IGCP project 454 MEDICAL GEOLOGY 2000-2004

UNESCO and IUGS

What is IGCP?

The International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) is a co-operative enterprise of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and IUGS (International Union of Geological Sciences). It was launched in 1972, to facilitate geological co-operation across international borders, as geological processes and structures normally cut across such boundaries. The programme's major aim was to bring together scientists from East and West and to encourage the involvement of developing countries.

IGCP is interdisciplinary, covering all specialities of the Earth Sciences and establishing links with other UNESCO scientific programmes. It maintains active interfaces with disciplines related to these such as marine, atmospheric and biological sciences. Its purpose is to promote the wise use of the Earth as a human habitat and as a source of natural resources. IGCP operates world-wide with several thousand of scientists in about 150 countries.

Reflecting the contemporary needs of society, the four main objectives of IGCP are as follows:

(1) Increase our understanding of the factors controlling the global environment in order that human living conditions may be improved.

(2) Develop more effective ways to find and assess natural resources of energy and minerals.

(3) Increase knowledge of geological processes and geological concepts through correlative studies of many locations around the globe.

(4) Improve standards of research, methods and techniques of carrying out research.

The International Geological Correlation Programme is carried out through individual projects. Their number is not defined but is controlled by the available financial resources and by scientific peer review of project proposals and of annual reports of progress. Assessments of proposals for new IGCP projects, and of the annual reports of approved projects, are conducted annually by the IGCP Scientific Board. The established lifetime of an IGCP project is usually five years.

Main criteria for new projects:

relevance to the major objectives of the programme

meet a world-wide, continental or regional need

preferably involve various branches of earth science and their applications and require interdisciplinary co-operation

require co-ordinated international action between specialists from different countries

result not only in long-term benefits but also, whenever possible, yield tangible short-term practical results for the participating countries

It must be emphasized that IGCP is not a funding agency for research. The limited funds available have a catalytic purpose. Financial support is allocated annually to IGCP project leaders by the IGCP Scientific Board, through the IGCP Secretariat. It is provided to cover part of the costs of organizing and managing IGCP projects, and particularly to facilitate participation in meetings and field excursions by scientists from developing countries. All other costs of organizing and managing the projects, together with the costs of conducting the research, must be covered by funds from other sources.

Address of the IGCP Secretariat

UNESCO, Division of Earth Sciences
1, rue Miollis
F-75732 Paris Cedex 15
Tel.: 1-45 68 41 23 Fax: 1- 45 68 58 22

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A new IGCP project was granted in February 2000: " Medical Geology". This project will be integrated in the Working Group on Medical Geology. The IGCP project will include some additional tasks and will also make it possible for members of the working group to finance travels etc to meetings and workshops. 

Project leaders: Olle Selinus, Peter Bobrowsky, 

The primary aim of the project is to bring together, at the global scale, scientists working in this field in developing countries with their colleagues in other parts of the world stressing the importance of geoscientific factors that affect the health of humans and animals. The project is potentially capacity building, involving transfer of training as well as mutual exchange of information and experience. The developing world will provide considerable case study and research potential. For their part, the developed countries will offer their advanced techniques and research skills with appropriate transfer of medical knowledge and methodology. This initiative provides, for the first time, the opportunity for leading scientists from developing countries to come together in a truly international and inter-disciplinary way (involving geoscientists, medical doctors and veterinarians) to identify and tackle real problems of geoenvironment and health.

Estimated duration of the project

5 years

"The primary aim of the project is to bring together, at a global scale, scientists working in this field in developing countries with their colleagues in other parts of the world stressing the importance of geoscientific factors that affect the health of humans and animals. The project is potentially capacity building, involving transfer of training as well as mutual exchange of information and experience. The developing world will provide considerable case study and research potential. For their part, the developed countries will offer their advanced techniques and research skills with appropriate transfer of medical knowledge and methodology. This initiative provides the opportunity for leading scientists from developing countries to come together in a truly international and inter-disciplinary way (involving geoscientists, medical doctors and veterinarians) to identify and tackle real problems of geoenvironment and health.

