United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information Resources
Management
(PM-211A)
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATE RECEIVED
August 1991
220N91008
AUG061991
INFOTERRA International Directory of
Sources (1991)
-Gary Prevost
The INFOTERRA International Directory of Sources is a
catalog of environmental information sources which have
been selected and registered by government-designated
INFOTERRA National Focal Points (NFPs). Each of the
sources has agreed to respond to requests for information
on a range of environmental topics for little or no charge.
Sources are listed together with their address, subjects,
working languages (English, French, Russian or Spanish),
functions, information availability and the format in which
they can supply information.
The INFOTERRA International Directory of Sources is in
the process of being updated this year, the first revision
since 1987. Currently, we are focusing on the re-
registration of sources, paying particular attention to
quality. Many organizations which do not meet the
INFOTERRA standards of prompt and appropriate
responses to inquiries are being eliminated. New sources
of environmental expertise are being sought to update
the Directory and provide the most current information
available. So far, over one-quarter of potential new
sources contacted have responded.
Once completed (mid 1992), the Directory will be available
for purchase through the United Nations Publications
Office in either New York City or Nairobi, Kenya. Access to
information in the Directory can be obtained by contacting
the NFP in any of the one hundred and thirty-eight
member countries in the INFOTERRA network.
INFOTERRA USA maintains the four volumes and annual
supplements of the Directory in both hardcopy and on a
CDS/ISIS data base. Using these tools, we have access to
worldwide environmental information. One can use the
Directory to find sources for information on specific topics
in a variety of countries. For more information concerning
the Directory, please contact Gary Prevost at FTS 382-
5638.
INFOTERRA/USA National Focal Point
COUNTRY PROFILE:
THAILAND
-Kathy Doherty
Thailand's growth into one of the more
industrialized Third World Nations has
not been without its effects on the
environment. In the twenty-five years
between 1960 and 1985, Thailand saw
an increase in population, urbanization
and industrialization. With
this also came an
increasing demand on
its natural resources.
Whereas in 1961,
natural forest land
covered 56 percent of
Thailand's 514,000 acres,
by the mid-1980's, only 30
percent was forestland.
Although the economy was based largely
on rice cultivation and rubber
production, the increased demands of
the growing population caused the
destruction of forests and agricultural
lands and damage to the watersheds.
As population grew, especially in the
cities, problems of overcrowding, noise
and air pollution became common. There
were also unique problems in Bangkok,
as the city began to sink when many of
the canals were replaced with rpadways.
In 1968, the Thai government began to
act to save the environment through
promoting family planning, birth control,
and a nation-wide effort to lower the
annual birth rate. The rate of population
growth has dropped from 3.4 percent
annually in the 1960's to 1.9 percent in
1986. Their goal is to further reduce
this number in order to ease the strain
on their limited resources.
references on pg. 2
Printed on Recycled Paper
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NEW BOOK REVIEW
-Chris Holben
The International Trade in Wastes: A Greenpeace
Inventory. Jim Valletta and Heather Spalding. Greenpeace, USA 1990.
TD793.V3 1990
This Inventory, in its 5th
printing since Greenpeace
launched its campaign to
stop international trading
in wastes in 1987, is a
guide to the worldwide
waste trade and how each
country is involved with or
opposed to the trade.
The first section explains
the different international
government
organizations that are
involved in banning the
importing and exporting
of wastes. One of the
largest of these
organizations isacoalition
of 68 less industrialized
countries from Africa, the
Caribbean, andthePadfic,
collectively known as the
ACP countries. In 1989,
they joined with the
European Economic
Community (EEC) in an
agreement known as the
Lome Convention that
bans all radioactive and
hazardous waste
shipments from the EEC
to the ACP countries. The
ACP also agreed not to
accept waste from non-
ECC countries.
The next section is
composed of four case
studies of waste trade
schemes. Thefirstisabout
a ship laden with almost
14,000 tons of municipal
incinerator ash. The
Philadelphia-based Khian
Sea, traveling for 27
months to five different
continents, was denied
dumping access before it
unloaded the ash in the
Indian Ocean.
Another study reports on
the proposed schemes by
two U.S. firms to export
waste to the Marshall
Islands in the South
Pacific.
The last section is a
country by country
breakdown of the national
policies concerning
importing and exporting
waste. Also, different
schemes to import or
export waste are reported
for each country.
For information on this or
any other publication
please contact the
INFOTEKRA staff at FTS
382-5917. We welcome
your suggestions for
additions to the
International Collection.
Thailand
(cont. from pg. 1)
Other information
available at INFOTERRA
on Thailand:
Thailand
Natural
Resources Profile: Is the
Resource Base for
Thailand's Development
Sustainable?. Thailand
Development Research
Institute, 1987.
"Thailand: Degradation
and Development in a
Resource-Rich Land."
Environment. January
1988. pp. 10-19.
"Helping Reforestation in
Southeast Asia — The
Asian-Canada Forest Tree
Seed Centre Project."
Forestry Chronicle. June
1990.
"Who Defends Biological
Diversity? Conservation
Strategies and the Case of
Thailand." The Ecologlst.
Jan/Feb 1991.
(Information for this article
taken from Thailand. A
Country Study. Library of
Congress, 1989)
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
Bouviere, Jasper. "Recycling in Cairo: A Tale of Rags to Riches." New Scientist. Vol. 130, No. 1775. June
29, 1991. pp. 52-55.
Horta, Korinna. "The Last Big Rush for the Green Gold: The Plundering of Cameroon's Rainforests." The
Ecologlst. Vol. 21, No. 3. June 1991. pp. 142-147.
Renner, Michael G. "Military Victory, Ecological Defeat." [effect of war in the Gulf] World Watch.
Vol. 4, No. 4. July/August 1991. pp. 27-33.
Sustainable Development: Changing Production Patterns. Social Equity and the Environment. United
Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 1991. HC123 S87 1991.
U.S.-Mexlco Trade: Information on Environmental Regulations and Enforcement. U.S. General Accounting
Office. Washington, DC, May 1991. KF1611.U6U55.
Vavrousek, Josef. [Environment Minister of Czechoslovakia] "Europe Must Unite on Environment Issues."
New Scientist. Vol. 131, No. 1776. July 6, 1991. p. 12.
EPA Headquarters Library
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