121 



SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



total cnviionincntal R&D doUac to policy research and assessment, including 

 studies of the economic, social, legal, and political aspccn of environmental 

 problems from regional, national, and international perspectives. 



■ The Unite J States should couple its environmental research and devel- 

 opment efforts more closely with those of other nations. International agencies, 

 including the United Nations Environment Program and specialized agencies 

 such as the ^)rld Meteorological Organization, as well as key nongtjvem- 

 mental scientific organizations, arc promoting a range of international col- 

 laborative R&D e£btts. ^rld Health Organization programs like the Inter- 

 national Program on Chemical Safety make important contributions to public 

 health throughout the world. The United States should actively support 

 programs of this kind. The United States should also collaborate with the 

 European Co mm u n ity countries and with academic institutions abroad to 

 develop and share new technologies. Collaborative relationships between 

 the research institutions of various countries would be particularly worthwhile. 



Other recommendations are discussed in more detail in the repotr 



■ Communication and collaboration between the ecological and environ- 

 mental health research communities should be enchancedin order to evaluate 

 and address environrruntal problems in an integrated fashion (see pages 



i7-99)- 



■ The environmental research and policymaking linkages between federal 

 agencies and nongovernmental organizations should be strengthened (see 

 pages 99-101). 



■ Environmental R&D programs within the federal government and in- 

 dustry should be linked more closely, and the federal government should 

 continue to provide incentives for environmental R&D efforts in industry 

 in order to advance common goals (see pages 101-103). 



Building a Strong Inthxectual Base 



An improved R&D system will survive only if it is built on a strong foun- 

 dation. Implicit in the recommendations above is the assumption that there 

 must be a pool of highly trained professionals to carry out the research and 

 development activities that are crucial to our environmental protection 

 programs. There is a critical need for a continuing supply of well-trained 

 professionals and state-of-the-an facilities and equipment to support their 

 research eferts. 



