UNITED
NATIONS
ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAM
.1 -L
International ieferra/ Syste
OPENING OF UNEP/IRS NATIONAL FOCAL POINT
U.S. NATIONAL FOCAL POINT
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Washington, DC. 20460
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EPA-840-75-002
U. S. NATIONAL FOCAL POINT
for
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAM INTERNATIONAL
REFERRAL SYSTEM
(UNEP / IRS)
SPEECHES AT THE OPENING
OF THE U. S. NATIONAL FOCAL POINT
October 6, 1975
Office of Administration
Assistant Administrator for Planning & Management
U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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Master of Ceremonies, Fitzhugh Green, Associate Administrator for Inter-
national Activities, Environmental Protection Agency.
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SPEECHES AT THE OPENING
OF THE U. S. NATIONAL FOCAL POINT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. "Since Stockholm"
RUSSELL E. TRAIN
Administrator, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
II. "United Nations Environment Program"
NOEL J. BROWN
Senior Liaison Officer, United Nations Environment Program
III. "State Department's Role"
CHRISTIAN HERTER, JR.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental and
Population Affairs, State Department
IV. "EPA's Role as a National Focal Point"
ALVIN ALM
Assistant Administrator for Planning and Management
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
V. "Role of Other Agencies ... Importance of Participation"
JAMES T. CLARKE
Assistant Secretary—Management
Department of Interior
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"Since Stockholm"
by
RUSSELL E. TRAIN
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
Like other chairmen of national delegations to the United Nations
'Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972, I
have been waiting impatiently to see practical, down-to-earth results.
Our impatience is finally being rewarded! Today marks the beginning
of the U.S. portion of an extremely useful UN Environment program—
the International Referral System—or IRS. This is the first practical
activity, stemming from Stockholm, to reach the final stages of com-
pletion. As the U.S. National Focal Point for IRS, EPA has a chance
now to actively contribute to a significant world-wide follow-through
after Stockholm.
You will be hearing from Mr. Al Aim in detail as to how our National
Focal Point program will operate.
We have learned since Stockholm how important it is to seek inter-
national cooperation in our efforts to protect our own eco-system. Like
children growing up in different families, national programs for protect-
ing the environment are advancing at different rates and different
directions. This means that almost any country may have one research
program, or control device or even unusual environmental situation
which other countries could usefully know about.
No nation should have to do environmental research already com-
pleted by another or live in ignorance of control technology developed by
another. For this very reason we try to keep in constant touch with our
"opposite number" agencies all over the world, not to mention the en-
vironmental division of international organizations—particularly OECD,
NATO, and the Common Market, as well as the United Nations.
IRS will serve to speed and spread the news of existing and newly
acquired data. It will help all UN members to build more quickly and
efficiently their own environmental protection mechanism.
UN members are moving with fairly commendable speed to implement
other positive actions approved at Stockholm.
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Russell E. Train, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency.
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The first was to establish the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) as a permanent Specialized Agency of the UN. This was done
at the UN General Assembly in the fall of 1972. Second, the recom-
mendation that delegations persuade their countries to act at the national
level has also brought a good response. Whereas in 1970 our EPA was
the first one of its kind announced in the world, there are now some 50
roughly similar organizations in other countries.
I am happy to report that we have established excellent and useful
relationships with most of these other EPAs. In fact, thanks to Dolores
Gregory and Sarah Kadec there is a daily exchange of documents on
respective developments of other national environmental organizations
and our own. These exchanges are recorded in our monthly document
"Summaries of Foreign Government Reports."
Additionally, since the Stockholm Conference, it has become common-
place to incorporate environmental considerations in development pro-
grams. For example, the World Bank will not approve a capital-intensive
project that does not have built-in safeguards in terms of environmental
impact. As you recall, Mr. McNamara, President of the World Bank,
said at Stockholm that the difference in cost between an environmentally
sound project and one without any safeguards is negligible.
