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Current Programmes

Biological Diversity

Diversitas Phase I (1991-1996)
The first phase of the programme addressed the fundamentals of biodiversity science: ecosystem function of biodiversity; its origins, maintenance and change; biodiversity inventorying and monitoring; conservation of genetic resources. IUBS publications related to Diversitas progress reports and scientific papers during the first phase are:

The Proceedings and Reports of Diversitas symposia and workshops were also published in collaboration with commercial publishers, as follows:

  • Biodiversity: Scientific Issues and Collaborative Research Proposals
    Edited by Otto T. Solbrig. MAB Digest N°9. 1991. 77 pp. (*to be ordered from UNESCO/MAB, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France).
  • Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function. (1993) By Ernst-Detlef Schulze and Harold A. Mooney (Eds). Published as Vol. 99 of Ecological Studies Series, Springer, 525 pp.
  • Biodiversity and Global Change. Edited by Otto T. Solbrig, Hans van Emden, & Peter van Oordt. ISBN°0851989314. First printing in 1992, 2nd in 1994 by CABI. 227pp. (*to be ordered from CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, U.K. Fax ++44 (0)1491-833508).
  • Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Function (1995). By D. Allsopp, Rita R. Colwell & David L. Hawksworth (Eds) Published for IUBS, IUMS, SCOPE, UNEP, UNESCO, CEC by CABI.
  • Functional roles of Biodiversity: A Global Perspective (1996). By Harold A. Mooney, J. Hall Cushman, Ernesto Medina, Osvaldo Sala, and Ernst Detlef Shulze (Eds). Published as Vol. 55 of SCOPE Series, Wiley.
  • Biodiversity and savanna Ecosystem Processes. A Global Perspective (1996). By Otto Solbrig, Ernesto Medina, and Juan F. Silva (Eds). Published as Vol. 121 of Ecological Studies Series, Springer .
  • Biodiversity, Science and Development, Towards a New partnership
    Edited by Francesco di Castri and Talal Younes. ISBN°0851989314. First printing in 1996 by CABI. (*to be ordered from CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, U.K.; fax 44-0491-833508) 646 pp.
  • Methods for the Examination of Organismal Diversity in Soils and Sediments. Edited by G.S. Hall 1996. ISBN 0 85199 149 1
    (*to be ordered from CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8DE, U.K. Fax ++44 (0)1491-833508)
  • Frontiers in Biology: The Challenges of Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture. Edited by Chang-Hung Chou and Kwang-Tsao Shao. Published in 1998 by Academia Sinica, Taipei, 289 pp.
  • Conserving the Sacred for Biodiversity Management. Edited by P.S. Ramakrishnan, K.G. Saxena, & U.M. Chandrashekara. Published in 1998 by UNESCO and Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, 480 pp.
  • Mountain Biodiversity, Land Use Dynamics, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Edited by P.S. Ramkrishnan, U.M. Chandrashekara, C. Elouard, C.Z. Guilmoto, R.K. Maikhuri, K.S. Rao, S. Sankar & K.G. Saxena. Published in 2000 by UNESCO and Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, 353 pp.
  • Dispersal. Edited by Jean Clobert, Etienne Danchin, André A. Dhondt, and John D. Nichols, Published in 2001 by Oxford University Press, 452 pp.
  • Conservacao da Biodiversidade em Ecosistemas Tropicais. Edited by Irene Garay and Braulio Dias. Published in 2001 by Editora Vozes, Brazil, 430 pp.

Diversitas Phase II (1996-)
The second phase of the Diversitas Programme is characterized by ICSU, IUMS and IGBP joining as co-sponsors, and the establishement of Programme Secretariat. The current second phase focuses on understanding, accessing and predicting biodiversity changes, and developing the science of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. For more information of current Diversitas activities and publications see Diversitas website www.diversitas-international.org



Human Dimensions of Biodiversity (1994- )

Addressing the impact of humans on biodiversity, as well as the impact of changing biodiversity upon humans, the programme considers the complexity of interactions between societies and their environments. The rationale for developing the Human Dimensions of Biodiversity was first oulined in 1994, (see
Man, Culture and Biodiversity: Understanding Interdependencies. By Gertrud Hauser, Mike Little & Derek F. Roberts, Biology International, Special Issue N° 32 (1994). )

And a second proposal was made by a Working Group estalished by the IUBS Committee in the USA. (See
The Human Dimension of Biodiversity. By Mike Litlte, C. Badgley, Cynthia Beall, Michael Balick, L.E. Munstermann, K.M. Weiss, Theresa M. Bert and Barry Chernoff, Biology International 3-15, 42 (2001).)

