Non-governmental Organizations

International Council for Science (ICSU)

Objectives

ICSU is a non-governmental organization founded in 1931 to bring together natural scientists in international scientific endeavour. The Council seeks to break the barriers of specialization by initiating and coordinating major international, interdisciplinary programs. By creating bodies which undertake activities and research programs of interest to several members, ICSU addresses matters of common concern to all scientists, such as international science capacity and freedom in the conduct of science.

Membership

ICSU comprises 95 multidisciplinary national scientific members (scientific research councils or science academies) and 25 international, single-discipline scientific unions to provide a wide spectrum of scientific expertise enabling members to address major international, interdisciplinary issues which none could handle alone. ICSU also has 28 scientific associates.

Activities

The Council acts as a focus for the exchange of ideas and information and the development of standards. Hundreds of congresses, symposia and other scientific meetings are organized each year around the world on a wide range of topics. ICSU also publishes newsletters, handbooks and journals.

The principal source of ICSU's finances is the voluntary contributions it receives from its members. Other sources of income are grants and contracts from UN bodies, foundations and agencies, which are used solely to support the scientific activities of the ICSU Unions and interdisciplinary bodies. The total budget of ICSU, the Unions and interdisciplinary bodies amounts to over U.S. $14 million per annum. Canada's National Research Council contributes approximately C $1 million. One of ICSU's greatest strengths, however, is the time contributed freely by the thousands of scientists committed to the objectives of the Council.

Environment Canada's Involvement

As mentioned, the Council seeks to break the barriers of specialization by initiating and coordinating major international interdisciplinary programs and bodies which undertake activities and research programs of interest to several members. A number of bodies set up within ICSU also address matters of common concern to all scientists, such as capacity building of science, development and the freedom in the conduct of science. These aspects create synergy amongst scientific communities greatly assisting the work of Environment Canada in, inter alia, sustainable development, climate change and other environmental issues.

The National Research Council acts as Canada's linkage to ICSU. There are a number of ICSU partners within which Environment Canada's Meteorological Service of Canada is proactive:

• World Climate Research Programme (jointly with WMO, IOC and UNEP)
• International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
• International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
• International Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Programme
• International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences