United States
              Environmental Protection
              Agency
Information Resources
Management
(PM-211A)
 April 1991
              INTERNATIONAL
              UPDATE             Rt
220N91004
                             INFOTERRA/USA:  LIBRARY. RECJOAI v
           CONNECTING WITH LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
            Latin America
                           - John Butsch
The INFOTERRA/USA National Focal Point
(NFP) has recently begun electronic mail
(email) communication with  Latin America
through a newly-developed United Nations
system. The email connection was developed
by the staff at the United Nations Regional
Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ROLAC) in Mexico City.

The email connection, officially known as the
Latin American and Caribbean Environmental
Information Exchange Network, will be
maintained by  ROLAC. Initial participants in
the system will include governmental users
from Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and St.
Lucia.  Plans are underway  to expand the
computer network to include all Latin American
and Caribbean countries.

This electronic link with our neighbors to the
south has enhanced the ability  of the
INFOTERRA/USA staff to retrieve information
concerning   Latin American issues.  Of
particular interest to INFOTERRA users is a
data base of Latin  American environmental
regulations developed by ROLAC. A link to
this data base will assure access to the latest
in regulatory information for the region.

For further information concerning this email
connection, please contact the INFOTERRA
staff at FTS 382-5917.
              The Caribbean
                             - John Butsch
  INFOTERRA/USA is nowthe Regional Service
  Center (RSC)  for the English-speaking
  Caribbean countries. The announcement of
  this designation was made in January 1991 by
  Dr. Woyen Lee, Director of the INFOTERRA
  Programme Activity Centre (PAC) in Nairobi,
  Kenya.

  Underthe new agreement, INFOTERRA/USA
  will assist the staffs of the English-speaking
  INFOTERRA National Focal Points (NFPs) in
  the Caribbean region in accessing information
  through data base searching, training, and
  technical assistance.  In addition, the new
  RSC will endeavor to strengthen information
  exchanges throughout the region.

  The new RSC will provide assistance to the
  INFOTERRA NFPs in the following countries:
  The Bahamas,  Barbados,  Belize, Guyana,
  Haiti, Jamaica, and St. Lucia.

  As a  first step towards implementing the
  agreement,  INFOTERRA/USA will host a
  conference  from  June  12-14 here in
  Washington, DC. Participants will include our
  partner Caribbean NFPs, representatives from
  INFOTERRA PAC, and ROLAC. The meeting
  will focus on regional network formulation,
  strengthening  the  information  services
  capabilities of individual NFPs, and building
  links to other networks in the region.
 INFOTERRA/USA National Focal Point

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         NEW STAFF MEMBER

INFOTERRA welcomes a new librarian to our
staff, Ms. Lili Vivanco. A native of Chile, Uli
comes to us after a year as the Hazardous
Waste Reference  Librarian at  the   EPA
Headquarters Library. Lili has a background
in linguistics and  library science.  Lili will be
responding to requests for information on all
environmental issues with a special expertise
in hazardous waste issues.  Please feel free to
call Lili at FTS 382-5927 for assistance.
                                                      INFO-SOUTH
                            -- Mary Stevanus
           New & Noteworthy
        Journal Articles of Interest

"Charting the Course for'92: a Report from the
Preparatory Committee forthe United Nations
Conference    on   Environment   and
Development," Environment. February 1991,
Vol. 33, No. 1,  pp. 16-20, 39-44.

French, Hilary  F.  "Eastern Europe's Clean
Break With the Past." World Watch. March/
April 1991,  Vol. 4, No. 2. pp. 21-27.

Hager, Mary. "How Goes the Environmental
Presidency?"   [Assessing Bush's  first two
years], National Wildlife. Dec/Jan 1991, pp.
14-17.

Kotlyakov, V.  M. The Aral Sea Basin:   A
Critical Environmental Zone,"  Environment.
February 1991, Vol. 33, No. 1,  pp. 4-10, 36-
39.

Patterson, Alan. "Debt-for-Nature Swaps and
the Need for  Alternatives,"  Environment.
December 1990, Vol. 32, No. 10,  pp.  5-13,
31-34.

Postel, Sandra.   "Accounting for Nature,"
WorldWatch. March/April 1991, Vol. 4, No. 2,
pp. 28-33.
              EPA Headquarters Library
INFO-SOUTH: The Latin American Information
System, produced by the University of Miami
Graduate School of  International Studies,
provides up to the minute accessto information
about environmental conditions in Latin
America. INFO-SOUTH is funded in part by a
grant from the U.S. Department of State to
insure  complete access to   information
concerning this important region.

INFO-SOUTH is  a computerized  database
containing bibliographic citations and abstracts
of journal  articles, newspapers, and
newsletters.  Coverage for articles dates to
January 1988.  English and Spanish are the
primary  language of documents.with  many
selections  in Portuguese  and French.
Environmental, financial, political as well as
social issues of relevance to the region are
covered in this bibliographic databases. Full
text of articles i n the database can be purchased
from INFO-SOUTH Customer Service. INFO-
SOUTH  is available  at  no  charge for
government agencies and it  is $85.00 per
connect hour for all other users.

INFO-SOUTH provides access to newspapers
and  magazines  not previously  available
through online  databases.  For more
information on the  range  of  information
available through INFO-SOUTH, or to access
the system, please contact Mary Stevanus at
FTS 245-3638.
Please take a moment to share  with us your
comments concerning the effectiveness of the
International Update in meeting your international
information needs. If there are topics of continuing
interest or you just aren't sure where to find that
important fact, please contact the INFOTERRA
staff at FTS 382-5917.   Also, please return the
coupon found in last month's International Update.
We care about providing the best service to you!

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