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SGU’s international cooperation on R&D

Owing to the nature of its activities SGU is very much dependent on international contacts and impulses. Geology is an international science, and geological formations do not respect national boundaries. The solution to a geological problem in Sweden may be found in another part of the world where the geological conditions are similar or where processes are in progress that took place in Sweden at an earlier stage of its geological development. To some extent, Sweden is more dependent on well-developed international contacts than many other larger countries that have more resources.

Forms of cooperation:

  • Participation in international conferences, symposia and excursions
  • Researcher exchanges and researcher visits
  • Close cooperation with other geological surveys (both European and non-European)
  • Participation in international cooperation projects
  • Participation in committees and working groups in international organizations

International programmes and organizations

Some of the international programmes and organizations in which SGU participates in one way or another are mentioned below.

Nordic cooperation

Given the geographical and cultural affinity between them, it is natural that Nordic countries should cooperate with one another, and Nordic contacts and cooperation will continue to be important despite the prospect of ever closer collaboration in Europe.

In connection with the recently completed Nordkalott and Central Fennoscandia projects, geological maps containing descriptions of those regions were produced. The purpose of these projects was to provide basic geological materials for use in the environmental and natural resources sector, in connection with prospecting for ores and industrial minerals and spatial planning, and for geomedical applications. Geological expertise has become increasingly important in these areas in recent years. In view of the increasing importance of environmental aspects, an environmental geological element was incorporated into the Central Fennoscandia project. Continued cooperation is now contemplated within the framework of the Southern Fennoscandia project.

Non-Nordic cooperation

SGU collaborates with geological surveys and institutions in Western countries, but also in other parts of the world. The Western European geological surveys cooperate within the framework of the Forum of European Geological Surveys (FOREGS), the main purpose of which is to provide a forum for information exchange and to carry out cooperation projects. The corresponding organization for geological surveys in the EU Member States is EuroGeoSurveys, in which SGU plays an active part. This organization has a joint office in Brussels.

China is playing an increasingly important role. In the last ten years SGU has methodically established a network of contacts in China, as a result of which China has applied to SIDA for project funding. One reason for establishing these contacts with China is SGU’s interest in the research conducted by Chinese scientists on the connection between geology and impacts on human and animal health.

An organization that is of particular interest to SGU is the Committee for Co-Ordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas (CCOP), an umbrella organization for 11 development cooperation partners, i.e. Papua Nya Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and China. Japan is also a member country. Denmark, Norway and Sweden are cooperating countries, which means that SGU is represented in the CCOP. Through this organization SGU has access to CCOP’s broad network of contacts in Southeast Asia and the Pacific rim.

Medical geology

SGU is active and leader in international initiatives in medical geology. Because of the importance of geological factors on health, the IUGS commission COGEOENVIRONMENT (Commission on Geological Sciences for Environmental Planning) established in 1996 an International Working Group on Medical Geology led from the Geological Survey of Sweden. In 2000 a new IGCP project was also established by UNESCO; ”IGCP#454 Medical Geology”, also this chaired from SGU involving co chairs from Canada and UK. The primary aim of the projects were to bring together, at the global scale, scientists working in this field in developing countries with their colleagues in other parts of the world stressing the importance of geoscientific factors that affect the health of humans and animals. The International Council of Science (ICSU) also sponsors international short courses in this subject, a cooperation involving SGU, United States Geological Survey and the US Armed Forces of Pathology in Washington DC. As a result of the significant achievements the Working Group was given a Special Project status by the IUGS in 2002 operating directly under the IUGS, chaired by SGU. In 2004 a decision was also taken in forming a new association: International Medical Geology Association, IMGA, chaired by SGU. Further information: www.medicalgeology.org.



Geological Survey of Sweden, Box 670, 751 28 Uppsala, tel: +46 18 17 90 00, fax: +46 17 92 10, e-mail: sgu@sgu.se