Society information

The International Society of Limnology (SIL) , founded in 1922, is the oldest and only international society entirely devoted to inland waters. Its mission is to further the study of all aspects of limnology, primarily through the organization of biennial congresses to promote scientific exchange among those pursuing purely academic research and those concerned with practical problems of inland waters, such as global warming, eutrophication, pollution, water supply and fishery.

SIL is international. Perhaps better said "supranational" in the words of one of our founders, A. Thienemann. Currently SIL has 1250 members from 70 countries.

SIL is limnological. The interests and activities of SIL span all inland waters. Topics of current interest such as global warming, the European Framework Directive, aquatic birds, invasive species, long-term monitoring programs – to name a few, have been addressed recently. Some of the activity on those topics is particularly associated with working groups.

SIL is really SILTA, theoretical and applied. A significant portion of our membership is integrating fundamental research-driven understanding into practical questions of human usage of freshwater resources. Much greater emphasis is being given to the integration of exponentially expanding human activities into the composite analyses of freshwater ecosystems and their effective management than was the case previously. We have been attacking these enormous problems from many directions, particularly by encouraging interdisciplinary coupled research developments on complex ecosystems of great biological and economic importance.

SIL is scientific. This statement is foremost and fundamental, and clearly must remain the foundation of SILTA. If the scientific foundation of SIL is weakened or compromised in any manner, the demise of the association is certain.

SIL will be rendered irrelevant without a scientific journal. The only important communication in science is the written, published record in scientific journals. Oral presentations are heard by only a minuscule audience and the words quickly dissipate. Abstracts are not true published records. Research that is not published and communicated to the scientific community in written form is not completed. The interactive scientific expertise that has been nurtured and networked over close to a millennium of SIL activities and congresses will simply dissipate and not participate without the scientific structure. SIL members retain their right to present and publish a scientific contribution in a quality scientific journal.

SIL has a primary responsibility to provide quality scientific publications. Until recently, SIL published the outcome of its congresses in thick volumes of Proceedings. Since 2011 The SIL Proceedings were replaced by the peer-reviewed journal, Inland Waters. The journal promotes understanding of inland aquatic ecosystems and their management. Its subject matter parallels the content of SIL Congresses, and submissions based on presentations are encouraged. The journal also aims to publish articles resulting from plenary lectures presented at SIL Congresses and occasional synthesis articles, as well as issues dedicated to a particular theme, specific water body, or aquatic ecosystem in a geographical area. Publishing open access is encouraged.

Now online: the full collection of Proceedings (Verhandlungen) and Communications (Mitteilungen) from the International Society of Limnology, spanning 1922-2010. These volumes have been digitised for the first time and include papers covering the entire spectrum of limnology.