IRCK delegates attend the 17th International Congress of Speleology

From July 23 to 29, 2017, a delegation headedby Prof. Jiang Zhongcheng, member of the Governing Board of IRCK, visitedSydney, Australia to attend the 17^th International Congress ofSpeleology (ICS). During this period, they also held a seminar with the formerpresident, incumbent president, and secretary-general of International Union ofSpeleology (UIS), as well as international experts on karst speoleology.

At theCongress, Prof. Jiang introduced the progress of IRCK in internationalcooperation in terms of three aspects: (1) the Standardization Administrationof the Peoples Republic of China (SAC) intends to apply to the InternationalOrganization for Standardization (ISO) for the founding of “InternationalStandardization Committee of Karst Ecology”. According to Prof. Jiang, as UISbrings together many famous experts on karstology and speleology from all overthe world, the cooperation between IRCK and UIS can provide key technicalsupport for the establishment of "International Standardization Committeeon Karst Ecology"; (2) IRCK is leading the implementation of theInternational Big Scientific Plan, in which IRCK can work closely with UIS onthe development of global karst environment critical zone monitoring network,global karst cave database and information platform; and (3) as some countries,especially China, are actively applying for the global geoparks in karst areas,they need strong support from UIS internationally renowned karst experts. Theseinternational activities have aroused the keen interest from the internationallyrenowned karst experts attending the Congress, who expressed their full supportfor the implementation of these activities.

At last, Prof. Jiang suggested that UIS consider holdingthe 19^th International Congress of Speleology (ICS) in 2025, or the60th Anniversary Meeting of UIS, in Guilin. IRCK will provide strong supportfor the holding of the event. The experts from UIS expressed strong interest inthe proposal, believing that the 60th Anniversary Meeting to be organized byIRCK in Guilin will be another milestone for UIS, just like 60 years ago whenUIS was launched at the Karst Research Institute in Slovenia. UIS workedclosely with Slovenia in the past. In the future, it will enhance itscooperation with China to promote the development of global karst and caveefforts.

Assistant professors Shi Wenqiang and YangLichao from IRCK present posters at the Congress