International Council of Scientific Unions Newsletter No. 64 April 1997

International Council of Scientific Unions Science International Newsletter No. 64 April 1997 Code Number:NL97006 Sizes of Files: Text: 70.3K Graphics: No associated graphics files MEETING REPORT 72nd MEETING OF EXECUTIVE BOARD OF ICSU Julia Marton-Lefevre, Executive Director, ICSU The Executive Board (EB), elected at the time of the 25th General Assembly, held its first meeting in Paris in January. Board Members reviewed the measures being taken concerning each of the General Assembly resolutions, and agreed on the procedure to be adopted for responding to the report on the Assessment of ICSU. FIRST MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD (ISAB) OF LINESCO Julia Marton-Lefevre, Executive Director, ICSU ISAB, under the chairmanship of the President of ICSU, held its first meeting in Paris in January, immediately after the meeting of the Executive Board of ICSU. The terms of reference for ISAB are: to "assist UNESCO by advising on strategic issues of science and the substantive service science offers for development and the environment and provide scientific-based elements for decision-making". ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT (ACE) Sophie Boyer King Environmental Sciences Officer The 12th meeting of ICSU's ACE, held in Paris in January, reviewed ICSU's involvement in various programmes dealing with the environment, including the three Global Observing Systems (climate, oceans, terrestrial - GCOS, GOOS, GTOS), the IGBP (International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme), the WCRP (World Climate Research Programme), IHDP (International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, DIVERSITAS (Programme on Biodiversity Science) and SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment). ACE continued to advise the Executive Board of ICSU about the membership of relevant environmental bodies. SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION (COMSCEE) Christine Glenday, on detail to ICSU from the National Science Foundation, USA. The third meeting of COMSCEE was held at the ICSU Secretariat on January 27, 1997, under its new Chairman Dr. Jan Krzysztof Frackowiak, Undersecretary of State, and Secretary of the State Committee for Scientific Research in Poland (KBN). While acknowledging that the problems of science in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (CEE/FSU) differ widely according to country, and that, furthermore, considerable progress has been made over the past five years, COMSCEE members identified several key problems which are still common at present in this region. GETTING TO KNOW CHILE'S ICSU NATIONAL COMMITTEE INCORPORATES SCIENCE TEACHERS AND SCIENCE JOURNALISTS J.E. Aliende, President, Chilean National Committee for ICSU The National Committee of Chile for ICSU gathers the Presidents of all major scientific societies and organizations of that country. This composition results in an organization which integrates the international linkages of the Chilean scientific community. In addition, however, the Chilean NCICSU constitutes a forum that discusses and acts on national issues of importance to scientific development in that country. During the 1993 ICSU General Assembly held in Santiago, delegates from other countries were able to witness the important studies that the Chilean Academy of Sciences and the National Committee for ICSU were able to put together about the state and future of science in Chile. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN DIMENSIONS PROGRAMME ON GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (IHDP): NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR THE IHDP Udo Bunnagel, Programme Officer When Professor Eckart Ehlers, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of IHDP, opened the inauguration reception for the new IHDP Secretariat in Bonn on 31 January 1997, he told the story of the child IHDP. Born in 1990, an off-spring of the International Social Science Council (ISSC), it had to move from Barcelona to Geneva, and even experienced homelessness for some time. With the second parent, ICSU, joining ISSC as cosponsor in 1996, and with the new home under the roof of Bonn University, Professor Ehlers expressed his hope that the child IHDP has finally found a stable environment, enabling it to grow Up. SPOTLIGHTS ON SCIENCE CHEMRAWN : CHEMICAL RESEARCH APPLIED TO WORLD NEEDS A. Hayes, Chairman, CHEMRAWN The International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has been active for over 75 years and is well known throughout the world for its work in setting internationally recognised and much needed standards for all manner of matters of concern to chemists everywhere. Examples are in the fields of atomic weights, gas coratants, and nomenclature. In addition, IUPAC has been the means whereby chemists have come together to work on various problems and also organise symposia, seminars, congresses, and assemblies - both on topics of general interest, as well as in specialist fields. It has an exemplary record of attempting to ensure that any bona fide scientist who wishes to attend such events is able to do so. The senior chemical community has recognised throughout the life of IUPAC the need for international cooperation and many of the past presidents of lUPAC have been holders of the Nobel prize as well as distinguished and senior members of industry. In the 1970's there was a growing appreciation of the need not only to address the purely scientific