheduled for the Second International Palaeontological Congress in Beijing, June 17-21, 2006.  All IPA members are urged to attend.  The time and place will be announced on the IPA web site and in the Program for the IPC 2006 [ipc2006.ac.cn]. 

 

AFFILIATION AND FUNDING

 

The IPA is affiliated with the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and with the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) but receives no funding from either organization.

 

The income of the IPA is derived in part from corporate membership at a minimum recommended rate of US$7.50 per 100 members.  The following is the list of corporate members in good standing (dues paid) for 2005 as of December 31, 2005:

 

France: Association Pal?ontologique Fran?aise

India:  Palaeontological Society of India

IRGO:  International Research Group on Ostracoda

Israel Geological Survey

Italy:  Societa Paleontologica Italiana

Japan:  Palaeontological Society of Japan

New Zealand:  The Royal Society of New Zealand

Poland:  Paleontological Society, Geological Society of Poland

Romania:  Paleontological Society of Romania

Spain:  Paleontological Society of Spain

Switzerland:  Societe Paleontologique de la Suisse

United Kingdom:  The Palaeontological Association

USA:  The Paleontological Society

 

Some of these societies have been faithful members of IPA for many years, and the IPA appreciates their continuing support.  This year we were pleased to welcome Poland and Romania as new corporate members of IPA.

 

The other source of IPA income is dues from individual memberships, which are designated as a portion of each individual subscription to Lethaia, the International Journal of Palaeontology and Stratigraphy. 

 

IPA AND LETHAIA

 

Lethaia, an international journal of palaeontology and stratigraphy, is published by Taylor & Francis under the oversight of the Lethaia Foundation (Lars Holmer, Chairman, Svend Stouge, Editor-in-Chief).  Lethaia is a formal publication outlet for the IPA, and subscription by an individual confers membership in IPA.  IPA is not involved in the editing or production of Lethaia, although both David Bruton, Former Chairman of the Lethaia Foundation, and Svend Stouge are members of the Executive Committee of IPA.

 

The IPA and Lethaia have enjoyed a long symbiotic relationship.  Members of IPA were influential in the founding of Lethaia in 1968 as an international journal of broad scope in paleontology and stratigraphy, at a time when nearly all other journals were tied to national organizations and specialized interests.  In 1970 IPA formally adopted Lethaia as its official journal and authorized the publishers to collect IPA dues from individual subscribers.  According to the IPA Constitution, formal communications of IPA are published in Lethaia.

 

IPA PUBLICATIONS

 

A brief article (Aldridge et al., 2004) describing the IPA was published in Lethaia 37(1): 126.  A similar article about the IPA and its activities was posted to the electronic mailing list PaleoNet on July 24, 2004.  Corporate members of IPA and organizers of palaeontological meetings are encouraged to copy these articles for distribution to participants and members.

 

THE IPA WEB SITE AND ELECTRONIC DIRECTORIES

 

The IPA Constitution prescribes the publication of a World Directory of Palaeontologists, among other activities.  Since 2001 this has been published electronically. 

 

The IPA web site [http://ipa.geo.ku.edu/] features general information about the association, its officers, rules and by-laws, links to the publishers of Lethaia and Fossils & Strata, and information on palaeontological symposia.  The officers of IPA are grateful to the IPA web master, Michael Cormack (University of Kansas), for his capable development and maintenance of this valuable resource.

 

Three electronic databases are now part of the IPA site.  The site is immensely popular, and over 1800 palaeontologists have now entered appropriate data.

 

The Directory of Paleontologists of the World  (1815 records)

 

The Directory of Fossil Collections of the World  (86 records)

 

The PaleoLink Database  (300 records)

 

Two more electronic databases are under development:

 

The Directory of Globally Important Palaeontological Sites

 

The Directory of Paleontological Societies and Associations

 

By post to PaleoNet [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/paleonet//] and in a brief announcement in Lethaia, paleontologists of the world have been encouraged to submit and to update their information to these databases.

 

Because of a change in the domain used by the University of Kansas, the institution through which the IPA site connects to the internet, all bookmarks should be changed to point to only the new IPA web address [http://ipa.geo.ku.edu/] effective April 2005.