Dimensaoes Humanas da Biodiversidade. Edited by Irene Garay & Bertha K. Becker. Published in 2006 by Editora Vozes, Brazil, 483 pp.

In conjunction with COP8 of teh Convention on Biological Diversity held 20-27 March, 2006 in Curitiba, Brazil, An International Symposium was organised by SBPC, ABC and AMNAT Brazil in collaboration with IUBS on "Biodiversity: The Megascience in Focus" , at which two sessions were devoted to the Human Dimensions of Biodiversity. The Proceedings volume will be published by IUBS and the Brazilian co-sponsors.

 

Integrative Biology - Formerly TAIB (1997 - )

Goals and Principles

The programme promotes integrative biology as a transdisciplinary approach to research and education in the biological sciences. Integrative science bridges disciplines, and works within and across levels of biological organization and across diverse taxa over time, short (physiological) and long (evolutionary). It can deal with complex questions by summoning a diversity of expertise. Integrative approaches offer much that most current practices do not. Integration facilitates the generation of new hypotheses and new questions because representatives of an array of expertise communicate extensively. A ‘competitive advantage' can thereby emerge because of the ability of such research teams to generate both data and resources faster and more multi-dimensionally than can practitioners of the single-focus model of research. Most importantly, the science can be more innovative by providing new ideas, approaches, and insights. Integrative science is based on a set of principles that include:

(1) the delineation of complex questions;

(2) the organization of expertise to tease apart the questions hierarchically [reductionistic approaches, the comparative method, taxa, etc., retain significant places in a hierarchical and flexible/adaptable approach];

(3) the exploration of several levels of the hierarchy of biological organization;

(4) extensions of expertise into non-traditional arenas; and

(5) development of new educational/training modes) cannot be construed simply by presenting examples of integrative biology.

Criteria for inclusion of activities in the Integrative Biology Program under the IUBS umbrella.

There are too many ideas of what integrative biology might be, and even definitions of ‘integrative biology', so we must be explicit about a definition and the principles if we are to make conceptual headway. Therefore, we state criteria for inclusion of activities in the Integrative Biology Program under the IUBS umbrella.The criteria include:

1  An introductory and/or summary commentary about the nature of integrative biology must be part of any activity sponsored or co-sponsored by IUBS as part of the IB program.

2  IB activities include symposia, workshops, training sessions, etc., but must be broadly construed intellectually so that they reflect the tenets of integrative biology, and broadly representative of the diversity of the appropriate science, as well as geographic and other components.

3  Sponsorship of IB activities will be granted by the IB Steering Committee, whether IUBS funds are involved or not, in accord with the principles stated herein.

a  Specific themes for each year's activities will be formulated by the Steering Committee so that the program has coherence rather than the appearance of being ‘random' activities.

b  Proposals for sponsorship and/or support of IB activities should include a one-page description of the event that addresses its topic as well as the criteria listed below, a list of potential participants and their specific topics, and, if necessary, a budget. Criteria for sponsorship/support include:

1.) Reflection of principles of integrative biology,

2.) Potential new insights or syntheses to be gained via the activity,

3.) Engagement of a diversity of participants in terms of science, geography, gender, age, etc.

4.) Provision for follow-up, including a dissemination strategy (publication, website, etc.),

5.) Provision of an education/training component.

c Funding requests will be assessed by the Steering Committee; in most cases, IUBS funds would provide ‘seed' or ‘matching' support, rather than full funding.

d  Proposals should be sent to the IUBS Secretariat (secretariat@iubs.org) and the Steering Committee chair, M. H. Wake (mhwake@socrates.berkeley.edu).

Symposia, Workshops and Publications

The IUBS Integrative Biology programme to date has sponsored symposia and workshops that illustrate the value of integrative approaches to such areas as: identity and complexity; stochastic phenomena; seasonality and episodic events; stress biology; interactions between species; alternative reproductive strategies, and others.