Many developing nations now wish to establish environmental protec-
tion machinery as they industrialize their economy. They have sought
and received support to this end from the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP). EPA has provided scores of experts for varying
periods to assist these nations, and the UNDP and the World Health
Organization (WHO) have contributed resources for this purpose. We
wish we had more human resources to offer, but our ability to participate
is, of course, limited by our own national commitments and requirements.
I personally would like to see the U.S. Agency for International Develop-
ment take on this kind of program and greatly expand what EPA has
begun.
Meanwhile, the U.S., and EPA in particular, will continue to assist
other nations by providing expertise and information, or participating
in seminars to support the UNEP and other multinational environmental
efforts.
We are proud to work with other nations as the spirit of Stockholm
continues to inspire mankind to save its biosphere. I must say I am also
pleased that many of our joint activities with other nations provide EPA
with answers to some of our knottiest problems. I am confident that IRS
will spread more answers to more EPAs everywhere.
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"United Nations Environment Program"
NOEL J. BROWN
Senior Liaison Officer
United Nations Environment Program
Ladies and Gentlemen—Distinguished colleagues
On behalf of the Executive Director and the United Nations Environ-
ment Program, I would like to say how very pleased we are to be asso-
ciated with this event today.
The INAUGURATION OF THIS NATIONAL COMPONENT OF
THE INTERNATIONAL REFERRAL SYSTEM is a matter to which
we at the United Nations Environment Program attach particular signifi-
cance and for which we feel a sense of genuine fulfillment and pride—
which I believe understandable.
From the earliest stages, the International Referral System has always
received strong support from the United States—which was one of the
first countries to identify and mobilize major resources in support of the
system. Through the PROGRAM being launched today, we look forward
to the continuing support of the United States in this vital information
area. It is our hope also that this National Registry of Sources will serve
as a working model of the focal point concept and help train managers in
its design, operation and use.
As more national components like this one are established, I believe
we will see emerging one of the most unique and perhaps most widely
used systems of the United Nations environment community.
In essence, the IRS is designed to act as a dynamic mechanism to
encourage, on an organized and systematic basis, the interchange of
environmental information and environmental education programs at all
levels.
As such, it is a system designed to put the user in contact with sources
of information and, more importantly, to develop a relationship of
encouragement between the user and the source as well as among the
various elements of the referral program. In this connection, we foresee
a user community that is likely to be very broad indeed and will un-
doubtedly include—ADMINISTRATORS, LEGISLATORS, SCIENTI-
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Noel Brown, Senior Liaison Officer, United Nations Environment Program,
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FIC AND TECHNICAL PRACTITIONERS, PLANNERS, TEACH-
ERS, CITIZENS, JOURNALISTS AS WELL AS TECHNICALLY
TRAINED WORKERS IN GOVERNMENT OR INDUSTRY IN-
VOLVED IN THE SOLVING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.
Moreover, as environmental problems cannot be solved in isolation,
one can easily foresee the user list rapidly intersecting many other
disciplines and programs . . . and most certainly, many components of
the United Nations system itself.
For example, one of the most significant developments within the
United Nations since Stockholm is what might be termed—the tendency
toward action planning at the global level. Here, one simply has to note
that characteristic of all the major conferences of the last few years—
Population and Food of 1974, Raw Materials and Development—1975,
HABITAT—1976, Water and Desertification Conference—1977—are
ACTION PLANS. Within these plans, provisions are generally made for
monitoring mechanisms to serve as EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS,
including provisions for the creation of global data bases as a prime
requirement of sound policy making. Yet, with the exception of the
United Nations Environment Program, none of the plans established so
far makes any provision for referral services or information exchange
system on a scale comparable to that of the IRS. There can be little
doubt, therefore, that sooner or later the IRS will be called upon to
play a supportive role in the implementation of these action plans.
