First call for IUGS Geo-Collections
On October 28, 2022, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) ratified the Zumaia Declaration. A core statement of this declaration is the clear commitment to protect and preserve the global geological heritage. A necessary starting point for this process is to recognize and define what we understand as ‘geological heritage’. The Subcommission on Geo-Collections (SGC) is dedicated to this task, together with subcommissions on Geo-Sites and Geo-Stones founded 2016 at the 35th International Geological Congress in Cape Town (South Africa) under the umbrella of the International Commission on Geoheritage, a permanent commission of IUGS.
Whilst our sister-subcommissions focus on basically ‘immobile’ geoheritage such as sites, landscapes, quarries and stone-built monuments, the SGC is object-centered. Geo-Collections contain physical specimens, which are typically stored in museums, universities, geological surveys and other public or private organizations. Geo-Collections provide a foundation for understanding Earth processes on all time and space scales, from the microscopic to the planetary. They underlie research into our most pressing fields: the origin of water and life on Earth, climate change, environmental justice, hazardous waste disposal, and developing new resources, including green technologies. Thus, the value and significance of geo-collections may be scientific, cultural, historical and/or educational, although ‘scientific value’ will be the most immanent ‘backbone’ of most collections.
The mandate of the SGC is to establish an international program to identify those Geo-Collections of the highest scientific value. For this purpose, the subcommission has developed a designation scheme defining benchmarks of collections to be included in the list of IUGS Geo-Collections.
Please visit our homepage for the definition and standards of an IUGS Geo-Collection: https://iugs-geoheritage.org/selection-process-geo/
The call opens on July 1st 2025.
Please use only the template for the ‘Proposal for IUGS Geo-Collection Designation’!
Completed applications should be sent to mathias.harzhauser@nhm-wien.ac.at
Submissions are deemed to have been received when a confirmation has been sent by the committee.
Applications MUST consist of the completed template (in word format) including the requested pictures (no pdf files; additional files will not be considered). The pictures should be distinctive, of the highest aesthetic standard, and visually represent the importance of the collection. Poor quality pictures may strongly lower the ratings by reviewers.
Each application will pass a ‘first-level-control’ by the SGC-executive members, who will check the forms for completeness and applicability. Each application that has passed this preliminary control will be sent out to four reviewers, who will rate the proposal, focusing on the scientific value and global importance of the collection and the quality of the proposal. The evaluation will follow a grading system from 1 (low quality) to 4 (highest quality).
The ‘First 11’ IUGS Geo-Collections have been ratified at the IGC in Busan in 2024. Applicants are encouraged to visit our homepage to study the successful applications: https://iugs-geoheritage.org/designations-geo-collections/
The call closes on 1st October 2025.
Due to administrative limitations, we will only accept the first 150 applications and will close the call afterwards. Application, which did not make it to the first call are encouraged to target the second call, which will be announced at a later date.
The Selection Committee for the IUGS Geo-Collection program consists of all voting and corresponding members of the SGC and is supported by a pool of internationally recognized and experienced earth scientists.
The SGC voting members will elect the IUGS Geo-Collections in winter 2025-2026. The nominations will follow in spring 2026.
Mathias Harzhauser, Stefano Dominici and Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane on behalf of the voting members of the SGC.
May 2025
