Paper Number: 1063
International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG): from Brisbane to beyond Cape Town
Di Capua, G.1,5, Bobrowsky, P.2,5, Kieffer, S.3,5, Peppoloni, S.1,5, Tinti, S.4,5 and IAPG Network5
1 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome (Italy), giuseppe.dicapua@ingv.it
2 Geological Survey of Canada, Sidney, British Columbia (Canada)
3 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois (USA)
4 Università degli Studi di Bologna (Italy)
5 IAPG - International Association for Promoting Geoethics
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The International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG: http://www.geoethics.org) was founded on August 2012 during the 34th International Geological Congress (IGC) in Brisbane (Australia), to unite global geoscientists to raise the awareness of the scientific community regarding the importance of the ethical, social and cultural implications of geoscience research, education, and practice. IAPG is an international, multidisciplinary and scientific platform for discussion on ethical problems and dilemmas in Earth Sciences, promoting geoethical themes through scientific publications and conferences, strengthening the research base on geoethics, and focusing on case-studies as models for the development of effective and operative strategies. IAPG is legally recognized as a not-for-profit organization. It is a non-governmental, non-political, non-party institution, at all times free from racial, gender, religious or national prejudices. Its network continues to grow with more than 950 members in 103 countries, including 20 national sections. IAPG operates exclusively through donations and personal funds of its members.
The results achieved since inception have been recognized by numerous international organizations. In particular, IAPG has obtained the status of affiliated organization by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), American Geosciences Institute (AGI), Geological Society of America (GSA), and the Geological Society of London (GSL). IAPG has also enlarged its official relationships through agreements on collaboration with other organizations, such as the American Geophysical Union (AGU), EuroGeoSurveys (EGS), European Federation of Geologists (EFG), Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG), International Geoscience Education Organisation (IGEO), African Association of Women in Geosciences (AAWG), and others.
In its strategy, IAPG considers publications as an indispensable activity to strengthen geoethics from a scientific point of view, so members are active in the publication of articles and editing of books on Geoethics with a peer-review process [1][2][3]. Moreover, IAPG organizes sessions/symposia on geoethics in national and international congresses, thus encouraging a wide participation of the scientific community in the discussion on geoethical topics. Finally, several activities are developed to popularize geoethics into society.
This presentation provides an overview on results produced by IAPG since its foundation with a brief look to future initiatives: the carrying out of online courses on geoethics for geoscience students and professionals, with the aim to increase the awareness on ethical implications in conducting geological activities; the publication of new books focused on specific geoethical topics; the organization of multidisciplinary meetings to encourage the collaboration among colleagues with different skills.
References:
[1] Peppoloni S. and Di Capua G., Eds. (2015). Geoethics: the Role and Responsibility of Geoscientists. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 419, ISBN 978-1-86239-726-2
[2] Wyss M. and Peppoloni S., Eds. (2015). Geoethics, Ethical Challenges and Case Studies in Earth Sciences. p. 450, Elsevier, ISBN 978-0127999357.
[3] Lollino G., Arattano M., Giardino M., Oliveira R., Peppoloni S.,
Eds. (2014). Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 7,
Education, Professional Ethics and Public Recognition of Engineering
Geology
Set: Engineering Geology for Society and Territory. XVII, 274 p.,
Springer, ISBN 978-3319093024.