aspects of chemical topics on an international scale but to demonstrate that chemistry could - and should be applied to the solution of many of the problems which face mankind all over the world. Ideas were discussed and re-formulated, debated and finally expressed as the 'CHEMRAWN' Concept. MOONEY CALLS ON SCIENTISTS TO FIND HOW BIODIVERSITY PROTECTS ECOSYSTEMS H.A. Mooney When the Convention on Biological Diversity was signed by 159 governments in 1992, most observers saw it as a move to prevent the loss of various species - to ward off the disappearance of spotted owls from a forest, or the extinction of a plant that might contain some pharmaceutical miracle. Since then, a study commissioned by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), the world academy of scientists, has shown a more compelling reason to protect biodiversity. Whenever a habitat loses enough of the richness and variation among its living species, the study found, the ecological systems that nurture life begin to falter. Ecologists do not yet know how many species - or which ones - must be saved to keep an ecosystem functioning. They do know this: When ecosystems falter, they stop providing essential natural services like pure water from mountain watersheds, abundant fisheries, soulsustaining landscapes. Damaged ecosystems also have global effects: plants, for example, play an important role in the atmosphere's carbon cycle and thus in climate fluctuations. HOUSE NEWS ICSU EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TAKES ON NEW ASSIGNMENT Julia Marton-Lefevre As Members and friends of ICSU were informed in mid-February, Julia Marton-Lefevre will be on leave of absence from ICSU as of 1 September 1997, to become the first Executive Director of the programme set up by the Rockefeller Foundation known as LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) International. The International Secretariat for LEAD is based, for an initial period, in New York. The Executive Director informed the ICSU family in her February letter that her devotion to the mission of ICSU remains constant, and that this move is taken in the spirit of broadening her own expertise as well as hopefully enlarging ICSU's contacts. While on leave of absence, Julia Marton-Lefevre will continue to be involved in the major issues facing ICSU in the years ahead, and will also ensure that ICSU and LEAD, with facets in common, are able to undertake cooperative actions. Leadership for Environment and Development, or the LEAD Program, is a non-profit organization that seeks to bring together a generation of international leaders to carry forth a vision of sustainable development. The LEAD Program was established in direct response to the growing need for collaborative action in support of the world's natural and human resources. LEAD intends to inspire a course of development that is defined as environmentally responsible, culturally acceptable, economically viable and politically feasible. The LEAD Program trains mid-career professionals, called Associates, using a combination of interdisciplinary methods, interactive skills building and global networking. NEWS IN BRIEF AAAS AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION The 1997 AAAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation is given to Philip W. Hemily for having made contributions to international scientific research and engineering development for over 50 years. He recognized the importance of science and technology policies as components of political, economic, education, employment, and trade policies. PUBLICATIONS NEWS IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION REQUIRES A NEW INFRASTRUCTURE Dong Geng & A.J. (Tom)van Loon The progress of science and the implementation of new technical developments are hampered by the time-lag between submission of a manuscript to a journal and delivery of the article to readers. This problem is generally recognized, but none of the solutions suggested has been found feasible. In our opinion, however, it is possible to publish refereed material with a time-lag of no more than 24 hours, through a completely new infrastructure. The approach that is proposed here would be expensive - but probably much less so than the direct and indirect costs for society of a long time-lag. OBITUARIES Baron Nicolet Valentin A. Koptyug FUTURE MEETINGS International Young Scientists Programme at the 17th International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) announces the sponsorship of a conference for young scientists to be held at Asilomar, Monterey, CA, USA, on 22-24 August, 1997 preceding the 17th International IUBMB Congress in San Francisco on 24-29 August, 1997. CALENDAR OF FORTHCOMING MEETINGS from 23 April 1997 - 19 July 1997 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 25th MEETING OF THE COSTED EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IRBID/AMMAN FEBRUARY 25-27, 1997 Veena Ravichandran, Senior Scientific Officer, COSTED, Madras The Executive Committee (EXCOM) of COSTED held its 25th meeting during 25-27 February. A day prior to the EXCOM meeting, half- day parallel sessions on Strengthening Science in Africa and COSTED activities in the Arab region were organised so that EXCOM members could get an opportunity to participate in the regional plans. Strengthening Science in Africa COSTED Activities in the Arab Region EXCOM Meeting Nomenclature for COSTED-IBN: Brainstorming Session - The concept of networks in COSTED - The goals of COSTED - ICSU Assessment Report vis-avis COSTE