49 



Mr. Chairman: 



It is a privilege to accept the invitation of the Task Force on Science 

 Policy to discuss the international experience of scientific ocean drilling 

 programs -- both the current Ocean Drilling Program (OOP) and its 

 predecessor, the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), 



For nearly two decades, these programs have been at the forefront of 

 international collaboration in basic research. It is especially worth 

 noting that they have operated by the good will and voluntary adherence of 

 the partners involved: ocean drilling is independent of any umbrella 

 international organization. 



In view of the limited time available for today's discussion, I would like 

 to submit the full text of my remarks for the record, skipping over most of 

 the historical and descriptive materials to concentrate on two questions 

 which seem to be at the heart of the Task Force inquiry: 



- What are the criteria or characteristics that make a program a 

 candidate for international cooperation? 



- What are the special procedural, administrative or functional 

 requirements of an international program? 



BACKGROUND : THE DEEP SEA DRILLING PROJECT, 1968-83 . 



At the end of the Versailles Summit of June 1982, the Heads of State 

 appointed a working group to assess areas in which cooperative 

 international action could enhance the application of science and 

 technology to social and economic objectives. 



The working group report strongly endorsed international exchange and 

 dissemination of scientific knowledge as beneficial in its own right, and 

 accordingly encouraged informal collaboration in all areas of research and 

 technology. The report went on to recognize a smaller number of activities 

 for which more formal arrangements would be desirable, urging its 

 governments: 



"... to seek cooperation in, and in certain cases joint 

 operation of large scientific research installations, the cost of 

 which is prohibitive for a single government but which are nonetheless 

 indispensable for the advancement of science. "1 



The working group pointed to 4 ongoing international projects which they 

 felt exemplified this category. Scientific ocean drilling was among them. 



When the Summit Working Group issued its report, the Deep Sea Drilling 

 Project (DSDP) drillship GLOMAR CHALLENGER had just embarked on the final 

 months of its spectacular 15-year-long journey of discovery. 



