Organisation
The Union currently consists of:
- 44 national members, consisting of national science academies, research and scientific organizations,
- 80 scientific members, including international scientific associations, societies or commissions of the various biological disciplines, from biology to zoology. New members are allowed under strict scientific guidelines.
The national and the academic members identify promising areas of biological science and bring them to the attention of the Union and in the reverse, promote the programs of the Union in their own country to stimulate research projects. The Union reviews the member's suggestions, checks them against the international academic and scientific-political background and develops the programs, if they have sufficient support. Approval is given in the General Assembly and the project progresses through international conferences for accreditation and then implementation through national or international funding agencies.
Board
The Executive Committee consists of: the President, the former president, two Vice-Presidents, the Secretary, the Treasurer and other members of the Extended Board. The Board meets annually. The Secretariat, with its Executive Director coordinates the programs and activities.
General Assembly
In the General Assembly, each national member has one vote. The scientific members are invited to send one representative each to the talks and make programmatic proposals. The General Assembly elects the Executive Board for the proposed projects, selects the scientific programs of the Union, reviews the progress of scientific programs, collaborates with other international organizations and decides on the allocation of funding. The General Assembly takes place in parallel to a scientific conference, organized in cooperation with the National Union Committee of the host country.
Programmes
The scientific programmes of the General Assembly are approved in accordance with the Statutes of the Union. Where necessary and possible, the EU has granted start-up funding for individual programs, that supports the further funding from national or international donors or by negotiated agreements with the Union.
Examples of programmes
Diversitas, Human Dimensions of Biodiversity, Climate Change Integrative Biology (ICCB), Systematics Agenda, Biological Education (BioED), IUBS Bioethics Ethics Committee earlier, Bionomenclature, Biology and Traditional Knowledge, Biological Consequences of Global Change (BCGC) Darwin200, Biosystematics, Species 2000, Genomics and Evolution, Modernizing the codes to meet future needs of scientific communities (Biocode), Biology Research and Education Resources in Africa, Reproductive Biology, Aquaculture, Bio-Energy and Towards an Integrative Biology (TAIB), Global Species List Working Group (GSLWG).
The International Mathematical Union (IMU) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of mathematics across the world. It is a member of the International Science Council (ISC) and supports the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). Its members are national mathematics organizations from more than 80 countries.
The International Council for Science was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members were national scientific bodies and international scientific unions.
Diversitas was an international research programme aiming at integrating biodiversity science for human well-being. In December 2014 its work was transferred to the programme called Future Earth, which was sponsored by the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability, comprising the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum of funding agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global climate research. The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), and has also been sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO since 1993.
The International Union of Radio Science is one of 26 international scientific unions affiliated to the International Council for Science (ICSU).
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) was established on October 3, 1958 by the International Council for Scientific Unions (ICSU) and its first chair was Hildegard Korf Kallmann-Bijl. Among COSPAR's objectives are the promotion of scientific research in space on an international level, with emphasis on the free exchange of results, information, and opinions, and providing a forum, open to all scientists, for the discussion of problems that may affect space research. These objectives are achieved through the organization of symposia, publication, and other means. COSPAR has created a number of research programmes on different topics, a few in cooperation with other scientific Unions. The long-term project COSPAR international reference atmosphere started in 1960; since then it has produced several editions of the high-atmosphere code CIRA. The code "IRI" of the URSI-COSPAR working group on the International Reference Ionosphere was first edited in 1978 and is yearly updated.
The Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) is an international non-governmental organization of 40 international, national, and associate member groups representing the biomedical science community. It was jointly established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1949 as a successor to the International Medical Congress that organized 17 conferences from 1867 until the 1913 outbreak of World War One.
The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) is an international non-governmental organisation concerned with biochemistry and molecular biology. Formed in 1955 as the International Union of Biochemistry (IUB), the union has presently 79 member countries and regions. The Union is devoted to promoting research and education in biochemistry and molecular biology throughout the world, and gives particular attention to localities where the subject is still in its early development.
The International Social Science Council (ISSC) was an international non-governmental organization promoting the social sciences, including the economic and behavioural sciences. It was founded in Paris, France between 6 and 9 October 1952, under the auspices of UNESCO, following a Resolution at the 6th UNESCO General Conference in 1951. It was adopted on 19 September 1972, completed and revised on 14 November 1979, and underwent multiple revisions on 17 December 1985, 3 December 1992, 27 November 1998, 8 November 2006, and finally 10 December 2010. ISSC was registered in accordance with French Law.
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth to increase awareness of the importance of Earth sciences for the advancement of sustainable development. UNESCO was designated as the lead agency. The Year's activities spanned the three years 2006–2009.
The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate Better Medicines through Global Education and Research around the world.
The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) is a commission of the International Mathematical Union and is an internationally acting organization focussing on mathematics education. ICMI was founded in 1908 at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Rome and aims to improve teaching standards around the world, through programs, workshops and initiatives and publications. It aims to work a great deal with developing countries, to increase teaching standards and education which can improve life quality and aid the country.
The European Association of Science Editors is a non-profit membership organisation for people interested in science communication and editing. Founded in 1982, in France, EASE now has an international membership.
The Deutsches Nationalkomitee Biologie is a scientific non-profit and non-governmental organisation which represents German biologists on an international level. It is embedded in an international hierarchy. The DNK acts on behalf of many biological societies to ensure their scientific and political interests in the international boards of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), and especially in the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS).
Anne Larigauderie is a French ecologist. She is currently the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). She was previously the Head of Science in Society at ICSU, the International Council for Science, and the executive director of DIVERSITAS, the international scientific programme dedicated to biodiversity science, under the auspices of ICSU, and UNESCO.
The International Union of Psychological Science, abbreviated IUPsyS, is the global umbrella organization for psychology.
Tan Sri Zakri bin Abdul Hamid has had a distinguished career in science as a researcher, educator, administrator and diplomat.
The ISC World Data System (ISC-WDS) was created by the International Science Council's (ISC) General Assembly in October 2008. ISC-WDS goals are to preserve quality assured scientific data and information, to facilitate open access, and promote the adoption of standards.
Lingadahalli Subrahmanya Shashidhara is an Indian developmental biologist, geneticist and a professor of biology currently serving as the Centre Director of National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, India. He is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, and at Ashoka University, Sonepat, India. He heads the LSS Laboratory at IISER and is known for his studies on Drosophila, particularly the evolution of appendages and functions of homeotic selector genes. He is a J. C. Bose National Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology and an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2008, for his contributions to biological sciences.
The International Science Council (ISC) is an international non-governmental organization that unites scientific bodies at various levels across the social and natural sciences. The ISC was formed with its inaugural general assembly on 4 July 2018 by the merger of the former International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC), making it one of the largest organisations of this type.
