the Future of Earth Science

Amongst others, Ed de Mulder was the initiator of the international year of planet Earth, which aims to ensure greater and more effective use by society of the knowledge accumulated by the world's 400,000 Earth scientists. Thus the Year's subtitle ‘Earth science for Society'.

The International Year runs from January 2007 to December 2009, the central year of the triennium (2008) having been proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as the UN Year. The UN sees the Year as a contribution to their sustainable development targets as it promotes wise (sustainable) use of Earth materials and encourages better planning and management to reduce risks for the world's inhabitants.

One of the noteworthy speakers at Ed de Mulder's symposium was Sospeter Muhongo. As the regional Director of the International Council for Science Regional Office for Africa (ICSU-Africa), Mr. Muhongo talked especially about the future of Earth Science in Africa. Mr. Muhongo said that earth sciences will contribute to sustainable global economic prosperity and is a service of the global society. With ever increasing global population numbers, the claim on natural resources will further increase in the next decades. Therefore, earth scientists should look for future alternative energy and renewable resources. The earth sciences could contribute to the global access to fresh drinking water, sanitation and food too. Disaster risk management also demands the aid of earth scientists to provide the necessary knowledge for prediction and prevention of geohazards.

From the symposium can be concluded that the future of earth sciences calls for a multidisciplinary approach, in which the cooperation with the public and private sector, both national and international, is of the greatest importance.

• Summary of the event