Stop
Press!
News
updates on the Progress of updating this Website :
VERSION
SERIES 9. of the Website marks a general presentational revision to
address readability problems and underlying technical issues before the
introduction of Version Series 10. in 2012. This will also allow for the
completion of various individual webpages, which are now long overdue.
WE
MUST REMIND OUR VISITORS THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RE-SET YOUR SCREEN RESOLUTION,
IF IT IS NOT ALREADY SET AT THE MAXIMUM LEVEL.
Please
visit the "Practical Notes and Technical Information" page via the Link
at the bottom of this column.
-..Devon
Pages - many of these continue to be worked on and are in the process
of being updated or completed.
The
Cattedown
Bone Caves Webpages are undergoing intermediate stages of a substantial
revision to upgrade the contents in keeping with the international importance
of the Palaeolithic location.
-..Bosnia
& Hercegovina Webpages -
The
"Proteus Project" Webpages have been, and continue to be updated
Public
Appeal for help with
Speleobiological
"Proteus Project"
in
Bosnia & Hercegovina.
-..Karstography
of Dinaric Karst in R. Bosnia & Hercegovina -
This
Section of our Website is undergoing a substantive revision
with
much new information being added.
The
current delays experienced in upgrading these pages is connected with the
extensive revision of our "Proteus Project" information.
Readability
of this Website.
We
recommend that you set your Browser Programme "Character Set".or
"Encoder"
settings to Unicode (UTF-8). This should then allow you to read
all foreign language texts on this Website, as originally intended.
--------------------
Please
remember that not all web browser programmes will read HTML or XHTML in
the same way. There are notable incompatibilities between various HTML
-read programmes. For this reason, we strongly recommend the use either
of the
Netscape Browser or
Mozilla
Firefox Browser for obtaining full compatibility and benefit of
reading all HTML attributes on this Website. NETSCAPE v 9.0
can be downloaded
free, as can FIREFOX.
(NB:
Netscape
is
no longer technically supported.)
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Plymouth
- Budapest - Trebinje
Activities
(Europe)
.
Links
to individual Projects in Bosnia & Hercegovina :
.
BiH
sub-Project No. 1...DOBROMANI
PONOR MILLS.
.
BiH
sub-Project No. 2...FATNIČKO
POLJE.
.
BiH
Main Project No. 3.
"PROTEUS
PROJECT."
.
(currently
undergoing extensive revision)
.
Click
on the Link below for details of our new Serials Title
ISSN
1986-8359.
"Spelaeobiologica
Bosniæ et Hercegovinæ.
Monographs
in Speleobiology and the Conservation-management of Karst Conduit-aquifer
Ecosystems in the Dinaric Karst of Eastern Hercegovina, Bosnia & Hercegovina."
.
"Proteus
Project" Monograph Vol.1. in the Monograph
Series
is now available.
[Eds.:
B. Lewarne; Gergely Balázs;
R.P. Smith.]
.
or
our General Coverage of
The
Karstography of the Dinaric Karst in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
Main
Project No. 4...Hungary
& Slovakia.
GÖMÖR-TORNA
KARSZT - AZ AGGTELEKI KARSZT.
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Plymouth
- Budapest - Trebinje
Karstological
and Speleological Reference Library.
Link
to :..Library
Location;
Reference
Facility;
Catalogues;
Bibliographic
& Academic Services;
Media
Resources;
Karst-
and Speleo-related Publications Reviews.
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Plymouth
- Budapest - Trebinje
Archive.
Link
to :..Archives
Location;
Reference
Facility;
Catalogues.
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Plymouth
- Budapest - Trebinje
Foreign
Policy.
Link
to :..Foreign
Policy
&
Foreign Assistance Programme.
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Plymouth
- Budapest - Trebinje
Membership
(inactive
Link)
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Link
to :
Educational
Programme
The
Devon Karst Research Society
Activities
(U.K.)
Link
to :..Activities
(U.K.)
Public
Service
Conservation
Link
to :
Cattedown
Bone Caves,
Plymouth,.Homepage
MEMBERS'
URGENT INFORMATION
AND
GENERAL MESSAGES SERVICE.
|
Welcome
Note :
Welcome
to the Home Page of The Devon Karst Research Society, Plymouth, Devon,
England!
As
well as functioning as a conduit of information for the Society's Members,
this Website also aspires to inform and educate interested non-Members
via the bulk of its Public Access Pages.
This
Website is now 9 years old and continues to grow in size.
THE
DEVON KARST RESEARCH SOCIETY
Plymouth
- Budapest - Trebinje
Origin
and General Aims :
The
Society was founded on 20 November 1976 in Plymouth as a result of the
locally high level of interest shown by speleologists wishing to create
a specialist group committed to promote, resource and devise research projects
associated with the full range of karst sciences (karstology) in addition
-rather than exclusively- to the cave sciences (or speleological)
aspect of karstology.
The
name of the group was originally "Devon Karst Research" which was
subsequently changed to
"The Society of the Devon Karst Research".
This was then changed again to the current form.