At the same time, it should be recognized that UNEP itself is likely
to be a major user in view of the potential of IRS as a GENERALIZED
"INVENTORY-TAKING FACILITY", and our responsibility to pre-
pare periodically "STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT REPORTS"
within the framework of EARTHWATCH. To be useful, however, any
such reports will require data of a high degree of accuracy and authority
which, through its comparative character and cross-verification capa-
bilities, IRS is in a position to provide.
But despite the promise of IRS and its importance in environmental
problem-solving, there are some who have become IMPATIENT with
the slow pace with which it has evolved, and others who cite this as
proof of a slackening of the momentum of Stockholm and the lack of
serious commitment on the part of Governments to the realization of
the EARTHWATCH Program. EARTHWATCH, after all, has come to
be considered as the centerpiece of the United Nations Environment
System and the index of the Program's viability. Consequently, the
progress of the Program tends to be measured in terms of EARTH-
WATCH capabilities and activities.
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Such judgements, understandable as they are, may not fully appreciate
the magnitude of the task at hand and the complexity of the system
now coming into being. Moreover, it is an established fact that within
international organizations it takes anywhere from three to five years
to develop information programmes of the quality and reliability for
the kind of scientific research and uses envisaged under IRS—more
especially so, since the question of INTER-COMPARABILITY OF
DATA IS OF CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE.
On the other hand, we in UNEP have reason to feel encouraged—
our own administrative mechanism has undergone a major overhaul
and our capacity for organization and management of EARTHWATCH
has been greatly enhanced. More importantly, however, is the fact that
many Governments, which hitherto have either been hostile or indifferent
to the concept of EARTHWATCH and IRS, are increasingly displaying
interest in its operation, and their participation is being energetically
encouraged.
Presently, our network of national partners numbers 54, and we hope
that this number will increase rapidly. Certainly, leadership by the
United States in this area could go a long way towards accelerating that
process.
To be fully effective, however, IRS must move beyond the network
of national focal points to that of REGIONAL AND EVEN SEC-
TORAL PARTNERSHIP—and here again the trends are quite en-
couraging.
Within the economic regions, certain of the Economic Commissions
have expressed interest in being associated—and in order to stimulate
and encourage regional interest, the United Nations Environment Pro-
gram will be sponsoring a series of Regional Seminars intended to serve
as a forum for intensive discussions on management issues relating to
the planning and operation of focal points. The first of these was held
at the end of September in Nairobi for East Africa and West Asia. A
second is planned for Geneva at the end of October for North America
and West Europe for which both the United States and Canada are
providing expert support. Later seminars have also been planned for
West Africa, Latin America, East Asia, East Europe, etc., and should
average about one every 45 days.
When fully operational, the IRS will thus add an important manage-
ment tool to the international system, where issues of cause and effect
relationships are assuming increasingly ominous proportions. Moreover,
the world can ill-afford the pattern of "DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT",
as we have in the case of the ozone-depletion and the risk that we may
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have transgressed the outer limits in many areas vital to our survival.
Just as the environment cannot be nationalized, its management can
no longer be a matter of chance disclosures nor can the existence of
vital data be considered the exclusive possession of national Govern-
ments. In this connection, IRS potential for information-sharing is thus
a welcome development.
No system, no matter how well designed and efficient in its operation,
can hope to meet the information needs of the world community without
addressing itself to the special information problems of the Third
World and inability of some of its members to fully participate in a
global information system. One of the major challenges facing UNEP is
to help develop the capacities of emerging countries to develop and
manage national environmental information systems—particularly those
countries lacking the basic framework for information collecting and
processing.
FOCAL POINT COLLEAGUES—at the United Nations today, the
Developing Countries have intensified their demand for a more effective
participant role in their call for a new international economic order and
suddenly the system seems to be responding, though much difficult
work lies ahead. The best order, however, will endure only to the
degree that it satisfies basic human needs and enhances the quality of
"life for all".
Without serious regard for the environment, a life of quality, as
called for in the New International Economic Order, is likely to be a
short-lived phenomenon. It is our hope that many of the critical de-
cisions yet to be made will reflect environmental preservation as crucial
to survival of human well-being—and here access to sound data is of
central importance.
