International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE)
His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is patron of IYPE.
The International Year pf Planet Earth 2007-2009 – Earth Sciences for Society
The International Year of Planet Earth was launched in 2000 by the IUGS, later to be joined by UNESCO’s Earth Science Division, making it a joint IUGS-UNESCO initiative. The process culminated on 22 December 2005, when the UN General Assembly in New York proclaimed the year 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth. This will form the core year of a triennial programme running from January 2007 to December 2009. The Year is led by Dr. Eduardo de Mulder (The Netherlands).
The UN’s Press Release reads as follows:
"By a draft on the International Year of Planet Earth, 2008, which the Committee approved without a vote on 11 November, the Assembly would declare 2008 the International Year of Planet Earth. It would also designate the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to organize activities to be undertaken during the Year, in collaboration with UNEP and other relevant United Nations bodies, the International Union of Geological Sciences and other Earth sciences societies and groups throughout the world. Also by that draft, the Assembly would encourage Member States, the United Nations system and other actors to use the Year to increase awareness of the importance of Earth sciences in achieving sustainable development and promoting local, national, regional and international action,"
The operational framework of the Year’s Science Programme Committee (SPC) will consist of 10 broad Themes: Groundwater, Climate, Earth and Health, Deep Earth, Megacities, Resources, Hazards, Ocean, Soil and Earth & Life. Science Theme brochures are available in both printed and electronic forms, and may be downloaded from the Year’s website - www.yearofplanetearth.org.
Earth and Health is Medical Geology!
Both Expressions of Interest and Project proposals will be assessed by the 10 Science Implementation Teams appointed by the Board (the main governing body of the Year).
The Year’s Outreach Programme Committee (OPC) has developed the website produced flyers, and released many thousands of general information brochures and leaflets. Like the Science Programme, it will essentially operate in ‘bottom-up’ mode, but individuals and organisations may be invited to submit proposals for realization through the Year. The OPC is chaired by Dr. Ted Nield (Geological Society of London).
Implementation of the Outreach Programme will be undertaken largely at regional and local levels. Countries and regions will be encouraged to develop their own outreach programmes. Components of the Outreach Programme may include:
– Cooperation for increased visibility: affiliate with the Year
– Recycling educational material
– Support scientists from countries with weak economies
– Citizen science: involve the public in research
– Competitions
– Stories (news, books)
– Programme making
– Art commissioning
An Outreach brochure, inviting individuals and organisations to propose outreach projects, is available both in printed form and on the website. In addition, flyers on the essentials of the International Year of Planet Earth have been produced and printed in English, French, Arabic, Russian, German and Spanish.
Advisory Groups include Senior Advisers (of which there are currently 46) and a small number of distinguished individuals acting as Goodwill Ambassadors.
Institutional geoscientific support is provided by 12 Founding Partner organizations, which include a range of sister scientific unions. Some 26 other similar organizations act as Associate Partners. Partnership remains open to more such organizations.
Political support for the Year came from 97 countries prior to the UN proclamation by all 191 of its member states.
Links with other ventures have been forged, and notably include three other Earth-related international year initiatives: the International Polar Year (IPY), the electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) and the International Heliophysical Year (IHY). Agreements on cooperation and partnership include the ‘Celimontana Declaration’, issued in October 2005, which focuses in timely fashion on all four programmes coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the IGY.
National Committees are expected to play a key role in the implementation of the Year’s programmes on both international and national levels. National Committees of the Year of Planet Earth have been launched, or are in process of being set up around the world.
Website for the National Committee of IYPE in Sweden: http://www.snkg.kva.se/planetenjorden.html