Since the adoption of the Programme in Nov., 1997, a large number of IUBS Integrative Biology symposia and workshops were organized as follows:

  1. Following a series of planning meeting that took place in 1998, the first symposium entitled "Towards an Integrative Biology" was convened by Prof. M. Wake, within the framework of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), on 22 January, 1999, in Anaheim, California, USA.
  2. IUBS Workshop on "Integrative Biology Approaches to Study Episodic Events in Watershed Systems" held on 10-12 June, 1999, in San Pedro , Brazil (see report in Biology International N° 38).
  3. IUBS Workshop on the "Biology of Stress Responses" was held on 15-18 October, 1999, at Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China (see report in Biology International N° 38).
  4. IUBS Symposium on "Alternative Reproductive Strategies" was held on 26-28 November at Shonan Village, Hayama, Japan (see report in Biology International N° 38, and The Journal of Reproduction and Development , vol. 46, Supplement March 2000).
  5. IUBS Workshop on "Integrative Biology Education" organized within the framework of the IUBS/UNESCO BioEd 2000 Conference held on May 15-18, 2000, in Paris , (see Biology International N° 39, July 2000).
  6. IUBS Symposium "Biological Sciences: Challenges for the 21 st Century" was organized within the framework of the IUBS General Assembly in November, 2000, in Naples, Italy. Its main focus was Integrative Biology. A quote from Professor François Gros 'Opening Remarks' illustrates the importance of integrative biology concepts, approaches and themes, " … I am convinced that the majority of people present in this room share the view that the 21st century will be the century of “integrative biologists,” that is to say, of … biologists trained in such a way as to span different levels of biological organisations, of the complex hierarchy of the living world, and perhaps extend to non-biological realms. "
  7. IUBS Symposium "Promise of Integrative Biology" was organized by John Pearse and Marvalee Wake on 3 January, 2002, at Anaheim , USA , w ithin the framework of the annual meeting of the American Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB). The Proceedings were published in Integrative and Comparative Biology, (formerly American Zoologist ) Volume 43, Number 2, April 2003.
  8. IUBS Symposium "Integrative Biology and Complexity in Natural Systems" was held at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, on 27-29 May, 2002.
  9. IUBS Symposium on "Integrative Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation and Management: the Human Dimensions" was held on 30 Sep.-2 Oct., 2002, following the ICSU General Assembly, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Symposium was organized by IUBS and the Universidad Federal de Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and co-sponsored by IGU, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Environment (MMA), of Brazil , and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques (INRA), Institut de Recherches pour le Développement (IRD), and Université de Paris VI, France .
  10. 3rd IUBS Workshop on "Stress Proteins in Natural Populations and Environment" was held on 12 th September, 2003, in Quebec , Canada.
  11. IUBS Symposium on "The Biology of Learning and Education" was held on 25-27 November, 2003 , at Shonan Village , Hayama , Japan .
  12. IUBS Symposium on "Biological Significance of Stochastic Events" follow ed on 28-30 Nov., 2003.
  13. IUBS Symposium on "Integrative Biology of Reproductive and Social Behaviors" was held on 5-8 Oct., 2005, at le Domaine de Saint-Paul, Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, France . The Symposium was co-sponsored by the French Committee for IUBS.
  14. IUBS Symposium on "Environmental Factors, Cellular Stress and Evolution" held at Banaras Hindu University , Varanasi , India , October 13-15, 2006, and organized by Professors Subhash C. Lakhotia, Martin E. Feder , and Sree K. Apte.

For more information on the IUBS Integrative Biology Programme, see the following publications on this website:

  • The Promise of Integrative Biology. A symposium organised by John Pearse and Marvalee Wake on 3 January, 2002, at Anaheim, USA, and published in Integrative and Comparative Biology (formerly the American Zoologist) Vol. 43, Number 2, April 2003.

 

Biological Education (1974 - )

The activities of the IUBS Commission for Biological Education (CBE) focus on new biological knowledge, educational concepts, tools and technologies, as well as the growing role of extracurricular partners in biology education, and on strategies for promoting "bioliteracy" as a civic responsibility around the world.

To address the challenges facing biological education in the 21st Century, the IUBS Commission organised the First International Biological Education Conference BioEd 2000 in Paris, France, in collaboration with UNESCO. A summary report of this conference was published in Biology International (issue n° 39 July, 2000) and BioEd 2000 Proceedings were published online. The 2nd Conference, BioEd 2004, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with 1200 participants.

An IUBS symposium on Biological Education was held within the framework of the IUBS General Assmebly in Washington DC, USA, on 12 May 2007.