The
Society does not promote "recreational" caving activities as a sport within
Devon. Practical and technical physical caving, together with associated
training, is supported only as a necessary part of speleological research
and in the larger caves of the UK that are able to withstand such activities.
Many of our larger caves in Devon, including some of our SSSI Caves, have
been permanently and very badly affected by "recreational caving" and so
called "adventure caving" activities, the latter often being undertaken
as uncontrolled commercial enterprises.
Present
Status :
The
Society operates as an independent NGO within the "not-for-profit" voluntary
sector. It is not, at this present time, a Registered UK Charity
although, because of a strong altruistic element in its Activities governed
by a formalised
de facto Foreign Policy, it may be regarded
without doubt as being a philanthropic or benevolent organisation.
.
Specialist
earth-sciences organizations, of which the Society is a typical example,
fit uneasily into the definition of what is now commonly referred to as
the "Third Sector" or "charitable organizations". A "charity" is now more
usually a convenient term of legal status which almost any "voluntary sector"
group or organization can seek to acquire, if only to gain the uncertain
benefits that such a status will confer on the organization and / or its
Members. Such a status is often attained at the expense of the long-term
erosion of the original principles of the organization and also does not
automatically confer the application of common-sense in the use or disbursement
of its funds or assets. Such organizations can become corrupted by government,
over-politicised and over-professionalised, with the consequent loss in
independence of thought and action and a gross dilution in the effectiveness
of the original declared purpose.
Indications
of this deterioration can be evidenced, for example, by the abnormally
high percentages of funds spent (wasted?) on self-administration; by the
gradual adoption of salaried employees to carry out the routine tasks formerly
undertaken free of charge by volunteers; by giving professionals control
over more critical tasks formerly controlled by volunteers or by the acceptance
of creeping commercialisation into many areas.
.
We
work with many professional individuals and we also have many who are Members,
but none can ever be employed as salaried or unsalaried staff by the Society.
We do not waste vast sums of money on bureaucracy or self-administration,
because we have unusual Rules that accompany the roles of our Officers.
In
the important matters of scientific research in our speleological and karstological
programmes, we are completely open-minded in the direction of investigations
and we are inventive, innovative and resourceful in developing new research
methods.
As
a result, the Society remains true to its original principles and ideals.
Proposed
New Status :
The
future status of the Society was the subject of a membership-wide consultation
process in February 2005. The outcome supported a substantial change in
the way the Society would be managed in the future. Although this change
is currently subject to a considerable delay beyond our control, the Society
is likely to become a Registered Charity, although this is not definite.
More information about this and about the changes this could have on the
Society, will be given in due course.
In
any event, Membership of the Society in the future is to be available to
all upon payment of an annual Membership Fee.
.
Management
:
Management
of the Society's financial and material assets is undertaken by an elected
Honorary [Executive] Membership, whose Officers are also responsible for
the management of the Society's routine business such as Membership Registration,
Insurances and General Enquiries.
Policies
and their changes in respect of Activities and objectives are decided upon
by all Members at General Meetings. As a result, the Executive (or Council)
is responsible for implementation and development in matters of, for example:-
- UK and International Research Programmes and offering and managing
the relevant
Project Research Assistantships;
- Educational Programme, including Public Lectures;
- The Library Facility, its Collections and its Academic & Bibliographic
Services;
- Use and Maintenance of Surface and Underground Scientific Field
Equipment;
- Use and Maintenance of Technical Underground Caving Equipment;
- Karst and Cave Conservation and Preservation;
- Public Service Programme;
- de facto Foreign Policy, which includes the Overseas Science
Programme;
- Internal Training;
- Safety;
- Production of a Publication;
- Recruitment and management of casual external volunteers to assist
with project work,
.
.....
within the framework of the Statements in the Clauses, Paragraphs and Sections
of the Society's
Constitution.
.
Membership
of External Institutions :
Through
individual membership of its Hon. Science Officer, the Society indirectly
receives benefits of Membership of :-
- the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, (joined
1994);
- the International Association of Hydrogeologists, (joined
2000 until 2010).
.
The
latter organization operates a Karst Hydrogeology Commission...Its
Website can be reached at http://www.iah.org/karst/
[The
Society's Members can view the Members-only pages on the IAH Website
by using the Society's passwords as prompted on-screen.
Members
can obtain the passwords through the usual internal channels.]
.
Office
& Documentation :
The
Society's Office (not permanently staffed) is located in its Plymouth
Reference Library & Archive Facility at :-
.....46,
Morley Court, Western Approach,
.....PLYMOUTH,
.....Devon,
PL1 1SJ.,
.....England,
U.K.
Prospective.(non-Member)
callers are requested to telephone or e-mail in advance of visiting :-
.....Tel
+ (44) (0)1752 261278.
.....or
by e-mail :..karstcentral@netscape.net
The
Hon. Secretary also may be contacted at :-
.....Tel
+ (44) (0)1752 309904.
.....or
by e-mail : ajsatterley@blueyonder.co.uk
.
