International Council for Science (ICSU)
The International Council for Science (ICS), formerly known as the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), is a prominent nongovernmental organization established in 1931. It comprises national research councils, scientific academies, and international scientific unions, collectively offering a wealth of scientific expertise across various disciplines. The organization's mission focuses on advancing research, promoting scientific freedom, and facilitating information exchange on critical global issues, including climate change. ICS plays an active role in coordinating interdisciplinary research efforts, supporting over 600 meetings to foster collaboration among scientists.
A significant aspect of ICS's work involves addressing environmental challenges through dedicated research programs, particularly concerning climate change and natural disasters. The organization has created regional offices in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the Arab region to enhance scientific engagement and education in these areas. By facilitating initiatives and training sessions, ICS aims to empower scientists to address environmental issues and develop solutions tailored to local contexts. Funding for ICS comes from member contributions and external grants, enabling the continuation of its vital work in promoting scientific inquiry and knowledge sharing for the betterment of humanity.
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International Council for Science (ICSU)
Date: Established 1931
Mission
The International Council for Science (ICS) was formerly known as the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). It is a nongovernmental organization of research councils or scientific academies, which are national, multidisciplinary bodies, and scientific unions, which are international, disciplinary organizations. These two complementary types of groups provide a wide range of scientific expertise. The mission of ICS includes research, information access, information exchange, and scientific freedom. The research area includes coordinating research by interdisciplinary groups in topics important to mankind’s well-being. Climate change is one of those topics.
The ICS develops Internet Web sites to disseminate data and technology and publishes newsletters, books, journals, and proceedings. It supports over six hundred meetings of discipline-specific scientists, as well as multidisciplinary, topic-driven meetings. Support for science education and for exchange of ideas is also part of the group’s mission, as is initiation of regional networks of scientists. Scientific freedom is supported by ICS, which defines it as the freedom to research scientific topics without gender, racial, economic, or geographical limitations. ICS cooperates closely with many other national, international, governmental, and nongovernmental groups, especially the agencies of the United Nations.
The funding for ICS comes from member contributions, grants, and contracts. The grants and contracts come from foundations, agencies, and other bodies that financially support scientific research and information sharing. Each member is part of the General Assembly, which elects an executive board and a slate of officers. The officers are members of the executive board and are responsible for the day-to-day operation of ICS. The officers are supported in the day-to-day operations by the Secretariat, the officers, advisors, and staff of ICS located in Paris, France. To expedite scientific research and education in developing countries, ICS is creating four regional offices for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the Arab region.
Significance for Climate Change
With part of its mission to research areas that affect the well-being of the world’s population, climate change is one of the major areas of study by the ICS. One of the major committees of ICS is the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). SCOPE not only researches different factors concerning the environment but also publishes reports on the different factors. Other reports, such as Invasive Alien Species, Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Soils and Sediments, and Interactions of the Major Biogeochemical Cycles, all deal with the environment; many deal with the climate and man’s interaction with the climate, both how humans change the climate and how humans adapt to climate change.
In 2008, ICS initiated a major research program on natural disasters, including those caused by weather and climate. The study is designed to help countries plan for disasters, and to determine changes in lifestyle that will reduce loss of life and lessen economic impact of disasters. The study will also research how man may cause or increase the extent of disasters. Weather and climate disasters include events such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornados, cyclones, mudslides, and pollution. Another major study initiated in 2008 is to research the human impact on Earth’s life-support systems. This study is to fill in the gaps in the knowledge about the global ecosystem, including the climate.
In each regional office, there are programs about climate or the ecosystem. In the Africa region, one of the four science plans is on global environmental change. The plan includes both climate change and adaptation to climate change. The plan is to develop projects in six areas: degradation of land and biodiversity and how it affects humans, the effect of climate change on rainfall, food system resilience, water resources, atmospheric change, and the effect of the ocean on Africa. The Latin America and the Caribbean regional office held a conference on sustainable energy and another on the world’s geosphere/biosphere. The Asia regional office held a meeting to form plans for the coastal cities to adapt to climate change. Other meetings were for sustainable energy and changes in the ecosystem. Training sessions were held for individuals to learn to study environmental problems.
Bibliography
Committee on Data for Science and Technology. Data Science Journal. Paris, France: Author, 2002. Provides continuing coverage of the state of data science. Produced by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), a part of the International Council for Science.
Ernster, Lars. ICSU: The First Sixty Years. Paris, France: International Council of Scientific Unions, 1991. Details the establishment and growth of the International Council for Science.
Hak, Tomas, Bedrich Moldan, and Arthur Lyon Dahl. Sustainability Indicators: A Scientific Assessment. Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment 67. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2007. Focuses on the evaluation of sustainable development, environmental monitoring, and environmental indicators. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, index.
Krupnik, Igor, Michael A. Lang, and Scott E. Miller, eds. Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar Year Science. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2009. Contains the record of the proceedings of a symposium organized as part of the International Polar Year (2007-2008) and sponsored by the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, index.