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Ad hoc Committees

• Virtual Working Group on Publication Ethics
• Planning Group on Health and Wellbeing in the Urban Environment
• Reviews of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
• Review of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP)
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Follow-up Group
• International Science Panel on Renewable Energy
• Ad hoc Strategic Committee on Information and Data (SCID)
• Planning Group on Natural and Human-Induced Environmental Hazards and Disasters
• Working Group to Review the Dues Structures

Virtual Working Group on Publication Ethics

The Virtual Working Group on Publication ethics was established in January 2008, following discussions at the first World Conference on Research Integrity.

• Membership of the Virtual Working Group
  

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Planning Group on Health and Wellbeing in the Urban Environment

Human Health is a relatively new priority area for ICSU as outlined in the Strategic Plan, 2006-2011. Following an initial ad hoc scoping exercise, the Committee on Scientific Planning and Review established a Planning Group in 2008. The challenge to this group is to develop an interdisciplinary programme focussing on “A systems analysis approach to health and wellbeing in the changing urban environment”.

• Report from an ICSU Scoping Group on Human Health (March 2007)
• Background and Terms of Reference for the Planning Group
• Membership of the Planning Group
  

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Reviews of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)

The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) are under review by ICSU, the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA), and – in the case of WCRP – the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) in 2007–09. The goal of the reviews is to evaluate the extent to which the international programmes add value to their respective areas of research and to the national programmes that contribute to them.

• Preamble
• Review of the Global Environmental Change Research Programmes in 2007–09
• Terms of Reference
• Members

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Review of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP)

The Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) will be under review by ICSU and the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA) in 2007. The goal of the review is to determine the added value of the ESSP and the final report is slated for submission to CSPR in early 2008. General comments and opinions about the ESSP are welcome and can be sent to essp.review@icsu.org.

The Terms of Reference and the membership of the Panel are given below. More information on the ESSP can be found at www.essp.org

• Background
• Terms of Reference
• Members

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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Follow-up Group

Following discussions by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Oversight Committee, it was decided that ICSU, UNESCO, and UNU will take the lead on the development of a report on the gaps in scientific understanding at the global and sub-global levels identified though the MA process. A 15-member committee, chaired by Hal Mooney of Stanford University, has been established.

• Terms of Reference
• Membership

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International Science Panel on Renewable Energy (ISPRE)

ISPRE was established in January 2007, following the report of an ad hoc Working Group. Its mission is to provide strategic guidance to renewable energy R&D efforts worldwide. ISPRE is co-sponsored by the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), and the Renewable Energy Policy Network (REN21).

• Proposal for an International Science Panel on Renewable Energies
• Terms of Reference for ISPRE
• Membership
• ISPRE website: http://www.ise.fhg.de/ispre/ispre
  

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Ad hoc Strategic Committee on Information and Data (SCID)

It was agreed at the 28th General Assembly that ICSU should establish an ad hoc committee to oversee the future development and coordination of existing ICSU activities in data and information.

• Background and Terms of Reference
• Membership

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Planning Group on Natural and Human-Induced Environmental Hazards and Disasters

Following a scoping exercise, the 28th General Assembly in 2005 agreed that the planning should begin for a new interdisciplinary programme on Natural and Human-Induced Environmental Hazards and Disasters. After consultation with Members, the composition of a Planning Group was agreed by CSPR in February 2006.

• Report from ICSU Scoping Group (October 2005)
• Terms of Reference for Planning Group
• Membership of Planning Group

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Working Group to Review the Dues Structure

The 28th General Assembly in 2005 requested that a review of the ICSU dues structure be conducted with some urgency. The draft terms of reference for this review were approved at the Officers meeting in February and were subsequently sent to all Members for comment and nominations for the Working Group. The Board appointed the membership of this Group at its meeting in April 2006.

Background information :

• Background
• Terms of Reference
• Members