194 



UNKING AN'O COORDINATING PROCKAMS 97 



national scientific cooperation, and the low priority accorded to international 

 cooperation in science by the government."' Both of these barriers can be 

 overcome by strong leadership. 



MUUIDISCIPUNARY COMMUNICAHON AhfD COLLABORATION 



■ Communication and collaboration between the ecological and the envi- 

 ronmental health research communities should be enhanced in order to 

 evaluate and address environmental problems in an integrated fashion. 



There is a significant lack of communication between health-oriented 

 and ecology-oriented researchers and policymakers in the United States. 

 Individuals in these fields have earned their degrees in different schools or 

 colleges; they attend different specialty meetings, and they publish in different 

 journab. The two groups communicate using different technical terms and 

 are funded by different agencies. They are interested in different statutes 

 and regulatory regimes, and, unfortunately, they seldom interact. 



Efforts to Promote Interaction 



This lack of interaction b detrimental to our national environmental R&D 

 efforts. In recent years, however, there have been some promising efforts 

 to foster interaction between these communities. In the landmark reports 

 Unfinished Business and Reducing Risks,*'' the EPA Science Advisory 

 Board looked across the fiill range of risks that fall within EPA's domain. 

 Unfortunately, the risks were ranked according to the conventional health 

 and ecological categories. Nevertheless, we believe that the recommenda- 

 tion of the Advisory Board to raise ecology to the level of attention and 

 visibility of health is an excellent beginning. 



The Ecological Society of America has launched an ambitious re- 

 search plan of its own, the "Sustainable Biosphere Iniuativc," a framework 

 for the acquisition, dissemination, and utilization of ecological knowledge 

 that supports efforts to ensure the sustainability of the biosphere. The frame- 

 work calls for coordinated research effon focused on global change, biolog- 

 ical diversity, and sustainable ecological systems. The initiative also calls for 

 "a significant increase in interdisciplinary intcracuons that link ccologists 

 with the broad scientific commimity, with mass media and educational 

 organizations, and with policymaken and resource managers in all sectors 

 of societ)'."" 



