During the past three years, the Committee has continued to focus largely on two major activities:
- Preparation of reviews of the state of limnology in various developing countries.
- Preparation of a Directory of Limnology and Wetland Science in the Tropics.
The first volume of the series, “Limnology in Developing Countries” was published in 1995 soon after the SIL Congress in Brazil. It included reviews of the status of limnology in seven countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia. The volume was distributed to all members of SIL as a part of their regular subscription.
The second volume includes reviews for Indonesia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Costa Rica and Uruguay, is now in press and will be mailed to the members in late April 1999. Reviews for several countries are in advanced stages of preparation or under revision. The third volume is likely to include reviews for India, China, Brazil, Venezuela, Nigeria, and Suriname, and plans are to have it published within 1999.
The Committee is, however, still looking for contributors who are willing to prepare comprehensive state-of-the-art reviews for the following countries: Chad, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast, Zaire, Congo, Mozambique, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Arab states, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Guiana.
The Committee will appreciate offers and/or suggestions of names of potential contributors for preparing these reviews. The Committee is keen to cover as many countries as possible before the next Congress and has prepared a format and guidelines for the sake of a certain level of uniformity in the reviews. A copy of these guidelines can be obtained from Prof. R.G. Wetzel or Dr. Brij Gopal.
The Directory of Limnology and Wetland Science in the Tropics has made slow, but satisfactory, progress. A French version of the Directory brochure and forms for submission of information has been prepared and widely circulated with the active cooperation and support of Prof. Eric Pattee (University of Lyon, France). The publication of the Directory has been delayed so far due to a paucity of funds.
Recently, it was decided to place the Directory on the SIL Website. In the meantime, those individuals who submitted information quite a long time ago are requested to update the information. A Directory of this kind has to be continually updated and expanded, and the Committee appeals to all SIL members to help in this task by bringing it to the notice of individuals whom they would like to be listed in the Directory.
The Committee has been actively considering ways and means to organise appropriate long-term and short-term training courses in different regions and to help establish and/or strengthen Centers of Limnology/Aquatic Ecology in different developing countries. The Committee is of the opinion that in situ training is more important for achieving the desired goal. The subject was discussed at an evening workshop during the Congress in Dublin last August. SIL welcomes suggestions from members for increasing opportunities for appropriate training of researchers from developing countries.
The Committee was reconstituted at the Dublin Congress. It is composed of the following members:
Prof. H. Liu
China
liujk@public.wh.hb.cn
Prof. D. Dudgeon
HongKong
ddudgeon@hkucc.hku.hk
Prof. S.C. Ho
Malaysia
scho@usm.my
Dr F. Bugenyi
Uganda
firi@mukla.ac.ug
Dr C. Gordon
Ghana
chrisgordon@ighmail.com
Prof. R.C. Hart
South Africa
hartr@zoology.unp.ac.za
Prof. Hugo Lopez
Argentina
postmaster@ilpla.edu.ar
Prof. R.G. Wetzel
USA]
rwetzel@biology.as.ua.edu
Dr W.Y.B. Chang
USA
wychang@nsf.gov
Dr Brij Gopal, Chairman
India
brij00@usa.net or gopalb44@hotmail.com
Brij Gopal
School of Environmental Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University