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^8 EN\'IRONME.VTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 



a way ihai this fundamental requirement can be met. We do not believe, 

 however, that a mere rearrangement of existing agencies and programs will 

 solve the problem of directing environmental R&D toward its new and larger 

 challenges. To be sure, reorganization may improve the management of cur- 

 rent programs. But it is precisely this intimate — and necessary — connection 

 with existing agency missions that most inhibits environmental R&D in 

 tracking nrw problems. 



Thus, while we take as given that environmental R&D should con- 

 tinue lo supp>ort existing agency missions, we have been guided by other, 

 broader principles in developing our recommendations — a capability to con- 

 duct strategic planning, to anticipate future R&D needs, and to undenake 

 policy analyses; effective monitoring, information storage, and assessment 

 capabilities; a strong science and technology ba.se; and effcr'ive linkages 

 with other federal and international programs. The key to achieving all of 

 these objectives is leadership, particularly at the White House level. We dis- 

 cuss these principles briefly before moving on to our recommendations. 



Structural Fragmentation 



Structural fragmentation of environmental R&D hampers the strategic plan- 

 ning and policy coordination needed to establish and attain environmental 

 goals. This problem is highlighted by the few instances in which it has been 

 successfully addressed. For example, the Federal Coordinating Council on 

 Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET), administered through the 

 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has played a key role 

 in coordinating U.S. research cffbns in global climate change. FCCSET over- 

 sees the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a $i. ^ billion research effbn 

 involving eleven major depanments and agencies (see Box j). The task is 

 daunting, but FCCSET has been successful in bringing together many di- 

 verse programs and agencies in an cffon to understand and attack one of 

 the more complex global environmental problems facing us. 



In general, strategic planning and policy coordination remain a 

 problem. There is no focal point for setting broad environmental policy 

 for all federal agencies. It is imponant to note that EPA in panicular is not 

 such a focal point at present. Although EPA is the leader in implementing 

 laws and regulatory policies, its research program is not now the centerpiece 

 of the federal environmental R&D system, and its current programs devote 

 little attention to sustainable development. Furthermore, although FCCSET 

 is a useful mechanism for coordinating agency research programs, it is less 

 useful for setting new research goals. 



