Dear fellow geoscientist,

I write to draw your attention to recent advances towards an International
Year of Planet Earth, which is a joint initiative of the International
Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and UNESCO.  The Year, proclaimed for
2008 by the UN General Assembly in late December 2005 will be the central
year in a Planet Earth triennium that will begin in January 2007 and end
in December 2009.

The central aims and ambitions of this triennium are to demonstrate the
great potential of the Earth sciences in the building of a safer,
healthier and wealthier society, and to encourage more widespread and
effective application of this potential by targeting politicians and other
decision-makers, educational systems, and the general public.

UN proclamation implies that all 191 UN nations have adopted these aims
and ambitions and are all willing to contribute to their implementation.
Never before have all nations on Earth expressed their dedication to learn
from and apply geoscientific knowledge in both day-to-day and longer term
policy and practice.

During the preparatory phases of the International Year, a Management Team
brought the initiative to the United Nations, attracted 12 Founding
Partners and 26 Associate Partners, and raised the funds necessary to pave
the way for implementation. On March 16th 2006, the initiative was
registered as a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) Corporation under the laws of
the State of Delaware, USA. The Management Team has been disbanded, but
IUGS and UNESCO have invited individual members of that Team to serve
temporarily as the Board of Officers of the Corporation until a
fully-constituted Board has been established; it is expected that this
will take place in August 2006.  At the same time, an outsourced
Secretariat will be established, and we hereby invite all major
geoscientific bodies to consider hosting the Year’s Secretariat. For more
information, please check the website: www.yearofplanetearth.org, under
Secretariat.

The Science and Outreach programmes have been in place for some time.
Science Implementation Teams, the primary tasks of which are to evaluate
Expressions of Interest and Project Proposals, are now in process of
formation. We plan to dedicate about half of the income for the
International Year to outreach activities and the other half to science
projects for the ten selected Science themes (see website).

Fund raising is now the first priority of the Board of Officers. The
mining sector and the oil and gas industry are seen as the likely main
sponsors and donors, not least because they stand to profit substantially
from the wide-ranging outcomes of the International Year. In an improving
political climate with respect to sustainable use of the Earth and its
materials, outcomes include the securing of future specialist expertise by
attracting increasing numbers of students opting for training in the Earth
sciences (as was the case following the German National Year of the
Geosciences in 2002). We aim to raise 20 million dollars to enable us to
achieve the Year’s goals, and to ensure that this ‘greatest geoshow on
Earth’ will be remembered alongside the formative International
Geophysical Year 1957/1958 half a century ago.

A particularly important action that is fundamental to the successful
implementation of the Year is the establishment of National Committees of
the Year of Planet Earth. At the time of writing, 10 such National
Committees are up and running (in Austria, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan,
Mongolia, Namibia, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK). In twenty other
countries such Committees are being actively developed and the process has
been initiated in a further 13 countries. Such National Committees are
independent bodies while, at the same time, having links with the
International Corporation. The success of the International Year very much
depends on quality and range of activity at the national level, not least
because of the need to attract, in a sustained way, the attention and
engagement of both public and political life at all levels.

We call upon all members of the geoscience community around the world to
recognize the opportunities offered by this global initiative, and to
provide their support at all scales, from global to local, to make this a
‘once in a lifetime’ event. Given the Year’s worldwide political support,
rising commodity values, and a profession that increasingly recognizes the
need for strong mutual support in the realization of the societal
potential and value of Earth science, the situation has never been more
favourable.

Seize the day.

Eduardo F.J. de Mulder

Chair Board of Officers International Year of Planet Earth Inc.

For more information:

e.demulder@planet.nl
iugs.secretariat@ngu.no
www.yearofplanetearth.org