58a 



Roger Revelle, Papers 1929-1980, MC6 , Box 14, f. 34, "President's Science Advisory 

 ;onmii6ee, Pakistan, 1961," SIO Archives, UCSD. » 



O THE WHITE HOUSE 



P 

 y Waafciagton ■^•- 



August 9, 1961 



Dear Mr. President: 



Since your visit, we have been hard at work on the problenn of waterlogging 

 and salinity in West Pakistan; and 1 thought you would like to know where 

 we stand. 



A panel of experts was assembled shortly aiter your visit to Washington 

 to examine the possible solutions to both the technological and economic 

 problems of waterlogging a'nd salinity in West Pakistan. Dr. Jerome B. 

 Wiesner, my Special Assistant for Science and Technology, and some 

 members of the panel have had the opportunity to discuss the scope of the 

 problem and our plans with Dr. Abdus Salam. You may wish to hear his 

 report upon his return to Pakistan. We have also had the benefit of guidance 

 from men on the U. S. Operations Mission of our International Cooperation 

 Administration in Pakistan, who know the plans of the West Pakistan Water 

 and Power Development Authority, who happened to be in the United States 

 during the past few weeks. The panel has thus had an excellent opportunity 

 to learn the past history of the problein and to hear about the technical 

 approaches now contemplated to control waterlogging and salinity. 



We have also enlisted the direct interest of Mr. Udall, my Secretary of 

 Interior, and of his science advisor. Dr. Revelle. Specialists from our 

 Bureau of Reclamation, Geological Survey, Department of Agriculture, and 

 other United States Government agencies have joined forces with scientists 

 and engineers from Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and 

 the University of California to study your problem. Among the group are 

 men who are pioneering in the development of new methods of analysis of 

 complex hydrologic, agricultural and economic problems. They are convinced 

 that a solution to your problerri in West Pakistan can be very helpful in pro- 

 viding a solution to similar problems in this country. 



We have tentatively identified four major areas of concern which should be 

 studied concurrently: 



First, a comprehensive and, to the extent possible, detailed analysis of 

 the probable effects of different proposed systems for combating' waterlogging 

 and salt accumulation in the soil, and at the same time increasing the supply 

 of irrigation water, with the objective of identifying the best and most practical 

 system. Our panel is now beginning such a comparative analysis of the 

 alternatives, baaed on all available data. 



OFFICIAL USE ONLY 



