France HABE Prize 2025

INTRODUCTION

The France HABE Prize is awarded by the Karst and Cave Protection Commission of the International Union of Speleology (UIS).

Its purpose is to promote the protection of karst and caves for generations to come. Their natural legacy are proven sources of increasingly rich information about the history of our planet and humanity, enabling people to act more thoughtfully, efficiently, and sustainably for the future of our environment.

The prize is named in memory and honor of Dr. France HABE († 10/12/1999) of Slovenia (Yugoslavia), who among his other many accomplishments served as President of the UIS Protection Department (1973-1997).

The Prize will be proposed every years. It will be awarded, if a worthy candidate if nominated and accepted.

The allocation of quadrennial prizes will be formalized at the International Congresses of Speleology (ICS) at the time of the second General Assembly of the UIS. A description of the person or organization who receives the Prize, and the reasons for receiving it, will be published on the UIS website and in the UIS Bulletin. The Jury will be made up of at least three members of the UIS on Karst and Cave Protection Commission.

Nominations of candidates for the Prize will be sent to the President of the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission no later than May 20th of the current year. The Jury will review the nominations and send their decision to the UIS Bureau. The Jury is not required to award the Prize every year if the nominees are not considered worthy.

REGULATIONS OF THE FRANCE HABE PRIZE awarded by THE KARST AND CAVE

PROTECTION COMMISSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF SPELEOLOGY

1. History

On September 30, 2012, the UIS Bureau granted the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission a budget of €250 to create a Prize that will be awarded every 4 years at the ICS during the second General Assembly of the UIS. It was awarded for the first time in 2013.

At its meeting in Jully 2013, the UIS Bureau has agreed that this award will be awarded each year in the future.

2. Subject

The France HABE Prize of the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission aims to promote the protection of karst and caves. It will reward the best or most important action, concrete idea, or publication for the protection of a cave, karstic zone, or underground environment in general.

3. Award

The France HABE Prize is currently awarded each year.

The amount of the Prize is currently fixed at €300. The UIS Bureau will determine the Prize amount for subsequent years. The France HABE Prize is open to any person, club, local federation, commission, or national federation, with preference given to those belonging to one of the member nations of the UIS.

The Prize will be awarded to only one person or organization for a specific action. Honorary Mentions and congratulations to other deserving works could also be announced when the Prize is awarded.

4. Participation and registration conditions

Participation in the contest is free to any person and/or association and implies acceptance, without any reservations, of these regulations, the purpose of this Prize, and the decisions made by the Jury.

Nominations must reach, by electronic means, the President of the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission. For the 2025 Prize, to Jean-Pierre Bartholeyns (jp.bartholeyns@gmail.com) by May 20, 2025.

The work will be presented in English with a sufficiently explicit summary in English and in one of the other official languages of the UIS (French, German, Italian, Spanish or Russian).

Illustrations must be sent, off-text, in JPEG format and photographs with mention of photographers’ names.

5. Submission of works

Nominators are solely responsible for delivering their nominations to the President of the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission by the designated deadline by e-mail. Large digital files should be sent via We transfer (https://wetransfer.com/) or other mutually agreeable means. The nominating materials should include at least the following:

Digital version of the work if available (for example, Word documents, photographs, illustrations, video, links to websites with other pertinent information);

Registration form completed and signed by the nominator;

Photograph of the nominated person or group;

10 to 15 sentences description of the importance of the work;

The Commission President will send an acknowledgement of nomination materials received.

6. Composition and functioning of the Jury

The Jury is made up of at least three members: the President of the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission, and two members of the Scientific Committee of this Commission. Each member of the Jury has a vote. The votes are done by simple majority. If necessary, the Jury can be advised by experts who do not have a vote.

Each Jury member has to rank all of the nominees. The President then adds all of the ranks and the nominee with the highest score wins.

If the absence or the quality of work does not justify it, the Jury will not award the Prize. The deliberations of the Jury are secret and no appeal is possible.

The UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission will ensure there are sufficient jury members and they work within their deadlines. It will replace inefficient members or members who are not able to participate.

The members of the Jury will base their judgment on the originality, the dynamism, the active aspect or at least on the quality of the effort expended for this candidacy. They will be particularly attentive to the goals and objectives, with the ecological, “renewable and transferable” aspect, to the durability of the subject as well as its “communication” section (public concerned, message to be transferred, supports used), involvement of partners and cavers themselves.

7. Proclamation

When the Jury gives its decision, the President of the Jury will promptly inform the UIS Bureau. The name of the Prize recipient will be proclaimed no later than July 15 of the current year; deserving competitors will also be congratulated.

The Prize recipient will be informed personally, by email, by the President of the Jury promptly after the Jury’s decision. The recipient will be asked to keep the decision confidential until it is officially announced. The Jury will publish the name of the Prize recipient and will congratulate the other candidates on the UIS website and Bulletin. The result of this contest will be widely circulated via the caving media.

8. Incompatibility

No person or organization will receive the France HABE Prize twice consecutively.

The members of the Jury abstain from taking part in the contest.

9. Exposure

The opening of each session of the contest will be extensively announced by the UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission by any means of communication, including its website, with any organization or any person potentially interested in caves; this text will be available to everyone.

Once the Prize is awarded, the recipients commit themselves to clearly showing the logo of the UIS as well as mentioning the “France HABE Prize from the Commission on Karst and Cave Protection of the International Union of Speleology” on all publications relating to the work for which the Prize was awarded.

The winner will submit, within one month of their nomination, an article written in English for the UIS bulletin.

10. Final provisions

The UIS Karst and Cave Protection Commission assures that it is entirely impartial to the participants as to the progress of the contest. The contest organizers and their partners cannot be held responsible for any error or omission. Once the call for nominations is announced for the Prize, no information relating to the Prize will be changed until the recipient is announced; Prize rules may be changed afterward and before the next call for nominations is announced. No information relating this Prize will be exchanged, neither in writing, nor by phone. In the case of disagreement on the interpretation of the regulations, the text in the French language shall be definitive.

11. SUPPORT

The partners of the France Habe Prize are:

The International Union of Spelelogy

RESSEG - https://www.instagram.com/resseg/?hl=es

CYANSKY https://cyanskylighting.com/product-category/

France HABE Prize 2025

Form to be returned by email to:	UNION INTERNATIONALE DE SPÉLÉOLOGIE

Karst and Cave Protection Commission

Jean-Pierre Bartholeyns

jp.bartholeyns@gmail.com

NAME AND GIVEN NAME OF PERSON MAKING THE NOMINATION: ……………………………………………………………………………..............................................

ADDRESS: …………………………………..…………………………………………………..............

POSTAL CODE: …………..............TOWN: ………………………COUNTRY:..…………………...

TELEPHONE No: ………………………. CELL/MOBILE PHONE: ………………………………..

E-MAIL: ………………………………………….

NAME AND GIVEN NAME OF PERSON OR ORGANIZATION NOMINATED FOR THE FRANCE HABE PRIZE: ……………………………………………………………………………........................

ADDRESS: …………………………………..………………………………………………….............

POSTAL CODE: ………….............TOWN: ………………………….	COUNTRY: ……………….

TELEPHONE No: ………………………. CELL/MOBILE PHONE: ………………………………..

E-MAIL: ………………………………………….

The nominator certifies by signature below to being aware of the rules of the France HABE Prize and to accepting all of its conditions.

Signature of the nominator: ………………………………………………………

Date: ……………………………………………….