Publication
:
The
Society has published the first of a new Series of Monographs in December
2010., relating directly to the results of its principal science programme
in Bosnia & Hercegovina. The Monograph Series Title / Sub-Title is
:-
"Spelaeobiologica
Bosniæ et Hercegovinæ.
..MONOGRAPHS
in SPELEOBIOLOGY.AND
THE CONSERVATION
MANAGEMENT.OF
KARST CONDUIT-AQUIFER
ECOSYSTEMS IN THE DINARIC
KARST OF EASTERN
HERCEGOVINA."
The
first and all subsequent Monographs in the Series is published jointly
with our partner organization in Bosnia & Hercegovina and will support
the Society's science programme in that country.
Further
details can be obtained from our "Proteus Project" webpages on this
Website, available via a Link in the left-side column of this page.
Public
Lectures :
The
Society is available from time to time and by appointment, to offer educational
and research lectures.
Subjects
range in scope from the project at Cattedown to our more exotic foreign
scientific programme in Bosnia & Hercegovina. These range in scope
from simple talks, presentations or lectures to full multimedia presentations.
Details
of the extremely interesting work we are undertaking in Bosnia & Hercegovina
with the conservation and protection of karst ecosystems and endangered
hypogean species is now being made available in the UK.
and
offers exclusive access to some of the most amazing video footage of the
hidden karst underworld in the Dinaric Karst. We also offer a range
of films covering karst and cave research in the Dinaric Karst and elsewhere
in Eastern Europe.
Our
charges vary according to the subject covered and duration and type of
talk or lecture and the venue for the event.
.
Logo
:
It
was not until 1998 that the Society's Logo was created. Designed by our
Members, it illustrates a cave profile, whose outline is the shape of the
English County of Devonshire superimposed on a matrix of the standard geological
graphic representation of karstified limestone. The whole is embellished
with bats and contained within inner and outer circles, within the annulus
of which is inscribed the name of the Society.
.
Other
Title Styles :
The
Society currently has 4 other Title Language-styles used in Eastern European
Countries where Foreign Members are or were resident or in which the Society's
Foreign
Assistance Programme operates.
.
Links
or contact details to recommended Professional Academic Institutions specializing
in aspects of Karst Research :
For
those who are interested in pursuing the multi-disciplinary science of
karstology further, we can recommend the following Institutions, which
can be accessed on the World Wide Web via the Links provided :-
THE
KARST RESEARCH INSTITUTE, (Slovenia).
of
the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts,
Postal
Address : Znanstvenoraziskovalni Center, Slovenske Akademija Znanosti
in Umetnosti, Inštitut za Raziskovanje Krasa, Titov trg 2, SI-6230 POSTOJNA,
R. Slovenia.
http://www.zrc-sazu.si/izrk/
GEOGRAPHICAL
INSTITUTE "JOVAN CVIJIĆ", (Serbia).
of
the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,
Postal
Address : Đure Jakšića 9/III., 11000 BEOGRAD, R. Serbia.
http://www.gi.sanu.ac.rs/en
HUNGARIAN
INSTITUTE FOR SPELEOLOGY, (Hungary).
Postal
Address :..Kolto
út. 21., H-1121 BUDAPEST, Hungary.
(no
website address)
OFFICE
FOR STATE ADMINISTRATION OF SLOVAK CAVES, (Slovakia).
Postal
Address :..Správa
Slovenských Jaskýň, Hodžova 11., 031 01 LIPTOVSKÝ MIKULÁŠ, Slovensko.
http://www.ssj.sk
SLOVAK
MUSEUM OF NATURE PROTECTION AND SPELEOLOGY, (Slovakia).
Postal
Address :..Slovenské
múzeum ochrany prírody a jaskyniarstva, Školská 4., 031 01 LIPTOVSKÝ
MIKULÁŠ, Slovensko.
http://www.smopaj.sk
Links
to other recommended Websites of Speleological and Karstological specialist
organizations :
For
those who are interested in browsing the World Wide Web for other specialist
karst and cave websites, we can recommend the following :-
The
SPELEOLOŠKO DRUŠTVO "ZELENA BRDA", (Trebinje,
RS-BiH).
[This
is our Partner Organization in Bosnia & Hercegovina.]
(website
not available)
CRESWELL
CRAGS. (U.K.). (Speleo-archaeology and -palaeontology).
Postal
address : Creswell Heritage Trust, Creswell Crags Visitor Centre,
Crags Road, WELBECK, Worksop, Notts., UK., S80 3LH.
http://www.creswell-crags.org.uk
MAGYAR
KARSZT- ÉS BARLANGKUTATÓ TÁRSULAT, (Hungary).
Postal
Address : H-1025 BUDAPEST, Pusztaszeri út 35., Magyarország.
http://www.barlang.hu
- -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DIVE
MEXICO :
A
site operated by one of our more enterprising Hungarian Members in Mexico.
This
site offers guided Cavern Diving and Cave Diving in the cenotes of the
Yucután Karst Peninsula.
http://www.divemexico.eu |
