The UIS Commission on Cave Mineralogy (Working Group on Speleothem Protection and Conservation, Philippe Axell, Chair) is committed to the long-term goal of stopping the export/import of speleothems worldwide. To accomplish this goal we are trying to gain support from cavers in as many countries around the world as possible. Some of our goals at present are:

1. Construct a "network" of interested and qualified people to be active in setting up conservation laws in each country and to work internationally to stop the transportation of speleothems.
2. To construct a list of caves in each country needing special protection.
3. To put together a list of laws "on the books" of each country so we know where we "are at" at the present time.

Philippe Axell, Chair of the Protection Working Group has established an automatic mailing list, so that any message sent to this address will automatically be sent to all active members of the Working Group. To correspond to each other it is expedient to use this number:

So, here are the contacts I know of in countries around the world:

        AUSTRALIA: Peter Matthews, Neville Michie, Jill Rowling.
        BELGIUM: Philippe Axell
        BRAZIL: Augusto Auler
        BULGARIA: Yavor Shopov
        CHINA: Song Lin Hua, Yuan Daoxian
        CZECH REPUBLIC: Pavel Bosak
        FRANCE: Patrick Cabrol
        GERMANY: Stephan Kempe
        HUNGARY: Katalin Takacsne Bolner
        ISRAEL: Amos Frumkin
        ITALY: Arrigo Cigna, Paolo Forti
        JAPAN: Naruhiko Kashima
        NEW ZEALAND: Paul Williams
        NORWAY: Stein-Erik Lauritzen
        POLAND: Michal Gradzinski
        ROMANIA: Gabriel Diaconu, Bogdan Onac
        RUSSIA: Viktor Korshunov, Vladimir Maltsev
        SAUDI ARABIA: John Pint
        SOUTH AFRICA: Jacques Martini
        SPAIN: Carmen Domingues Alvarez, Jose Maria Calaforra
        UKRAINE: Alexamder Klimchouk
        USA: Bill and Peri Frantz, George Huppert, Dave Jagnow, 
             Phil LaMoreaux,  George Veni, Jim and Val Werker
        VENEZUELA: Franco Urbani

Email:

        Carmen Dominguez Alvarez <mcda@gugu.usal.es>
        Augusto Auler <paiano@br.homeshopping.com.br>,
        Philippe Axell/Cabrol <phil@axell.org>,
        Katalin Takacsne Bolner <katalin.bolner@ktm.x400gw.itb.hu>,
        Pavel Bosak <INST@gli.cas.cz>, 
        Jose Maria Calaforra <jcalafor@ualm.es>,
        Arrigo Cigna <cigna@biemmenet.it>,
        UIS Conservation <uis-conservation@axell.org>,
        Gabriel Diaconu <OTILIA@meteo.inmh.ro>,
        Paolo Forti <forti@geomin.unibo.it>,
        Bill and Peri Frantz <FRANTZ@NETCOM.COM>,
        Amos Frumkin <msamos@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il>,
        Michal Gradzinski <GRADZINM@ing.uj.edu.pl>,
        George Huppert <huppert@mail.uwlax.edu>,
        Dave Jagnow <djagnow@roadrunner.com>,
        Naruhiko Kashima <kashima@agr.ehime-u.ac.jp>,
        Alexander Klimchouk <klim@klim.carrier.kiev.ua>,
        Viktor Korshunov <vvkor@fadr.msu.ru>, 
        Phil LaMoreaux <pela@dbtech.net>,
        Stein-Erik Lauritzen <Stein.Lauritzen@geol.uib.no>,
        Vladimir Maltsev <vl@maltsev.mian.su>,
        Jacques Martini <gventer@geoscience.org.za>,
        Peter Matthews <matthews@melbpc.org.au>,
        Neville Michie <neville@CIS.MQ.EDU.AU>, 
        Bogdan Onac <pbo1@psu.edu>,
        John Pint <JohnPint@naseej.com.sa>, 
        Jill Rowling <Rowling@ali.com.au>,
        Charlie Self <self@globalnet.co.uk>,
        Yavor Shopov <yyshopov@phys.uni-sofia.bg>,
        Lin Hua Song <songjyn@sun10.sti.ac.cn>,
        Franco Urbani <urbani@cantv.net>, 
        George Veni <gveni@flash.net>,
        Jim/Val Werker <werks@worldnet.att.net>,
        Paul Williams <p.williams@auckland.ac.nz>,
        Daoxian Yuan <dxyuan@osmanthus.gxnu.edu.cn>

I realize that many of you on my list are scientists who do not want to become actively involved in speleothem conservation. If this is the case, I would ask you to PLEASE identify some caver in your country who IS interested in our goals (please foreward this E-mail on to them)!

If you are NOT interested in being in this Working Group, then please tell us via the automatic mailing list #, and we will take your name off the list.

• add your name, and the names and E-mails of other interested people, to the network of E-mail addresses,
• write a brief summary of the laws in your country pertaining to speleothem protection (if you know them) and
• give us a list of caves in your country needing protection,
• write up a brief synopsis of special problems that your country has with regard to speleothem protection and how might these problems be solved, in your opinion.

If you know of interested cavers in your, or other, countries not already in the Working Group, then we would appreciate you forewarding this letter on to them. It is only in this way that we can establish a world-wide network of people needed to attain our final goals.

PLEASE, do NOT send your response directly to me. Send it either directly to Phil Axell (E-mail number above) or to the automatic mailing list number. And thanks for any help you can give us.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.