Constitution, adopted by ad hoc working party 20/10/02, approved by Committee
5/11/02, and adopted by the membership at the Annual General Meeting held November,
2002.
- Authority issuing the Constitution
- Name
- Status
- Purpose of the Group
- Membership of the Group
- Governance of the Group
- Annual and Extraordinary General Meeting
- Finance
- Bye-laws
- Amendments to the Constitution
- Dissolution of the Group
1. Authority
issuing the Constitution
The authority for issuing this Constitution consists of the Chairperson, Committee
and Members of the Group in consequence of the Annual General Meeting held on 4
December 1984, as amended at the Annual General Meeting on 26 November 2002.
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2. Name
The name of the Group shall be: The Emirates Natural History Group (Al Ain),
referred to forthwith as the Group.
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3. Status
The Group shall be affiliated to the Emirates Natural History Group (Abu Dhabi),
but it shall be an independent unit as regards administration and finance.
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4. Purpose
of the Group
The purpose of the Group shall be to give encouragement and assistance towards
the appreciation and study of the natural history, natural sciences and history
of the United Arab Emirates and neighbouring states. It shall endeavour to exchange
findings with other natural history organisations in the Gulf, and to publish recordings
and other information through its Newsletter, Email Bulletins and Website.
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5. Membership
of the Group
Membership shall be open to any person who shares the interests of the Group
as stated above (Clause 4). There shall be Individual, Family and Honorary Membership.
Each category shall be entitled to one vote in meetings (Clauses 7, 10, 11).
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6. Governance
of the Group
The Group shall be governed by a Committee elected yearly at the Annual General
Meeting. The Committee shall consist of the following members;
- Chairperson
- Vice-Chairperson
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Membership Secretary
- Environment Officer
- Newsletter Editor
- Librarian
- Ordinary Members
Members are able to attend Committee meetings as non-voting members.
A quorum of the Committee shall be five Members, one of whom must be the Chairperson
or Vice-Chairperson, or their designated replacements.
The responsibilities and powers of the Committee shall be specified by the Constitution
and Bye-Laws.
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7. Annual
and Extraordinary General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held in November each year. Notice
of an AGM shall be given to members by email at least thirty
days in advance. The AGM shall include the following items:
- Chairperson's Report
- Treasurer's Report
Election of Committee members shall be by majority vote (see Clause 5). Voting
on other matters, except amendments to the Constitution (see Clause 10) or dissolution
(Clause 11), shall also be by majority vote. Voting by proxy shall be allowed.
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by the Committee at any
time or upon the request in writing of not less than twenty Members. The minimum
period of notice to Members of an EGM shall be fourteen days.
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8. Finance
Accounts of income and expenditure shall be maintained by the Treasurer and audited each year within four weeks
preceding each AGM.
Cheques issued by the Group must be signed by two Committee Members who have
been specifically designated by the Committee.
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9. Bye-laws
Bye-laws may be adopted, amended and revoked from time
to time by majority vote of the Committee, or by the Membership through an AGM or
EGM. In the event of such amendment, the Membership shall be informed in the next
Newsletter.
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10. Amendments
to the Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the Membership or the Committee,
through an AGM or an EGM, and always with fourteen days notice. Decisions will be
made by a two-thirds majority of the total Membership in attendance at the meeting (see Clause 5).
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11. Dissolution
of the Group
The Group can only be dissolved by decision of an AGM or EGM, by a two-thirds
majority of the total Membership (see Clause 5).
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- Fees
- Honorary Membership
- Newsletter
- Activities
- Dress code
- Photography
- Collection of specimens
- Library
- Health and Safety
- Behaviour code on field trips and activities
- Infractions
1. Fees
Annual membership fees shall be payable as follows:
- Family membership: Dh150
- Individual membership: Dh100
Fees may be modified from time to time by the Committee.
Membership is for one year beginning from September 1 each year. Membership does not automatically carry over to the next year. All dues must be paid in order for members to be eligible to stand for the committee and to vote at the AGM and EGM’s.
