POTSDAM -- Clarkson University professor of biology Michael Twiss is now serving as president of the International Association for Great Lakes Research.

IAGLR is a scientific organization made up of researchers studying the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, other large lakes of the world, and their watersheds, as well as those with an interest in such research. IAGLR members encompass all scientific disciplines with a common interest in the management of large lake ecosystems on many levels.

Twiss plans to build on several initiatives he led last year to strengthen the association, including increasing international representation on its board of directors.

“We now have a board member, Dr. Richard Ogutu-Ohwayo, from Uganda, a country that shares several great lakes with its neighboring countries,” Twiss said. “Freshwater resources around the globe face similar threats. Reaching out to our fellow scientists in other countries to share our knowledge will help us to better understand the world’s great lake ecosystems.”

IAGLR is collaborating with the European Large Lakes Society to host a joint conference this September at Evian, on the shore of Lake Geneva, an international water shared by Switzerland and France. At the conference Twiss will co-chair a session focusing on governance of Great Lakes.

“Environmental governance is the structure and processes by which we make decisions and share powers with respect to environmental concerns; concerns are focused on social and political as well as ecological issues. It is a combination of cooperation, research and action,” Twiss said.

“IAGLR has a solid track record of contributing to environmental governance gained through the model international cooperation between Canada and the United States regarding Great Lakes water resource management that we can share and learn from other nations’ experiences. IAGLR works to help maintain this model by facilitating communication amongst researchers and managers in academia, government, tribal nations, and industry,” he said.

IAGLR was established in 1967.