It is clear, however, that as we attempt to assess conflicting global
trends, the basic challenge remains the management of the world's first
truly technological civilization. For, our technological order, barely two
hundred years old, has modified our existence more profoundly than
any other human activity in the several millenia of man's existence.
Our culture seems to have lost the capacity to control technological
dynamics. As a matter of fact, one of the central factors of the techno-
logical order is the absence of interior control.
Some writers like Philip Rieff go so far as to suggest that "TECH-
NOLOGY IN ITS VERY PRINCIPLE IS THE ABSENCE OF IN-
TERIOR CONTROL" and that the technological ethos simply demands
that "what can be done must be done".
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There are some who argue that man is not intelligent enough to
survive his present crisis—he has built a world so complex with so
many interacting factors, that the human mind can no longer see its
way through the maze to discern the ultimate effects of decisions and
actions taken today.
Others, like Jay W. Foresters, suggest that the evolutionary processes
had not given us the mental skill needed to properly interpret that
dynamic behaviour of the system of which we have now become a part
—hence the use of simulators and mathematical models.
It is becoming increasingly obvious, however, that what is needed
is a technique that could help the world leaders assess the long-term
effects of their decisions on the physical and social environments
BEFORE such decisions are made. This would involve a fundamentally
new approach to societal decision-making. *
It would thus seem, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, that what is
being suggested is a style of policy and action whereby long-term con-
siderations must become the premise of all decisions and a central
operating procedure. This would mean consideration of a significantly
longer time horizon than the five years which is customary, as well as
better methods of evaluating the full consequences of decisions which
affect both the physical and social environment—and here the role
of IRS should become clearly manifest.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—IRS is not a magic formula, but
another significant step in the management of the planet man calls home.
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Christian Herter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental and Popula-
tion Affairs, State Department.
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"State Department's Role"
by
CHRISTIAN HERTER, JR.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental and Population Affairs
State Department
Thank you very much. After that elaborate introduction, for which I
thank you, there is very really little, I think, needs to be said. You
got a full program getting into the substance of this operation. And
after what Noel Brown has described to you, there is very little left
to be said.
From the point of view of the State Department, I'd just like to
make two very brief comments. The first is that at the Stockholm
Conference, as Russ Train has explained, there was this continuous
demand to know by people of the conference: What was going on in
the world environment? Where could one find out information about it?
Why didn't the scientist know more? How could we work out a system
whereby we could learn more about what is happening in the environ-
ment and through which the results of the learning could be made
available to all countries? This was the theme that pervaded.
Remember this was only about four years ago. As a matter of fact,
it was less than that. Stockholm was three years ago. And at that time,
many countries in the world did not even know what the word environ-
ment was.
But I think we've come an awfully long way since then, at least in
terms of awareness. For the first time through the IRS Focal Point
systems as it appears in the United Nations Environment Program, we
are beginning to put together the threads here. This is what you fellows
have done. You are meeting the first demand for scientific information,
and secondly, the demand for very practical information—as to how
and what has been done elsewhere.
I can remember just a simple old question and I use these purely
as examples, but if a tropical nation1 at a semi-developed level wants to
find out what kind of sewage system, let's say, it can use, given its
climate, that is within its means, obviously a very sophisticated indus-
trial state won't be much help to it. How does it find out what another
tropical nation of like resources has done about this problem? One of
our theories and hopes all along is that we would have a mechanism
to begin providing some of the answers not only in terms of the research
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involved, and the more esthetic aspects of environmental learning, but
very practical useful information that some of the developing countries
can't get elsewhere and don't even know where to start looking for it.
Now this demand has been increasing as time has gone on since
Stockholm. On the other side, the supply, it seems extraordinary to me
the amount of information that there is but nobody knows where it is.
