UIS e bile Setho ho Sehlopha sa 3 ho tloha ka 2010 mme e bile Setho sa Sehlopha sa 1 ka 2024.
"Union Internationale de Spéléologie" (UIS) ke mokhatlo o ka sehloohong oa lefats'e o khothalletsang le ho ntšetsa pele boithuto ba mahlale le ho hlahloba mahaha le likarolo tsa karst. UIS e thehiloe ka 1965 ho theha tšebelisano pakeng tsa bafuputsi ba lehaha le karst mahlakoreng ka bobeli a Iron Curtain, 'me e se e fetohile mokhatlo o matla oa saense o nang le linaha tse ka bang 60 le mekhatlo e mengata e amanang le eona lefatšeng ka bophara. UIS e ngolisitsoe Slovenia ho tloha ka 2002 mme e na le ntlo-kholo ea eona ea ka mehla Setsing sa Lipatlisiso sa Karst ZRC SAZU e Postojna, Slovenia. E kopanya bafuputsi le bafuputsi ba lehaha, ke hore, litsebi tsa spele, ho tsoa mafapheng a fapaneng a ts'ebetso ea mahlale bakeng sa lithuto tse fapaneng le tse fapaneng.
Libaka tsa Karst li koahela hoo e ka bang 20% ea sebaka se omileng sa lefats'e mme se kenya letsoho ho fihla ho 25% ea phepelo ea metsi a nooang lefatšeng. Mahaheng a fumaneha mafikeng a karst (boholo ba limestones, evaporites) le basalts, hammoho le leqhoa la leqhoa, libakeng tsohle tsa leholimo, ke hore linaheng tse ngata tsa lefats'e. Patlisiso ea bona, litokomane le ts'ireletso ea bona ke tsa bohlokoa lefatšeng ka bophara.
Ho tloha ka 1953, naha e khethiloeng e le setho e hlophisitse Likopano tsa Machaba tsa Speleology (ICS) ka mor'a lilemo tse ling le tse ling tse 'nè le ho phatlalatsa liketsahalo tse ngata tsa liketsahalo tsena. Liketsahalo tsena li bokella li-speleologists tse tsoang lefats'eng lohle ho fapanyetsana tlhahisoleseding le ho theha mabitso. UIS e boetse e na le likomishene tse ka bang 20 tsa mahlale (mohlala, tsa geomorphology, cartography, biology, kapa informatics) hape e etsa merero ea nako e telele, joalo ka bibliography, standardization, le digitization. Likhomishene tse ngata tsa UIS hangata li hlophisa likopano tsa machaba kapa lithupelo ka lihlooho tse itseng. UIS e boetse e tšehetsa likopano tsa saense tsa machaba le tsa naha le liboka tse ling, tse kang International Karst School "Classical Karst".
Ntle le lipatlisiso, ts'ireletso le paballo ea mahaha le tikoloho ea karst ke taba e kholo ea UIS. Ho fihlela sena, UIS e sebelisana le UNESCO, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Show Caves Association (ISCA), International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) Karst Commission, International Geographic Union (IGU) Karst Commission, Bat Conservation International, le tse ling. Ho feta moo, balekane ba UIS le Komiti ya Maemo ya Tekatekano ya Bong ho Saense (SCGES). UIS e boetse e hokahane le mekhatlo ea naha (mohlala, likolo tsa thuto ea mahlale, liunivesithi, litsi tsa lipatlisiso) le mekhatlo e meng ea machaba ea thuto ea mahlale e sebetsanang le lihlooho tse tšoanang. UIS e boloka likamano tse haufi-ufi le mekhatlo e meng ea machaba le ea libaka ea speleological e sebetsanang le libaka tse khethehileng tsa libaka, tse kang European Speleological Federation, Asian Union of Speleology, le Balkan Speleological Union.
UIS e hatisa International Journal of Speleology (Earth-Surface Processes, Q2; Geology, Q2), UIS Bulletin ea makhetlo a mabeli, le Speleological Abstracts. Habeli ka selemo, e fana ka lithuso tse nyane bakeng sa mosebetsi oa mahlale le likopano tse ipapisitseng le mehala ea machaba bakeng sa litlhahiso kapa e tšehetsa merero ea motho ka mong ka kopo ea e 'ngoe ea likomishene tsa eona tsa mahlale. Lilemo tse ling le tse ling tse 'ne, ho fanoa ka likhau ho ICS bakeng sa katleho e ntle ea lipatlisiso, lingoliloeng le li-poster.
Ka 2021/2022, UIS e ile ea hlophisa Selemo sa Machabeng sa Mahaha le Karst. Tlas'a lepetjo la "Hlahloba - Utloisisa - Sireletsa", litho le balekane ba mekhatlo e tsoang lefats'eng lohle ba tsebisitse sechaba liketsahalong tse fetang 1,200 ka bomong ka bohlokoa ba lefats'e ba karst le mahaha: e le libaka tsa tikoloho, mehloli ea metsi a nooang, tšimoloho ea setso sa batho, hape e le libaka tsa khale tsa khale-paleontological.