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94 tNVIRONMENTAL RbSLARCH ANT DEVELOPMENT 



INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 



■ T/}e Vrtiled States should couple its environmental research and devel- 

 opment efforts more closely with those of other nations. 



Ii is in the interest of the United States to develop more effective 

 R&D collaborations with other nations in order to achieve environmeiital 

 goals. In some R&D areas other nations have extensive experience in ad- 

 uicisiiig ccriAin problems, and we can learn from their efforu. Other na- 

 tions h-vc limited environmental R&D activities and can learn from our 

 programs. The U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) supports 

 environmental programs, some of them R&D programs, in more than 90 

 countries at a level of more than $400 million per year.'* Total U.S. assis- 

 tance for economic, humanitarian, environmental, and development pur- 

 poses was more than $11 billion in 1991.'' 



How can th United States encourage other nations to use newer, 

 innovative technologies, especially where older, less environmentally sound 

 technologies are currently in use? Gin a system be devised to share tech- 

 nology and to foster collaborative R&D efforts? Can the international R&D 

 community work together to devise indicators of environmental quality and 

 programs to monitor these indicators? Certain scientific disciplines are already 

 forging international relationships to answer these kinds of questions. How 

 can we encourage such interactions in other scientific disciplines? These are 

 some of the important questions facing policymakers. 



Involvement of International Organu^ations 



In:emational agencies, including the United Nations Environment Program 

 and specialized agencies such as the World Meteorological Organization, 

 as well as key nongovernmental scientific organizations, are promoting a 

 range of international collaborative R&D efforts. The International Program 

 on Chemical Safety within the World Health Organization (WHO), for ex- 

 ample, provides updated assessments of the health risks posed by important 

 toxic substances, aids in research and uaining coordination, and dissemi- 

 nates information world wide. WHO programs like this make imftonant 

 contributions to public health throughout the world and should be strongly 

 supponed by the United States. The National Institute of Environmental 

 Health Sciences (NIEHS) makes a substantial annual contribution to this 

 program, but this level of suppon may be reduced in the future. 



Another example of international collaboration is the International 

 Conference on an Agenda of Science for Environment and Development 

 into the ust Century (ASCEND vC). Sponsored by the International Council 

 of Scientific Unions (ICSU), in cooperation with other nongovernmental 