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2. Honorary
membership
Honorary Membership may be awarded at the discretion of the Committee to people
who have made a significant contribution to natural history in the Gulf region.
Any Member may nominate a person for Honorary
Membership accompanied by a written submission
outlining the justification for the honour. A Special
Interest Group shall be formed from members of the
committee to review and make a recommendation to
the committee.
Such Honorary Membership shall be reported at the AGM or in the Newsletter.
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3. Newsletter
The Group shall aim to publish a monthly Newsletter to inform Members of forthcoming
events and to report on previous ones. It shall attempt to promote knowledge of
the natural history of the Gulf region. Any Member or non-member may contribute,
at the Editor's discretion. The Editor reserves the right to amend or abridge articles
at his/her discretion.
The Newsletter shall be distributed free to
Members by email and posted on the Website.
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4. Activities
The Group shall aim to provide evening meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays
of each month, except in July, August and December, when one meeting on the last
Tuesday shall be held, and at least one field trip per month. Events and competitions
may be organised at the Committee's discretion and may be suggested by Members.
All meetings and field trips should conform to the Purpose of the Group.
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5. Dress code
Members shall normally observe the following dress code during field trips:
Men: Top which covers the shoulders and upper arms
and long shorts or trousers.
Women: Top which covers the shoulders and upper arms,
and trousers or skirts which cover the knees.
Field trip leaders and organizers have the right to
refuse members to attend activities if they fail to
comply with the dress code.
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6. Photography
Members shall exercise care not to offend when taking photographs of people and
ask permission beforehand.
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7. Collection
of specimens
Members shall exercise care not to disturb the environment or national patrimony
by removal of plants, artifacts including pottery, or other specimens, even when
the aim is to establish an identity. In case of doubt, especially on genuine scientific
grounds, the decision of the field trip leader shall be final.
The group may keep and maintain any collections
previously made as required. From time to time
these may be loaned or donated to museums or
oganisations who can make better use of their
contents. Collections that are kept by the group may
be used from time to time for educating members
about relevant subjects.
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8. Library
The Group may maintain a library when
resources permit. Books may be acquired either
by donation or purchase by the committee of
specific relevant texts. A committee member
shall be appointed to act as Librarian who shall
maintain the collection and monitor loans. An
online catalogue should be maintained where
possible to allow members to browse the
collection.
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9. Health and Safety
The primary responsibility for personal health
and safety on all field trips and activities lies
with the individual. The Committee and field trip
and activity organizers cannot be held
responsible for occurrences of recklessness and
negligence by participants.
Health and safety, however, is a primary concern
with respect to organizing field trips and
activities and all steps shall be taken by field trip
and activity organizers to ensure participants are
appraised of all reasonable, expected risks where
possible. This is to be done in the following
ways:
• Maintaining an up-to-date
document recording safety
procedures and precautions.
• Reminding members of risks and
issues when notifying of
upcoming events.
• Conducting reconnaissance trips
where possible.
• Considered and careful reminders
to field trip and activity
participants during trips.
Any field trip or activity organizer maintains the
right to cancel any outing at any time if the
health and safety of participants is compromised.
Any Group members or trip participants who are
considered to be contributing to an unsafe
situation may be subject to the measures
outlined under the provisions of Clause 11.
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10. Behaviour
code on field trips and activities
The Committee or a field trip leader may restrict the number of people on trips.
The Committee or a field trip leader may deny any person from joining a trip in
the event of concern over dress or behaviour. In any case, the decision of the trip
leader shall be final.
Members shall not act in any way that might offend or interfere with the comfort
of local people or others on field trips. Members shall be responsible for removing
their litter and leaving camp and picnic sites tidy.
Alcoholic beverages are not acceptable on any
field trips or activities.
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11. Infractions
In the event of infraction of the codes described in Clauses 5 to 8, a trip leader
will report the case to the Committee, who may decide to suspend the offending Member(s)
from further trips, suspend their Membership, or take other appropriate action.
This course of action can be taken for any other
incidents that the committee is made aware of.
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