Furthermore, two other BioEd Conferences will be held in 2008 and 2009.

In 2008, an IUBS/UNESCO co-sponsored symposium "BioEd 2008- Biological Sciences Ethics and Education: The Challenges of Sustainable Development" will be held on 24-28 June 2008, in Autun, Auxerre & Dijon-Burgundy, France.

In 2009, BioEd Symposium will be organized within the framework of Darwin 200 Celebration in February, 2009, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

 

Bioethics (1974- )

Following the publication of Reveiw paper "Bioethics and International Biology: A Potential role for IUBS" by Talal Younès and Derek Roberts (1997). Special Issue N° 35. 23 pp., the General Assembly in Taipei, 1997, approved the establishment of an IUBS Committee on Bioethics.

In 2004, the Committee was restructured under the chairmanship of Prof. John Buckeridge in Australia, and a special website launched. The main task of the committee is to address the ethical implications as well as potential problems arising from the rapid advances in biological knowledge and technologies. The Committee collaborates with UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee and Committee for Ethics of Science and Technology.

 

New Scientific Programmes

Four new programmes were adopted at the 29th General Assembly in Washington DC, in 2007, as follows:

1- IUBS Darwin Celebration Year in 2009

IUBS Darwin 200 Programme aims at the celebration of the 200 anniversary of Darwin Birthday in 2009. Chaired by Professor Bernardi, Darwin Celebration activities will comprise a series of six symposia to be held in all continents along the year, to address the various impacts, aspects, and prospects that Darwin ideas had and still have in science, development and society. One high profile symposium on "Basic Issues in Evolution" will be held in May in Venice, Italy.

 

2- Integrative Climate Change Biology

IUBS' programme on integrative Climate Change Biology, is co-chaired by Mikael Fortelius, Nils Stenseth and Christoph Scheidegger.

The promoters of this program believe that progress towards more realistic predictions about biodiversity change requires a full integration of the evolutionary dimension at all temporal scales of processes that shape biodiversity. The traditional foci of biodiversity change have been lineage evolution and changes in geographic range. iCCB will build on this base by integrating data and models from geological time scales that allow exploration of the dynamics of species and communities over their history from origin to extinction.

iCCB understands biodiversity change as an evolutionary and coevolutionary process, where changing species interactions in a geographic context are the combined outcome of the apparently separate changes in lineages and ranges.

Both for scientific reasons and for purposes of planning and management, biologists need to work with climate modellers to create functional climate models that include biology, building on existing climate-vegetation models, to create models including coevolutionary, dynamic vegetation-herbivore interactions, and eventually interactions and feedbacks between all quantitatively major components of the biosphere. The computationally and administratively demanding approaches that have already been adopted by national and international programs, such as carbon cycle and dynamic vegetation modelling, represent the first and pressingly necessary approach towards that goal.

iCCB focus on integration of methodologies and extension of the theoretical scope. In effect, the programme proposes to approach the present and the future in the same terms that have been developed to describe the past, such as the use of relative abundance and community structure to predict environmental variables and the fate of species. Also, it will serve two functions: Firstly, by creating a framework simple enough for realistic modelling of the complex entities involved. And secondly, permiting the modelling of the future independently of observed taxon or biome properties and limits, in climates and ecosystems that lack present-day analogues. The nature of our integrative and multidisciplinary programme necessitates the synthesis of a broad spectrum of information for the purpose of understanding the geographic distributions of terrestrial and marine ecosystems through the past as well as in the present, across multiple spatial scales.

 

3- Bio-Energy

The BioEnergy adopted programme will be convenend by Prof. Chantal Astier (France). An IUBS Scientific Steering Committee will be established and an exploratory meeting in Nov. Dec. 2008 in Paris.

Key issues and prospects that may be explored by this group include the following:

•  Study of biological functions and mechanisms involving energy captation: photosynthesis, respiration, fermentation, etc.;

•  Study of key organisms involved in bioenergy production (eucaryotes, higher organisms, and microorganisms);

•  Bio-energy and biomass production and its impact on biodiversity;

•  Bio-energy and industrial traditional and new processes (cellular mechanisms, hydrogen, etc.)

•  Bio-Energy development and future prospects: impact and consequences at different levels: landuse, economic, social, values, etc.

 

4- Biology & Traditional Knowledge

This programme will be chaired by Prof. Jan Salick (USA)

 

 
 
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