United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information^ Resources
Management
(PM-211A)
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATE
December 1990
220N90002
NEW ACQUISITIONS
****
The International Collection has received a large shipment of new and noteworthy items
relating to international environmental issues. Following is a list of selected items. For more
information on new arrivals please call the International Staff at FTS 382-5917. In addition, if
you are aware of items you feel should be in the International Collection, please send us your
ideas.
REGIONAL INFORMATION
En vironmental Problems in the So viet Union &
Eastern Europe. L. Reinner, 1987.
The legacy of years of environmental abuse is giving
way to the acceptance of modern environmental
management concepts. An overview of current
environmental conditions and governmental policies
designed to alleviate these problems is presented.
Fragile Lands of Latin America: Strategies for
Sustainable Development. Westview Press,
1989.
Practical strategies for preserving fragile ecosystems in
Latin America are presented to counter the damaging
effects of overpopulation, adverse farming methods,
and ill-conceived development projects. The author
presents a multidisciplinary approach to rural and urban
land planning in Latin America.
Sustainable Agriculture in A frica. Africa Wo rid
Press, 1990.
Case studies of agricultural and cultural circumstances
unique to Africa are presented in this series of essays.
Articles cover such topics as arid-lands agriculture,
population strain, governmental policy and poverty in
relation to the environment of Africa.
INFOTERRA'USA National Focal Point
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
International Environmental Diplomacy: the
Management and Resolution of Transfrontier
Environmental Problems. Cambridge
University Press, 1988.
Management of complicated transboundary
environmental issues as opposed to localized site-
specific agreements are the focus of international
policymaking.
Sustainable Environmental Management:
Principles and Practices. Westview Press,
1988.
Delicately balancing human economic needs and the
need to preserve dwindling natural resources is the
focus in this book. Economic concepts of sustainability
along with regional case studies demonstrate the
feasibility of implementing sustainable management
practices.
Sustainable Resource Development in the
Third World. Westview, 1987.
Strategies for managing resources in developing
countries through integrated environmental decision-
making requires a thorough evaluation of the technical,
cultural and organizational effects of environmental
decisions.
Printed on Recycled Paper
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN REGIONAL
COMPANION PROGRAM
-- Linda Spencer
The INFOTERRA National Focal Points
of the USA and Botswana have initiated a
"companion relationship" under the umbrella
of the United Nations Environment Programme.
It is the first such environmental
international data sharing program in the world.
The companionship will provide information
managementtraining and information systems
to Botswana in an effort to improve
environmental decision-making through the
increased availability of relevant information.
The companionship will improve the ability of
EPA policy-makers and planners to assess
the global impact of their decisions and to be
effective partners in technology transferto the
Third World.
The USA and Botswana in concert with
the INFOTERRA National Focal Points in the
southern African region will be meeting in July
to plan the expansion of the companionship
into a sub-regional information exchange
network. The United Nations Environment
Programme envisions that this network will
become a blueprint for other parts of the world.
CONFERENCE UPDATE
From Cold War to Cooperation: Dynamics of
a New World Order. January 23-25, 1991.
Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Society
for International Development, this conference
will focus on the major realignments in U.S.
foreign policy, the growth of the Pacific Rim
and changes in Europe in 1992. Focus will be
on the growing importance of environment as
a national and international security issue.
For registration information please contact:
International Development Conference, 1401
New York Ave., Suite 1100, Washington, DC,
20005, or call (202) 638-3111.
EPA Headquarters Library
INFOTERRA NEWS ABROAD
Environmental Information Services
In the USSR
-- Keith Chanon
The All- Union Institute of Scientific and
Technical Information, otherwise known as
VINITI, is the major Soviet organization that is
responsible for collecting scientific and
technical information on the environment. This
function is comparable to the National
Technical Information Service in the U.S.
Furthermore, VINITI serves as the
INFOTERRA National Focal Point (NFP) for
the USSR, for United Nations Environment
Programmes' global information network.
At a recent meeting on November 14th,
Dr. Nesterov, General Director, and Dr.
Mulukov, Assistant Director of VINITI, made a
presentation describing the functions and
organizational structure of the Institute. VINITI
primarily processes scientific literature, while
also participating in the development of
scientific research. On a yearly basis, VINITI
compiles over 800,000 books, 700,000
research and development reports, and over
11 million database records. The network is
comprised of scientific research and
information centers; including 12 Ail-Union
Institutes, 90 Branch Information Centers, and
112 Local Centers.
The U.S. INFOTERRA National Focal
Point used this opportunity to meet with the
VINITI representatives, and to strengthen the
relationship between the two National Focal
Points. Cooperative exchange agreements
have been proposed by both offices, and soon,
the U.S. INFOTERRA NFP will be adding to its
collection several popular Sovietenvironmental
journals and publications from the USSR State
Committee for Environmental Protection.
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