number of factors, including the vacancy in the post of IOC Secretary 

 from November 1971 until October 1972 and a wait-and-see attitude 

 on many ocean science programs by some nations until issues can be 

 settled by the U.N. Law of the Sea Conference. 



During 1972, the United States unsuccessfully urged the Com- 

 mission — and UNESCO as the Commission's basic sponsor — to 

 provide strong support for both the International Decade of Ocean 

 Exploration (IDOE), particularly the Global Investigations of 

 Pollution in the Marine Environment (GIPME), and the IOC program 

 in mutual assistance, training, and education. At the 17th General 

 Conference of UNESCO, which approved the IOC work program and 

 budget for the next two years, many countries strongly supported 

 U.S. efforts to emphasize the IOC program in mutual assistance, 

 training, and education, but our efforts to emphasize GIPME gained 

 less support. 



The first meeting of the reconstituted IOC Executive Council in 

 July 1972 made disappointing progress on most issues before it. An 

 International Coordination Group for GIPME was established by the 

 Council, but, in spite of the urgency attached to this program by 

 many members, it was not possible to organize the Group or to 

 schedule its first session until April 1973. 



Particularly disappointing was the failure to streamline the 

 Commission's internal structure to increase its efficiency. A hopeful 

 note was found in the Council's decision to establish an Ad Hoc 

 Study Group to take an intensive look at improving the effectiveness 

 of the Commission across the Board. The Group's meeting in January 

 1973 produced several important recommendations, which, if 

 implemented, should significantly improve the efficiency of the 

 Commission and enable it to function better as the focal point for 

 international marine science activities. Among these were develop- 

 ment of a work program and financial requirements, which will 

 establish priorities and lay the base for obtaining resources needed 

 for the IOC's work; a restructuring of the Commission's subsidiary 

 bodies to enhance their work; and the establishment of formal 

 working relationships with other international organizations, such 

 as the Food and Agriculture Organization,, the Intergovernmental 

 Maritime Consultative Organization, and the World Meteorological 

 Organization. 



The United States also continued its efforts through other 

 mechanisms to achieve the coordination needed between our oceano- 

 graphic program and those of other nations. One such mechanism is 

 the U.S. -French bilateral program, under which U.S. and French 

 oceanographers are planning to cooperate in a series of projects over 

 the next few years, including studies of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 

 aquaculture, buoy technology, and abatement and control of marine 

 pollution. 



During 1972 a number of countries initiated cooperative efforts 

 with the United States under the IDOE program, but outside the IOC. 



15 