Not only are we talking about government but all levels of government
—federal, state, and local—in this country. We are also talking about
the extensive work going on in universities, in this area and out in in-
dustry. The industrialists themselves particularly those industries that
have the major problems of an environmental nature, have done a tre-
mendous amount of research and have a great deal of practical
experience. At any one time, it's almost impossible to tell where this
information is, who do you get hold of for assistance, how do you find
out about it. You add to what we know in this country, with its enor-
mous variety and great wealth of experience, the knowledge of other
countries, the total is vast. All countries have some knowledge, whether
they be developed countries dealing with environmental problems, such
as the UK, Germany, Soviet Union, or the developing countries.
There is a vast amount of environmental information. I think you
yourselves know that all you have to do is take a look at the EPA library
to find out. There is also a vast amount to be learned too, but it is not
focused in any one place, and nobody knows how to get at it. So that
it seems to me today is the beginning of one half or one part of pulling
together a structure whereby it will be possible for those who want to
find something out that would help their country deal with their prob-
lems, where they can find out what information there is in the world
that is relevant to their own experience.
The second part is obviously the question of will it work and how
to make it work. We've set up the structure and as Noel Brown pointed
out I think the U.S. is the first to have a focal point and I'd like to add
my congratulations to those of Mr. Green's to the ladies who have done
so much about pulling this together. I understand that there is now a
five-man team here in EPA and this becomes the National Focal Point.
The real challenge now is to get similar focal points and to have some-
body realize that the system is some help to them so that they will use it.
I dare say this is going to take some time too. The whole concept of the
International Referral System is part of Earthwatch. It is the first program
of Earthwatch that has actually gotten into action and we in the Depart-
ment are obviously very, very pleased.
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Now the second point I mentioned, is how come EPA happens to be
the focal point for the system in the U.S. The State Department was
asked to select the focal point and I might say we've had an awfully
hard time trying to figure out what agency to use. We've tried all sorts
of agencies. We have been thinking about this thing and our problem
with the Environmental Protection Agency was its self sufficiency. As
you know, the focal point is supposed to reach out to other agencies, in-
dustries, the academic establishment, and other non-governmental orga-
nizations, all of which will take a period of time, but our experience
with EPA was that they knew so much about so many subjects, we did
not feel that they'd ever go beyond their own resources and that we
would have no contacts outside. I'm saying this facetiously, but never-
theless this is one great worry. Well it wasn't a very hard problem in
truth. EPA was the perfect natural place to have this entire system
operate in this country. With its research, with its very practical experi-
ence, with its regional offices all over the country, and with its growing
contacts both with the academic community, and we were delighted, in
fact, it was set up here, that it is operating.
Mr. Aim is going to talk about the mechanics of it. And we are
extremely pleased in the totality of our international effort to see it
established here.
Thank you very much and I appreciate the opportunity to say a
few words.
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"EPA's Role as National Focal Point"
by
ALVIN ALM
Assistant Administrator for Planning and Management
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental quality control is extraordinarily complex, requiring
a wide range of information. Standard setting, problem definition, proj-
ect management involve a range of disciplines—biology, hydrology,
economics, technology and so on.
There is, we know, a vast store of information in all these fields.
Yet access is often limited by lack of awareness on the part of users of
information sources and lack of skills in retrieving the information.
The International Referral System is viewed as an opportunity not
only to trade information among countries of the world but also to
enhance national referral services. EPA, designated National Focal
Point for the United States, has committed significant manpower and
financial resources to the operation with expectations of better serving
the needs of environmental information users in the private sector as
well as government.
The National Focal Point, under the directorship of William Bennett,
is administratively under the EPA Library Systems Branch headed by
Sarah Kadec.
In its lead agency role, EPA has management responsibility for:
—inventory of U.S. organizations which will participate in the IRS.
—national directory of information sources to be included in the
IRS International Directory.
—referral service to respond to requests from IRS users both
within the U.S. and from other countries.
As National Focal Point, EPA is also responsible for liaison with
the UNEP/IRS Central Unit in Nairobi and with other countries on
matters related to national focal point management.
