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WHY AN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF
ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCES?
In the 1970's
there was a feeling that Zoology imploded under the weight of its many
sub-disciplines and specialities. This was best expressed by the sheer number
of over 2000 participants at the International Congress of Zoology in Washington and by the
too numerous sections into which its proceedings split.
A possibly indirect result of this has been the demise of Zoology as such
from the university curricula and often even its exclusion from the list of
the scientific disciplines. As a direct result of this, the number of
scientists able to deal with the endangered biodiversity around has
catastrophically decreased. The few remaining zoologists were either
considered a sort of animal buffs or of dusty museum rats. On the other hand
the possibility of mutual understanding and interdisciplinary application of
the many new achievements of the many narrowly specialized parochial
societies decreased catastrophically. In an increasingly reductionist
scenario, the science of the complex animal organism relinquished its
philosophical importance in evolutionary science.
The renewed International Congress of Zoology in Athens, 2000 may have benefited from the
start of a reversed trend. A relatively small gathering of taxonomists,
palaeontologists, cladists, immunologists, parasitologists, molecular
phylogenists, embryologists and others interacted fruitfully. It was in every
sense a voluntary event, since none of the participants got any financial
support. The result was a first integrated view of Zoology in the XVIIIth
congress and the will to continue with such integrative attempts.
After the Athens
meeting, initiatives were implemented to re-establish the Zoological Society,
and this was endorsed at the 2004 General Assembly of the International Union
of Biological Sciences (of which IZC is a member body) under the impetus of
Dr. John Buckeridge, Dr. Francis Dov Por and Dr. Zhibin Zhang. Discussion
over the last twelve months has led to a proposal to broaden the term
Zoological Society, and as a result, the proposed name for our new society is
the more inclusive International Society Of Zoological Sciences (ISZS). The
proposed International Society of Zoological Sciences expresses the widely
felt will of integrated zoology. Besides its symbolic value for the
international rehabilitation of Zoology, it should have a policy and the
means to work towards the re-integration of our science.
Membership of the ISZS will be as individuals or as organizations (the latter
being Corporate Membership). The functions of the ISZS include: a) To
organize an International Congress every four years; b) To publish an
International Journal of Zoology; c) To co-ordinate, collaborate and
co-operate between the different specialized fields of zoological sciences;
d) To develop and maintain a permanent website providing zoological
information and advice, a medium for discussion, debate and the preparation
of congresses.
The establishment of any society is likely to face what we could call
"establishment difficulties"; which results from an absence of an
established infrastructure to deal with day-to-day issues. Fortunately, we
have an opportunity through which this potentially turbulent passage can be
mitigated: The Chinese Zoological Society has offered support during this
stage. This would involve provision of sufficient resources to establish a
permanent "office" in Beijing.
The Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences will be responsible for necessary funding, staffing and
infrastructure for the ISZS Secretariat. This will provide stability and
continuity for the ISZS.
Dr. John Buckeridge, Chair of International Congress of Zoology Committee,
Dr. Francis Dov Por, Chairman of organizing committee for XVIII the
International Congress of Zoology and Dr. Zhibin Zhang, Secretary General of
XIXth International Congress of Zoology and Director of Institute of Zoology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a draft of the "STATUTES OF
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCES" which is attached
behind. This draft has been revised after incorporating some critical
comments from zoologists through the internet. Please take a detailed look at
the STATUTES before the General Assembly.
Here in Beijing,
at this second international congress of the new series, we should seize the
opportunity to comment and discuss the documents prepared by the group that
initiated the establishment of ISZS, the International Society of Zoological
Sciences. Please take this opportunity to join with over 700 Zoologists, at
the ICZ 2004 General Assembly at 19:00~21:00 on the evening of August 24 in
the Convention Hall No. 2 of BICC. There will be several important decisions
made during the General Assembly (Please see your program for detail). Your
voice, and your vote are important to the fate of the ISZS!
© 2004-2008 International Society of Zoological
Sciences
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