2011. Plans for a second volume of the "PaleoParks--The Preservation and Conservation of Fossil Sites World-wide" E-Book series are now underway. About 7 papers have been promised so far, and other authors are being solicited for contributions, particularly on invertebrate, microfossil, bacterial and algal sites, although any topics are welcome. For examples of the kinds of papers sought, see volume 1. These papers are not scientific papers per se, hence will not be reviewed scientifically but will only be reviewed for appropriateness and composition in English. Interested paleontologistis, amateur or professional, please contact Jere Lipps.
2011. The first World Conference on Paleontology and Stratigraphy (WCPS2011) will be held in Thailand from November 28 to December 2, 2011, and will feature a session on PaleoParks and the preservation and protection of fossil sites. WCPS is an international conference held in order to celebrate His Majesty the King's 84th Anniversary on December 5, 2011.
2011. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, meeting in Las Vegas, NV, USA, will host a workshop on fossil site protection featuring the PaleoParks Initiative of IPA on November 2, 2011.
2011. In July 2011, Jere Lipps visited the island of Santa Maria in the Azores at the invitation of Professor Sergio Avila of the Azores University. This was an international field meeting (8th international workshop "Palaeontology in Atlantic Islands") to examine fossil localities throughout the island and ranging in age from Miocene to Pleistocene. Sergio and Jere agreed that the island as a whole was worthy of designation as a PaleoPark. The residents of the island are solidly behind the idea, as well as government officials of the Azores. Although the Azores are already a GeoPark, Santa Maria is especially noteworthy for its fossils (whales, marine invertebrates, microfossils and algae) because that part of the island chain has been uplifted, an unusual feature for oceanic islands. A major new paper describing the proposed PaleoPark is underway and will be announced upon it's completion.
2010. A PaleoParks workshop was held at the 3d International Palaeontological Congress in London in 2010. It was attended by about 30 people representing 25 countries. Jere Lipps presented a general discussion of the aims and goals of IPA's initiative, and held a long question and answer session. The general consensus was that Paleo Parks is a good idea because so many sites around the world are threatened by destruction in a variety of ways, and a true international effort should be made to catalog and preserve those worthy sites. Many additional sites were described by the audience in various countries (UAE, Egypt, India, Australia, South Africa, USA, UK, among others). A second volume of the "PaleoParks--The Preservation and Conservation of Fossil Sites World-wide" E-Book series was announced and authors were solicited for a variety of topics.
2009. A special E-Book at Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology, entitled "PaleoParks--The Preservation and Conservation of Fossil Sites World-wide" was published on-line in late 2009. It has free access and the chapters (11) are downloadable as pdfs.
2008. The IPA was a major participant in the International Geological Congress held in Oslo, Norway, 5-14 August 2008. A PaleoParks Initiative workshop was held at this meeting on August 10. For additional information concerning the PaleoParks Initiaive and the results of this woorkshop please see "Appendix 4: Report on PaleoParks Workshop at 33rd International Geological Congress" in the 2008 IPA annual report.