| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 3162 |
| Title | International Biological Programme Papers and Publications, collected by Dr E.M. Nicholson |
| Date | 1961 - 1981 |
| Extent | 31 boxes |
| Creator Name | International Biological Programme (1964 - 1974). |
| Administrative History | The International Biological Programme existed formally for 10 years (1964 - 1974), although preliminary discussions had begun in 1959, and the publication of its research continued into the late seventies. The programme, aimed at an international level, to increase scientific knowledge of the world's biological resources, human adaptability and the effect of human activities on the environment. A special committee (SCIBP) was responsible to the International Council of Scientific Unions. National programmes were established by a variety of scientific bodies. To provide a framework for international research projects, the programme was divided into seven sections, known by their initials. The present collection comprises the papers of Dr. E.M Nicholson, convenor of the CT section (Conservation of Terrestrial Communities). For those researching other aspects of the IBP's activities, reference should also be made to the archive of the SCIBP, now held by the Linnean Society of London.
Dr E.M Nicholson graduated with an arts degree (history) from Oxford University in the 1920s, and entered a career in the Civil Service, where, in the 1930s, he became responsible for the organisation, Political and Economic Planning, and in the early 1940s was head of the Allocation of Tonnage Division of the Ministry of War Transport. In 1952, he was appointed director-general of the recently-established Nature Conservancy Council, and under his directorship the Council's first University Research Unit (in Grouse and Moorland Ecology) was established at Aberdeen University. He received an honorary LLD from Aberdeen University in 1964. For further details see 'Aberdeen University Review', 40 (1963 - 1964), 378 - 379.
Further background information about the International Biological Programme can be found in E.B. Worthington, 'The Evolution of IBP' (Cambridge, 1975) and E.B. Worthington, 'The Ecological Century: a Personal Appraisal' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983), pp. 140 - 159. |
| Source | Deposited in the University in Jan 1984, by Dr. E.M. Nicholson. |
| Description | Papers and publications of the International Biological Programme, collected by E.M Nicholson, Convenor of the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities (CT) section, 1962 - 1977. The collection is comprised principally of papers relating to the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section, but also contains some more general papers relating to the establishment and organisation of the International Biological Programme, and some publications by other sections.
General papers of the Standing Committee of the International Biological Programme, 1963 - 1977; minutes, reports and other papers of the British National Committee of the International Biological Programme, 1965 - 1974; papers re. establishment and work of the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section national committees, 1962 - 1973; papers re. liaison between the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section and other bodies, 1966 - 1974; correspondence, reports and other papers re. the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities general and technical meetings, 1970 - 1974; reports on overseas visits by Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section representatives, 1965 - 1971; working papers, correspondence and reports re. projects undertaken by, or in co-operation with, the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section, 1962 - 1972 (including check sheet survey, IBP International Ecological Field Stations, Global monitoring, Geogram, Man and the Biosphere); general correspondence re. the work of the Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section, 1962 - 1974; meetings and symposia, other than Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section technical or committee meetings (see above), 1966 - 1973; Conservation of Terrestrial Communities section handbook, synthesis volume and other papers prepared for publication, 1967 - 1977; off-prints, photocopied articles, papers and reports prepared for publication, concerning the International Biological Programme and related interests, 1965 - 1970; printed material published by the International Biological Programme, or relating to its work, 1961 - 1980.
Abbreviations used in the catalogue -
AETFAT - Association por l'etude taxonomique de la flora d'Afrique
COPE - Centralized Organisation to Protect the Enviroment
CT- Conservation of Terrestrial Communities
FAO - Food and Agricultural Organisation
HA - Human Adaptability
IBP - International Biological Programme
IGU - Imternational Geographic Union
IUCN - Internationl Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
MAB - Man and the Biosphere
PF - Productivity of Freshwater Communities
PM - Productivity of Marine Communities
PP - Production Processes
PT - Productivity of Terrestrial Communities
SCAR -Scientific Committee of Antartic Research
SCIBP - Standing Committee of International Biological Programme |
| Accruals | None expected. |
| Arrangement | To preserve the unity of the collection, it was decided to keep the printed materials with the archival papers, although all items in section 13 do appear in the general library catalogue. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | The records are available subject to the signed acceptance of the Department's access conditions. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English |
| Physical Description | No physical conditions affecting use of collection. |
| Publication Note | Both the Natural History Museum, London, and the Linnean Society, London, hold similar collections relating to the work of the International Biological Programme. |
| Finding Aids | A paper catalogue is available in the Reading Room. |