SA to host 2016 Geological Congress
12 August 2008
South Africa has won its bid to host the 35th International Geological Congress in 2016. The congress, a major international meeting of earth scientists held every four years, and is attended by more than 6 000 delegates.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, delegates at the congress discuss and debate the latest insights into processes in and on the Earth, and the congress has in more recent years taken on a strong focus on climate change and its impact on natural Earth system processes.
South Africa's successful bid, in which it fended off competition from India and Mexico, was announced at the 33rd International Geological Congress (IGC) currently under way in Olso, Norway.
A prominent feature of this year's congress is the energy crisis and the potential of non-renewable resources on the planet, such as oil, coal, gas and uranium, to meet ever-growing future demand.
Introducing the South African bid to host the 35th IGC, Council for Geosciences of South Africa CEO Thibedi Ramontja stressed the need for a more concerted effort in building capacity among southern African states in the field of earth sciences.
He also announced an initiative aimed at introducing a sustained effort in this regard, which would draw on the vast expertise vested in the network of earth scientists under the umbrella of the IGC and the International Union of Geological Sciences.
As such, the bid to host the IGC was from the onset a joint effort on behalf of the southern African region, and that they had solicited support from Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania.
"A process will now be set in motion to ensure that the 35th IGC is a collaborative venture involving the earth science communities of all the states of the region," Ramontja said.
Following the successful bid, South Africa's ambassador to Norway, Ismail Coovadia, and Council for Geosciences of South Africa chairperson Phuti Ngoepe thanked the voting delegates for the trust and confidence they had shown in South Africa to host the future congress.
Coovadia added that an event of this nature also had the potential to considerably strengthen scientific collaboration within the context of the India-Brazil-South Africa (Ibsa) intergovernmental collaboration agreement.
The 34th IGC will be held in Brisbane, Australia in August 2012. The 35th IGC will be held in Cape Town.
SAinfo reporter
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