Other main points of concern that the project will address are:

• Arranging joint interdisciplinary technical meetings to address issues of mutual concern amongst geoscientists and other disciplines concerned with medical geology.
• Producing and distributing a medical geology newsletter to disseminate information on medical geology to geoscientists, medical doctors, veterinarians, planners and industry.
• Arranging for the compilation of bibliographies concerned with medical geology problems.
• Encouraging geological surveys, universities and geological societies to take a more active role in providing useful information on geological conditions in medical geology.
• Encouraging the development of local working groups of multi-disciplinary medical geology experts.
• Encouraging research in the area of producing more effective methodologies for the study of geological factors in environmental medicine.
• Compiling methods distinguishing anthropogenic effects from natural effects caused by geology.
• Formulating recommendations for mitigation of effects of natural and man-induced hazardous geochemical conditions.
• Providing training lecture sessions at annual meetings by keynote speakers as a means of up-dating collaborators and providing up to the minute ideas and methodological approaches to younger developing countries’ scientists.
• Regularly reviewing results of the collaborative activities of the project group with a view to selecting material of educational value for use at all levels, including schools, in developing countries.
• Appropriate interactive contact with other projects, ICSU-linked bodies and UNESCO intergovernmental programmes with a view to maximizing the utility of the products of the project, including advice on the optimisation of its social relevance and application.

The project will be carried out in several steps:

1. Advertising of project, networking, planning.
2. Workshops and meetings actively involving scientists from developing countries.
3. Preparing leaflets, newsletters and other information material.
4. Publishing a textbook for an interdisciplinary audience.

Yearly: Annual meetings.

Year 1: Advertising of project. Annual meeting of the group at the Geological Congress in Rio. Organisation of work. Contacts with complementary groups.

Year 2: Workshop in Sweden, planning bibliographies, information material and book.

Year 3: 3^rd World multi-country meeting, including workshop, possibly in China or Africa.

Year 4: Annual meeting.

Year 5: Final project meeting, preparation of final report publishing a book on Medical Geology.

The project will be carried out in several steps:

• Advertising of project, networking. Mapping of medical expertise from the developing countries through the geoscientistst of these countries.
• Workshops planning activities of research and information.
• Preparing leaflets and other information material. One matter under discussion could also be to produce and distribute a newsletter to disseminate information on Medical Geology to geoscientists, medical doctors, veterinarians and planners.
• As a final step, a set of publications, including a book for an interdisciplinary audience and for use in education including developing countries.

During the life of this project, one of the main goals is to establish a dialogue between researchers in geographically separate and scientifically distinct but complementary areas. This will provide a forum for open discussion, foster scientific cooperation and lead to resolution of globally important issues.

We expect that short papers produced within the project will be published in regular refereed journals as well as other journals and magazines. Towards the end of the project a book on medical geology will be published, and certain flyers and other information material on the subject will be published and distributed on an international scale.

Other tasks of the project will be beneficial over the long term. The participants and organisations involved in the project will make it possible to: 

1) encourage geological surveys, universities and geological societies to take a more active role in providing useful information on geological conditions in Medical Geology

2) encourage the development of local working groups of multi-disciplinary geoscientists and health experts and  

3) encourage research into means of producing more effective methodologies for the study of geological factors in environmental medicine. One example of the latter is the use of biogeochemical methods of monitoring, as well as giving information on bio-available contents of elements.

The IGCP project is likely to prove an efficient body in applying for project money, for example from the European Union, EERO, World Bank and ADB. Medical geology is a difficult topic to study in developed countries because of several confounding factors. One major difficulty in industrialised countries arises from the fact that the population eats food imported from other countries and continents and, in many cases, even the drinking water is derived from sources that are considerable distances away from where the consumers live. This makes it difficult to carry out research in the field of environmentally related diseases. Therefore, the developing countries are interesting for specific research and studies in this field. Also, Eastern Europe is an interesting region because of the intensive pollution in these countries. The European Union, as well as other international organizations finance research in these countries, and this new IGCP project will make every effort to tap such sources of funding.

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