UIS Commission on Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis

Miscellaneous

General news on Karst&Cave related topics

International Year of Caves and Karst MOVIE

A beautiful movie has been published on the http://iyck2021.org/ website, dedicated to the International Year of Caves and Karst:

It tells the narrative about caves and the ways they come to being. There are several very important environmental roles that caves play in the earth ecosystems. For example, 13% of all groundwater is stored in karst areas. There it forms a vast network of underground landscapes, extensive cave systems. Whet it reaches the surface it forms springs. 700 million people worldwide use this water on their daily bases. Even some large cities are sourced by underground water. For example, Rome, Vienna, Damascus.

A new project has been recently launched by the Center for the Study of Nature and the Sea (CENM-Nature) as an event of the International Year of Caves and Karst. The project is aimed to illustrate typical morphological features and the morphological diversity of hypogene caves to help cavers and researchers identify these caves and their characteristics.

The project website
The project is coordinated by Andrés Ros, José L. Llamusí, Manuel Tremiño.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Know Hypogene Caves -- Project description:

Hypogenic caves are more common than believed. Most of the time they tend to go unnoticed or unrecognized for their morphological characteristics. Until recently, it was estimated that only 10% of the world’s caves were hypogenic. Current studies show that this figure is much higher than estimated. Hypogenic caves have common patterns, and knowledge and identification of them will help in their study and protection.

The goal of the project is to use photos to help identify these cavities and their characteristics. The project is open to any caver, photographer, or hobbyist from any country. During the 52 weeks of 2021, the International Year of Caves and Karst, one of more photos of a cave will be published on the website, with information describing their morphologies, speleothems, or other relationships with the hypogenic caves. The information and photos will also be posted on social media networks: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Join us! Send photos and information on hypogenic caves in your area!

Dear Caving Friends,

The European Speleological Federation (FSE) and its European Cave Protection Commission (ECPC) is very pleased to announce the launching of the 2020 Call for the EuroSpeleo Protection Label. Please find enclosed the application form (deadline for applications 15 June 2020). You can also find the application form on the FSE website.

The aim of the EuroSpeleo Protection Label is to support active cave protection in the speleo clubs, committees, national commissions, etc., all over Europe and to share this knowledge throughout Europe.

As the year 2021 is approaching UIS made a decision to make it the International Year of Caves and Karst. The main motivation for such a step is the need to promote information about caves and karst among general public who is unfortunately not quite aware of importance and scale of such a phenomenon as caves.

Within the framework of the initiative is teaching the public about various aspects related to caves and karst and giving people information on how to get involved with cave and karst related activities.

The main website dedicated to the IYCK is http://www.iyck2021.org/. More information will be available later.

The France HABE Prize is awarded by the Department of Karst and the Cave Protection of the International Union of Speleology (UIS).
Its purpose is to promote the protection of karst and caves for generations to come. Their natural legacy are proven sources of increasingly rich information about the history of our planet and humanity, enabling people to act more thoughtfully, efficiently, and sustainably for the future of our environment. The prize is named in memory and honor of Dr. France HABE (…10/12/1999) of Slovenia (Yugoslavia), who among his other many accomplishments served as President of the UIS Protection Department (1973-1997).