Soil Science Society of Bangladesh

Soil Science Society of Bangladesh the only national level organisation of the soil scientists of the country. The Soil Science Society of Pakistan was founded in 1958 in Dhaka and a regional branch was later established in what was then West Pakistan. In the First South East Asia Soil Science Conference-1957 held in Manila, Philippines it was unanimously resolved that societies should be formed in all countries of the region to facilitate holding of such periodical conferences. Dr m osman ghani took up the matter with the active support of Dr m amirul islam, Dr aqm bazlul karim and Dr AKM Fazlul Huq. Dr Ghani became the founder President and Dr AKM Fazlul Huq became General Secretary of the newly formed Pakistan Soil Science Society. In 1972, with the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign independent country, the society was renamed the 'Soil Science Society of Bangladesh', with Dr Bazlul Karim as its President and Dr IU Ahmed as the General Secretary.

The society is responsible primarily for promoting the development of Soil Science in Bangladesh. It disseminates knowledge of soil science to the public; encourages basic and applied research in Soil Science; promotes and safeguards the interests of the soil scientists of the country. It also publishes a scientific journal twice a year, and organises symposiums, seminars and talks.

The Society contains four types of membership, namely, ordinary, honorary, associate and institutional. Persons having MSc/MSc (Ag) in Soil Science and also actively engaged in research in soil science are eligible for ordinary membership. A person of eminence may be made an Honorary member for his contributions to soil science. Institutional members are the firms, partnership companies, institutions or corporate bodies which are engaged in the promotion of soil science research and studies. Students of soil science in the universities/colleges/institutions are eligible for associate membership.

In recent years the Society has expanded its activities to the international sphere and raised its stature both at home and abroad. It was affiliated to the International Society of Soil Science in 1962. In 1984 the society organised an International symposium in Dhaka on 'Soil Test Crop Response Studies' in collaboration with ISSS Commission IV on soil fertility and in 1992 it organised another International Symposium on 'Soil Management for Intensive Cropping in the Tropics and Sub-tropics' in collaboration with ISSS Commission IV. During the long period between 1958 and 2001, the Society has organised a number of lectures/ symposiums/seminars on topics of national and international importance. Some of the topics were 'Need for Modernisation of Soil Science Syllabi at the Graduate and Post Graduate levels', 'Soil Problems in Bangladesh'; 'Land Degradation and Soil Pollution in Bangladesh'; 'Effect of Flood on Soil Properties'. [Aminul Islam and SM Imamul Huq]