The IAG is now registered as an international non-profit organisation

A milestone in the history of the International Association of Geomorphologists:
The IAG is registered as an international non-profit organisation

It is our immense pleasure to announce that a major step has been made earlier this year, regarding the legal status of the International Association of Geomorphologists. Not all of you may be aware that when the IAG was established in the 1980s, it was done by agreement between the founding parties – national geomorphological societies – without a corresponding legal foundation. For many years this status was sufficient to maintain the aims of the Association and to function as a scientific organisation, and the IAG was not different from many other international scientific associations. However, times have changed and especially transboundary transfers of finances have become difficult for societies with no official legal status. Within the IAG, this problem was recognized a number of years ago and options were explored in order to achieve solid legal fundament for the Association, without losing its impressive heritage, traditions and spirit. After considering various possibilities based in different countries, action was initiated last year (2018) towards the registration of the IAG as a full capacity, scientific, non-profit organisation. Spain was found to be the best choice for formal registration of the IAG. Accordingly, we submitted the necessary documents to the Spanish Ministry of Interior, including the Constitution of the IAG. Beforehand, we had also informed the National Scientific Members about this motion, calling for feedback and advice. On 4 March 2019 the Spanish Ministry communicated the decision that the IAG was formally established, and has all capacities to act internationally and open and maintain its own bank account.

To fulfil the legal requirements, we had to adjust the existing Constitution to comply with Spanish Law 1/2002 of March 22. Some statements in the IAG Constitution were inconsistent with these requirements. Therefore, having no power to change the Constitution without the approval of the IAG Council, a new Constitution was drafted, modelled to the closest extent possible on the existing Constitution. We decided to do so in order to speed up the process which otherwise would take another three years to complete. The new Constitution will be presented to the national delegates for formal approval at the IAG Council Meeting at the Regional Conference on Geomorphology in Athens, in September 2019, in order to complete the key step in the history of the International Association of Geomorphologists. For the first time since its foundation, the IAG has become a formally recognised, legitimate body representing geomorphologists across the world. This may seem like unnecessary bureaucracy, but to fulfil our goals and continue operations this was absolutely necessary. In fact, we are now approached by other scientific organisations seeking advice in this respect.

As a consequence, in future the IAG will be entitled to participate as a fully-recognized and registered association in a variety of actions, projects and initiatives for which it was not eligible before. We are confident that our Association and the wider international geomorphological community will benefit from new opportunities thanks to the new status of the IAG.

Thus, we are delighted to inform you of this important achievement and we all look forward to a bright future of the Association, in a world which is becoming more and more complex and turbulent.

Mauro Soldati
IAG President and on behalf of the IAG Executive Committee

PS: the announcement is available on IAG letterhead paper at the following link

http://www.geomorph.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IAG-presidential-announcement-08_2019.pdf