Success will depend upon active cooperation of all groups represented
here today—government, universities, business and industry, professional
associations, citizens groups and other non profit organizations. EPA
invites all of you to actively participate in this important international
endeavor.
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Alvin L. Aim, Assistant Administrator for Planning and Management,
Environmental Protection Agency,
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James T. Clarke, Assistant Secretary—Management, Department of Interior.
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"Role of Other Agencies — Importance of Participation"
by
JAMES T. CLARKE
Assistant Secretary — Management
Department of Interior
It is a pleasure for me, both personally and from an agency standpoint,
to participate today. The general subject matter has been thoroughly
discussed by the prior speakers. As a result, I'd like to focus on several
specific areas that have not been touched.
One of the things that has most impressed me during the three years
that I have been in my present job is the difficulty in identifying the rich
lodes of information which frequently lie hidden within the various
Federal agencies.
I had occasion to journey to Sioux Falls, a very delightful town in
South Dakota. It is also the home for the EROS Data Center—The
center, a part of the Geological Survey, is among other things a huge
computer processing facility. It acquires, processes and disseminates
environmental information mostly from two NASA satellites which are
currently rotating around the earth about 14 times a day, as well as some
other NASA research aircraft. These various scanning devices, use regu-
lar photography and various other kinds of rather exotic techniques.
You might be interested to know that there are presently ground
stations around the world which have the capability of acquiring directly
the data output from these satellites, but most of it is processed by the
Data Center.
Looking at the wealth of information which this program was generat-
ing, I asked the program managers what were their most serious prob-
lems. Well, they said they had overcome most of the technical difficulties.
Like all programs, they had their funding problems. But the thing that
was of most concern was getting the information collected to potential
users. I felt that it was quite significant that their assessment of their
most severe problem was the difficulty of making users aware that this
considerable environmental information was available. And second, to
get the people who were aware of it to become more sophisticated in its
application.
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Now, I'm certain that Interior is no exception when it comes to
current strains on the budget. Each new demand strains the manpower
and resources that we have. We look very critically at any participation
in any program, especially one that is outside our department. We have
looked at this particular one. We're impressed with its utility for us as
an individual agency, and we're prepared to participate fully.
I might add at this point that one of the things we're particularly
sensitive to is the problem of collecting environmental data and the asso-
ciated technical analysis. This sensitivity springs from the many environ-
mental impact statements which we have to prepare. These statements
are time consuming and demanding of objective data and analysis. We
know we don't have a corner on the market in terms of this capability,
but we're optimistic that programs of this nature will assist us greatly.
We've already hooked in about fifty of our environmental data pro-
grams into the U.S. National Focal Point. We expect that other program
managers will soon join. We're going to encourage them to do so.
As an old data processor, I still remember the term "GIGO." It is a
term that translates—garbage-in—garbage-out. The purpose of mem-
tioning the term here is that the Focal Point structure which has been put
in place internationally and within this country is just that: its a structure.
And its going to be up to the participating agencies to make sure that the
land of information which goes in is useful to the users when it comes out.
We're going to fully support the Environmental Protection Agency in
this effort and expect to work cooperatively with other governmental
agencies. And we're prepared to encourage the participation in and use
of this system. We hope you will do the same. Thank you very much.
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Demonstration of the International Referral System—William W. Bennett.
Director of the U. S. National Focal Point (center) explaining operational
procedures to Fitzhugh Green (left) and Noel Brown (right).
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g
.-•xv*
••-XV
Publications for the United Nations Environment Program International
Referral System.
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MAILING ADDRESS
U.S. National Focal Point (PM-213)
UNEP/IRS
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, S.W. (Room 2902)
Washington, D. C. 20460
CABLE ADDRESS
EPAWSH (TLX # 892758)
TELEPHONE NUMBER
A. C. 202 755-1836
1837
1838
HOURS OF OPERATION
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
daily Monday thru Friday
except holidays
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