ACTA CARSOLOGICA 37/2-3 – 2008 344
QUO VADIS, COMMISSION »KARST«?
(Chair’s report and reflexions at the 31
st
 International Congress of IGU, Tunis, August 12 – 15, 2008)
Four years – the interval between international 
geographical congresses of International Geographical 
Union (IGU) is the period of work of IGU Commissions. 
At the time of the Congress a report of the 4 years work 
is presented and proposal, plan and suggestions for the 
work in the next term are given. 
The report of the chair of the C04.22 »Karst« com-
mission for the period 2004 – 2008 was good: the Com-
mission had over 200 members, it organized and par-
ticipated at organisation of different meetings (Regional 
Conference at Brisbane, Karst and Cryokarst, Sosnowiec 
2007, Poland, International Karstological School at Post-
ojna (every year), just to mention a few of them), it pub-
lished or co-published professional editions (Annotated 
Bibliography of Karst Publications, Karst and Cryokarst) 
and co-operated with other professional organisations as 
IAH, IUS, formally the Commission was rather active. 
The plan for the next term (2008 – 2012) is well pre-
pared. The proposal for the continuation of the commis-
sion was prepared, its work plan and the proposal of the 
new steering committee: E. Trofimova (Russia) for the 
chair and 10 members from different countries (Brazil, 
Canada, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Poland, Republic of Ko-
rea, Russia, Slovenia, Ukraine, USA). Regarding by the 
administration point of view, by the IGU administration 
and by the national delegates everything was good and 
clear. Therefore the IGU General Assembly accorded the 
continuation of the commission without any objection, 
the same stands for the majority of other commissions.
But at the Tunis congress there were only two mem-
bers of Commission’s steering committee, the chair and 
the honorary member from Japan. At the karst session 
there were only three “karst” papers presented listening 
by the audience of ten. Partly it is the fault of the organ-
iser - four other “karst” papers have been put into other 
sessions with the explanation to the authors that there 
will be no karst session. The other reason was the In-
ternational geological congress held at Oslo practically 
at the same term. Special session dedicated to D. Ford 
and P . Williams attracted many members of the commis-
sion Karst too. But all the same we have to think over the 
problem. Already four years ago during the IGU con-
gress, the discussion of the continuation of the commis-
sion emerged among the members. There were both pes-
simists and optimists. During the 2007 spring meeting at 
Sosnowiec (Poland) the present members of the Steering 
Committee decided that we must submit the continua-
tion of the commission for the period 2008 - 2012. Thus 
ANDREJ KRANJC
South Tunis – gorge in limestone.

ACTA CARSOLOGICA 37/2-3 – 2008 345
REVIEWS AND REPORTS / POROč ILA
the proposal was prepared, including the new steering 
committee and the new chair (Elena Trofimova of the 
Geographical Institute at Moscow). The proposal was 
forwarded to the IGU and its General Assembly, held 
during the 31st International Congress at Tunis (August 
11 - 15, 2008), approved it. 
The last day of the Congress there was a meeting of 
the Executive Committee and the commissions’ chairs 
discussing the general lines of commission work in fu-
ture. Beside the organisation recommendations (to ar-
range commission meetings during IGU international 
and regional congresses where at least the nearby-living 
members have to participate), the vision of a commis-
sion work, aims and targets were emphasized. Without a 
lively interest of a majority of members in common aim, 
a commission cannot be successful.  The main results 
should be publications. 
The future will show if the interest of the geogra-
phers-karstologists is so heterogeneous and divided 
among various karstological organisations and groups, 
that they cannot find a common goal in the frame of the 
commission Karst. The new chair and steering commit-
tee members will either be able to overcome the problem 
and to form a compact group of karstologists working 
for the common interest in the karst or the commission 
will cease to exist.
After tens of years of the commission existence 
which worked on karst under different names according 
to the rules of IGU, where the world renowned karstolo-
gists acted as chairs 
(H. Lehmann, I. Gams, U. Sauro, and J. Gunn just 
to mention some of them) I would be very sorry if the 
name Karst will no more appear on the list of IGU com-
missions. But who knows to which direction the future 
of karstology in the frame of geography is aimed - Quo 
vadis Karst Commission?
Andrej Kranjc
Ex-Chair of the Commission