 

SPONSORSHIP FOR PALAEONTOLOGICAL MEETINGS

 

Organizers of palaeontological meetings are invited to apply for IPA sponsorship, which includes permission to mention IPA sponsorship on advertising materials and to use the IPA logo on conference documents.  This permission is granted automatically for individual members and corporate members of IPA.

 

In 2005 IPA sponsorship was granted to the following meetings:

 

Evolution of life on the Earth, ELE-2005, Tomsk, Russia (Organizer, Prof. Vera Podobina).

 

"Palaeogeography and Palaeobiogeography: Biodiversity in Space and Time"  Cambridge University, April 2006 (Organizer, Claire Slater).

 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF PALAEONTOLOGICAL MEETINGS

 

The Association considers applications for small grants to cover the costs of initial planning, but not to defray travel and other expenses of participants.  It is expected that this seed money will be repaid when the meeting is successfully concluded.  Funding is usually made well in advance of the meeting.  In 2005 no funds were disbursed for this purpose.

 

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES

 

E-bulletins describing activities of the IUGS are received regularly and are published at the following web site: [http://www.iugs.org/iugs/news/].  IUGS Vice President Eldridge Moores is the liaison officer with Affiliated Societies.

 

The IPA intends to seek Associate Partner status in sponsorship of the International Year of Planet Earth (2007-2009).  This proposed UNESCO program was initiated by IUGS and is now in the planning phase.  More information is available at [www.esfs.org].

 

In January, the officers of IPA heard of the proposed restructuring within UNESCO, taking special note of the decision to dissolve the Division of Earth Sciences and transfer those activities to other divisions [http://www.iugs.org/iugs/news/unesco_reorg01.htm].  The reduction in funding for the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) for 2006 also was viewed with distress.  By correspondence, Dr. Richard Aldridge, IPA President, assured Dr. Peter Bobrowky, President of IUGS, of the support of IPA in this matter.  On February 4, 2005, Dr. Aldridge wrote to the UK Delegation to UNESCO, expressing the concerns of IPA (see Appendix 1).

 

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

 

Information about IUBS is available at [www.iubs.org].  We look forward to continued cooperation in activities of mutual interest. 

 

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS IN PALEONTOLOGY

 

The Paleontological Society (North America), with support from the National Science Foundation, is organizing a workshop and a series of research forums to develop a broad theme or themes to encourage significant investment in our science by funding agencies.  Initial discussions concerning this program were held at the North American Paleontological Convention in June 2004 in Halifax, and additional information is available at [www.paleosoc.org]. 

 

It is intended that this initiative will become international in scope, and in this context IPA will offer its formal cooperation as well as a unified voice on behalf of the paleontological sciences.  A workshop on this program will be held at the Second IPC in June 2006 in Beijing.

 

SECOND INTERNATIONAL PALAEONTOLOGICAL CONGRESS

 

The Palaeontological Society of China will host this meeting in Beijing, China, June 17 to 23, 2006.  The official web site is [http://www.ipc2006.ac.cn].  A first circular was posted to this web site in January 2005.

 

The Executive Committee of IPA is cooperating with the International Scientific Committee of IPC 2006, and Dr. Jin Yu-gan, Vice President of IPA, is Co-Chair of the Scientific Committee.  The schedule will include field excursions, a one-day mid-congress excursion, exhibitions of collections, and four days for plenary sessions, special sessions, and business meetings.  There will be about 35 symposia, including plenary sessions with speakers representing IGCP projects and other international programs.  The deadline for Pre-registration and for submission of abstracts is March 3, 2006.

The first congress held in Australia in 2002 represented a wide range of interests of our community and showcased the vigor and vitality of our discipline. It also provided an invaluable venue for our colleagues worldwide, and across all subdisciplines, to meet and mingle, and as a result, facilitated both international and interdisciplinary collaborations.  We hope that the IPC 2006 will capture the rapid growth in our paleontological knowledge and highlight the importance of exploring unknown territories in our discipline.

 

ACCOUNTS FOR 2005

 

Treasurer's Reports are compiled quarterly and annually. 

 

The Association wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the Treasurer, Roger L. Kaesler, for his capable management of the IPA accounts since 1996.  Dr. Kaesler has resigned effective December 31, 2005 for health reasons.

