The IAH Karst Commission (KC) also develops and offers international training and educational activities or contributes to such activities by providing lecturers.

The continuing education course "Hydrogeology and Management of Karst Groundwater Resources" (MANKARST), developed by KC chairman Nico Goldscheider, in cooperation with Tim Bechtel and other KC members, has already been offered four times, in Switzerland (2004, 2006) and in Pennsylvania, USA (2008, 2010).

http://www.minewatersolutions.com/short-courses/

http://www.karstflow2013.org/?nic=training-course

About 80 participants have attended the last edition of this course in Pennsylvania 2010, which was organized by Geology CEU (http://geo-ceu.com/). The course has received very positive evaluations from the participants. Here are some quotes from the evaluation sheets:

“Instructors very knowledgeable” – “Two professionals who enjoy the profession” – “This course was very thought provoking for me and very applicable to my current projects” – “Excellent course, very valuable” – “I really liked everything about this course” – “The principles can be readily employed in my current practice” – “I enjoyed the course and found it very relevant to my work” – “Well done! Congratulations to Geo-CEU and IAH”

The KC lecturers of this course have donated their entire salary to the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre based at Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam. The centre helps to protect some of the rarest and most endangered primate species, some of which are endemic to Vietnamese karst areas (see photo). More information under: www.primatecenter.org

Several individuals of the extremely rare primate species Delacour’s langur enjoying life on karstified limestone in Vietnam. This species and many other rare and endangered species are endemic to karst areas.

Projects and Activities

Members of the IAH Karst Commission (KC) are involved in a great variety of research projects and other activities, summarised on their individual websites. This section highlights projects with significant involvement of the KC.

IGCP Project 598 - Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems

The aim of this project is to increase and improve global understanding of karst and water resources and their effects on ecological health and on human issues, which involve water supply, agriculture, and urban development (UNESCO/IUGS IGCP 598).

Our Chinese KC member Zhang Cheng is the project leader; KC members C. Groves, B. Andreo and Yuan Daoxian are among the co-leaders.

http://igcpkarst.com/

UNESCO project on Dinaric Karst Aquifer System (DIKTAS)

The IAH Karst Commission contributes to the UNDEP/UNESCO project “Protection and Sustainable Use of the Dinaric Karst Transboundary Aquifer System” (DIKTAS) by sending experts to the Science Advisory Panel of this project:

http://www.unesco.org/en/venice/natural-sciences/water/diktas/

http://www.isarm.net/publications/277

UNESCO/IUGS IGCP 513

UNESCO’s International Geoscience Programme (abbreviated IGCP as a former acronym) is a cooperative enterprise of UNESCO and the IUGS that stimulates comparative studies in the Earth Sciences. IGCP Project 513, “Global Study of Karst Aquifers and Water Resources” increases global understanding of karst hydrogeology and water resources challenges. There has been long collaboration between the KC and various IGCP karst projects since 1989.
http://hoffman.wku.edu/igcp/513.html


China Environmental Health Project (CEHP)

With major support from the US Agency for International Development, CEHP develops US-Chinese partnerships to enhance the quality of public health in China by building sustainable capacity through the engagement of Chinese scientists, students, local governments, and citizens in hands-on training. CEHP’s Technical Program for Water works to find solutions to water access and quality issues in the karst regions of southwest China. Several KC members are actively engaged as administrators and training faculty in this program.
http://www.wku.edu/cehp


Partner Institutions

There is close cooperation between the IAH Karst Commission (KC) and the Speleogenesis Commission of the Union International of Speleology, chaired by Alexander Klimchouk:

There is various cooperation between different programs of UNESCO and the IAH Karst Commission, such as the four karst-related IGCP projects since 1989 and the International Research Centre on Karst (IRCK) in Guilin. UNESCO supports several conferences where the KC meets, such as Plitvice 2009 and Malaga 2010, as well as the resulting proceedings or special publications. The KC will contribute to the UNESCO project “Protection and Sustainable use of the Dinaric Karst Aquifer System, DIKTAS”.
www.unesco.org/water/ihp

The Centre of Hydrogeology at the University of Malaga (CEHIUMA), Spain, directed by KC member Bartolomé Andreo, offers relevant master studies and continuing education courses, and organises international conferences and workshops focusing on karst hydrogeology, often in close cooperation with the IAH Karst Commission.
http://www.cehiuma.uma.es/en/

The Karst Dynamics Laboratory (KDL) in Guilin, China. KC co-chair Jiang Guanghui, Yuan Daoxian and several other KC members are affiliated to this institute, which is located in one of the most famous and spectacular karst regions of the world.
http://www.karst.edu.cn

The International Research Centre on Karst (IRCK) under the auspices of UNESCO is also located in Guilin, China, and is closely related to the KDL and to the IAH Karst Commission.
http://www.irck.edu.cn

The Hoffman Environmental Research Institute at Western Kentucky University, USA, directed by KC member Chris Groves, is very active in karst hydrogeology research and international collaboration, including KC efforts.
http://hoffman.wku.edu

The Swiss Institute of Speleology and Karstology, directed by KC Member P.Y. Jeannin, conducts research, consulting and training related to caves and karst.
www.isska.ch

The Karst Research Institute in Postojna, Slovenia, is one of the most traditional institutes working on karst, located in a classical karst region; there is close cooperation with the KC.
http://kras.zrc-sazu.si/

The Centre for Karst in Gospic, Croatia organises research, development and education related to the Dinaric Karst region. KC member Ognjen Bonacci is member of the Governing Board. The Centre for Karst has organised an international karst conference in Plitvice in September 2009, where the first meeting of the new KC took place.
www.cek.hr

The Instituto do Carste in Brasilia is a non-governmental and non-profit organization that aims to foster scientific research related to karst areas, promoting the sustainable development of Brazilian karst regions. KC member Cristina Bicalho is affiliated to this institute.
http://www.institutodocarste.org.br/

Karst Waters Institute, USA, is a non-profit institution aiming to improve the fundamental understanding of karst water systems, including involvement from various past and present members of the KC:
http://www.karstwaters.org/index.htm


Useful Links

Members of the IAH Karst Commission frequently publish in Hydrogeology Journal, the official journal of the IAH, covering all fields of hydrogeology:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/102028/


Useful information on karst and USGS karst research:
http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/karst/


Acta Carsologica, a journal dedicated to all aspects of karst and cave research, published by our partner institute in Postojna:
http://carsologica.zrc-sazu.si


International Journal of Speleology, the official journal of the International Union of Speleology (UIS):
http://www.ijs.speleo.it/


Speleogenesis, a scientific online journal published by the UIS Commission on Karst Hydrogeology and Speleogenesis:
http://www.speleogenesis.info


Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, a publication of the National Speleological Society:
http://www.caves.org/pub/journal