 

The IPA welcomes Dr. Bruce Lieberman of the University of Kansas, who has been elected by the IPA Executive Committee to serve as IPA Treasurer for the unexpired portion of Dr. Kaesler's term, from January to June 2006.

 

The IPA also acknowledges Gerd Halvorsen of Taylor & Francis for the Lethaia accounting.

 

In April 2001 the Secretary-General and the Treasurer submitted a signed statement to the U. S. Internal Revenue Service seeking to register the IPA as a charity pursuing educational aims and therefore exempt from paying tax.  This status has been approved.

 

SMITHONIAN INSTITUTION ARCHIVES

 

In 1993 an agreement was reached with the Smithsonian Institution Archives to deposit the IPA records there.  Correspondence with Archivist Shawn Johnstone confirms that one box of records was deposited in 1994 covering the dates 1973-1992. 

 

In January 2005, Dr. Roger L. Kaesler, IPA Treasurer, transferred correspondence and records accumulated during the years 1995-2002 to the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

 

Other IPA officers for the period 1993-2002 have been asked to transfer their IPA records to the SIA. 

 

Anyone having information concerning the whereabouts of IPA records for any part of the period 1933-1973 is requested to contact the Secretary-General. 

 

WADI AL-HITAN (WHALE VALLEY), EGYPT

 

On October 28, 2004, the IPA received a request from David Sheppard, Head of the Program on Protected Areas, The World Conservation Union (IUCN), to comment on a proposal to nominate the Wadi Al-Hitan site for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

 

This was the first time that IPA has been asked to provide formal comment on a proposal of this type.  In addition to a personal assessment of the proposal, Dr. Richard Aldridge provided the following statement from IPA:

 

"As a body IPA is concerned that palaeontological importance should carry similar weight to, say, archaeological or cultural importance in determining World Heritage status.  Therefore, if respected whale specialists and vertebrate palaeontologists have given critical reviews of the proposal and have expressed the opinion that World Heritage status is appropriate, then the IPA would wish the IUCN to give those opinions due consideration.  We wish to support the nominations of sites that are of genuine international importance as natural repositories of significant palaeontological information."

 

ENDANGERED PALAEONTOLOGICAL SITES

 

Dr. H. Richard Lane's report on the initial phase of this IPA project was published in September 1998, Lethaia 31(3): 196-266.  It included his report, two catalogues of endangered fossil sites, and a form for submitting information about endangered fossil sites.

 

Dr. Jere Lipps represented IPA at a workshop on the conservation of paleontological sites, at the IGC in Florence in August 2004.

 

The IPA is developing an electronic database on the IPA web site to compile global information on threatened, endangered and protected palaeontological sites. 

 

Dr. Jere Lipps has agreed to represent IPA in convening a workshop at the Second IPC in June 2006 in Beijing, titled "Paleontological Parks:  The World-Wide Conservation of Outstanding Fossil Sites."  Many valuable sites are being lost to science and humanity by destruction through development, lack of attention or indiscriminate collecting.  However, many models for the protection of sites exist, for thousands of paleontological field resources have been preserved at the national, state, local and personal level.  Topics to be explored in this workshop include the following:  What conserved sites exist world wide now?  What makes a site outstanding?  How can new sites be identified?  How can sites be protected?  Who are stakeholders that should be involved in preservation and proection?  How do we communicate and organize a preservation and protection effort?  Bringing order to chaos throughout the world.  A Plan for the Future.

 

In December 2004 the IPA submitted an Expression of Interest to the IUGS Grants Program to support a workshop at the IPC in Beijing in 2006, to stimulate global participation in this project (see Appendix 7 of Annual Report for 2004).  Although this proposal was not funded, IUGS officers encouraged the IPA to resubmit a similar proposal in the near future. 

 

In June 2005 Dr. Richard J. Aldridge submitted a proposal to the Palaeontological Association (U.K.) to support the workshop and development of the Directory of Globally Important Sites.  This proposal was not funded.

 

The IPA will continue to seek financial support for this project, especially to encourage participation in this workshop by representatives from developing countries.

 

CONCLUSION

 

In 2005 the IPA continued to provide leadership and support for palaeontological activities worldwide.

 

In 2006, the Executive Committee of IPA intend to:

 

Present a proposed revision of the Constitution for approval by the membership at the General Assembly meeting during IPC in 2006.  This streamlined Constitution will ensure that the IPA functions more effectively in this electronic age.

 

Participate in the planning for the Second International Paleontological Congress in June 2006 in Beijing, China.

 

Sponsor a workshop at IPC2006 concerning "Paleontological Parks:  The World-Wide Conservation of Outstanding Fossil Sites."

 

Continue developing an electronic Directory of Globally Important Palaeontological sites.

 

Cooperate in planning and sponsorship of paleontology-related activities for the International Year of Planet Earth.

 

Cooperate in the planning of Future Research Directions in Paleontology as this initiative becomes international in scope.

 

Encourage more palaeontologists to subscribe to Lethaia.

 

Encourage more palaeontological societies to become corporate members of IPA.

 

Encourage working groups and other informal palaeontological organizations to affiliate with IPA.

 

Encourage contributions by organizations and individuals to the directories maintained by IPA.

 

Encourage specialist palaeontological societies to hold their meetings in close juxtaposition with the International Palaeontological Congresses.

 

Encourage participation by palaeontologists in relevant interdisciplinary scientific programs.

 

Continue to represent and develop the interests of palaeontology where appropriate, nationally, regionally and worldwide.

 

Submitted January 4, 2006

Rosalie F. Maddocks

Secretary-General IPA

 

Appendices:

1.  Letter to UK Delegation to UNESCO, from Richard J. Aldridge, 4 February 2005.
INTERNATIONAL PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

 

PRESIDENT	SECRETARY-GENERAL	TREASURER
Prof. Richard J. Aldridge	Prof. Rosalie F. Maddocks	Prof. Roger L. Kaesler
Department of Geology	Department of Geosciences	Paleontological Institute
University of Leicester University Road Leicester, England LE1 7RH UNITED KINGDOM fax:  0116 252 3918 e-mail: ra12@le.ac.uk	Room 312 Science & Research Bldg. 1 University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-5007 USA fax:  e-mail: rmaddocks@uh.edu	The University of Kansas 1475 Jayhawk Blvd, Rm 121 Lawrence, KS 66045-7613 USA fax:  785 864-5276 e-mail:  kaesler@ku.edu

VICE PRESIDENTS: Dr. Luis A. Buatois (Argentina), Dr. Daniel Goujet (France), Prof. Else Marie Friis (Sweden),

Prof. Jin Yu-gan (China), Dr. Tat?yana N. Koren (Russia),

 

[4 February, 2005]

UK Delegation to UNESCO

1 Rue Miollis

75732 Paris

Cedex 15

FRANCE

 

Dear Sirs

 

Re: UNESCO decision to terminate Division of Earth Sciences

 

I am writing both in a personal capacity and in my role as President of the International Palaeontological Association to express my concern at learning of the recent decisions by the Director-General's office of UNESCO to abolish the Earth Science Division and to halve the budget for the International Geoscience Program (IGCP).

 

I believe it is vital for the future of our planet that Earth Sciences have an adequate voice both nationally and internationally. Earth Science is arguably the most important science for every person on Earth, fundamental for all aspects of our future from sustainable development using energy and other resources, through global climate change to the anticipation and mitigation of natural catastrophes (witness the recent Asian tsunami).  Education and preparation are much cheaper and more effective ways of dealing with large Earth disasters than response, but they require a knowledge of Earth Science by all the population, not just by a few. 

 

In addition, the cut of 50% in ithe budget for the International Geoscience Program (IGCP), a joint program between UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGC), threatens the continuation of many multi-national ventures which bear on our understanding of the Earth System, past, present and future.

 

I understand that UNESCO is facing a severe budget crisis.  However, I believe that closing the Earth Sciences office is the wrong response to the problem. At the recent World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Japan, several senior bureaucrats from UNESCO, including the Director General made promising proclamations that UNESCO will be there to serve the global community in the wake of the terrible tragedy in the Indian Ocean; however, termination of the UNESCO Division is contrary to such a proclamation.

 

I enclose a fact sheet produced by the International Union of Geological Sciences that further expresses the importance of Earth Sciences to all our futures.  I hope very much that your office will be able to act to encourage reconsideration of these damaging decisions.

 

Thank you for your assistance.

 

 

 

 

Richard J. Aldridge

F W Bennett Professor of Geology

University of Leicester