Voices of the Planet

· WIT has successfully engineered the delivery of over 2,000 pounds of clothing, toys, and educational and medical supplies to two orphanages near the Children's Specialized Hospital for victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. All donated items were given by WIT members, and delivered by WIT regional staff in the Ukraine. The shipment was part of the container supplied by the Children of Chernobyl Relief Fund. Other shipments are planned for victims of environmental disasters around the world. Contact: World Information Transfer, 866 Third Avenue, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

· An updated one-hour long videotape of all the WIT Health and Environment Conferences will soon be available for a special price of $24. When ordering please specify NSTC or PAL. Contact: World Information Transfer, 866 Third Avenue, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

· GreenCOM, the Environmental Education and Communication Project of the U.S. Agency for International Development, is operating an information exchange center accessible to environmental educators and communicators among developing nations. The project is accessible by mail, fax, and e-mail, and currently acts as repository for more than 4,000 publications, curricula, newsletters, brochures, posters, videos, and other materials on environmental education and communication. The Center is actively looking for new information, and welcomes all materials donations. The Center provides bibliographies, articles, xeroxes, and further contact information. Make information requests as specific as possible. Contact: GreenCOM Information Exchange Center, 1255 23rd St. NW, Washington, DC, 20037 USA; Fax 202-884-8997; e-mail <greencom@aed.org>

· Organized by Tufts University's Center for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, an upcoming conference on Environmental Enhancement through Agriculture will focus on ways that agricultural practices may be employed toward actively helping the environment, rather than merely reducing the damage agricultural practices currently cause. Two WIT members will be participating in this conference. Contact: Environmental Enhancement Conference, Henry Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, 9200 Edmonston Road, Suite 117, Greenbelt, MD, USA 20770; telephone 617277-1200; fax 617-734-6991.

· In Durban, South Africa, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recently co-sponsored a conference on ecotourism in southern Africa with regional governments and the World Bank. Contact: International Association for Impact Assessment; telephone 254-262-1234; fax 254-222-6886; internet hussein.Abaza@unep.no or John Raimondo, South Africa Chapter of IAIA; telephone 27-21-650-2886; fax 27-21-650-3791; internet raimondo@ct-pop.iaccess.za.

· The United Nations "Home Page" has been launched on the World Wide Web, allowing public access to the latest U.N. news, especially documents generated by the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The new system allows information to be disseminated more quickly than in the past, and reaches a far greater number of interested people and organizations. The Home Page address is: http://www.un.org.

· The Society for Occupational and Environmental Health (SOEH) annual conference "Advances in Medical Surveillance for Environmental and Occupational Health: From Exposure Onset through Health Outcome" will be held December 6-8 in Bethesda, MD. For additional information please contact the SOEH National Office, 6728 Old McLean Village Drive, McLean, VA 22101, Phone 703-556-9222, Fax 703-556-8729.

· The Third Annual World Bank Conference on Effective Financing of Environmentally Sustainable Development will be held in Washington, DC on October 4-6, 1995. To register, please call 203-473-9361, Fax 202-522-3244.

· "Culture and Agriculture" is the 1995 theme of the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997) and title of a recently released booklet. Based on the experiences of inter-governmental organizations, notably the Food and Agriculture Organization, the booklet's 12 articles analyse past projects in trying to infuse agricultural development policies with a healthy respect for cultural practices. From educational comic strips to sacred groves, a wide range of tactics is offered to enable local communities to take an active part in development projects.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank have assisted with the formulation of sustainable forestry action plans in 90 countries.

SOURCE: UN Photo 107154/GT

· Dismantling the Bomb and Managing the Nuclear Materials. Washington, DC: Office of Technology Assessment, 1993.

The Cold War's demise has posed an international question unprecedented in world history: What do we do with all these devastatingly destructive nuclear weapons? Current United States federal efforts to answer this question are adequate for present and immediate contingencies, but they are insufficient to address the challenge on any kind of long-term basis. This book provides the scientific and organizational background material needed to substantiate its call for a focused, top-level government effort to develop a comprehensive national disarmament and nuclear materials management policy.

Among the report's most significant insights is that decision-making processes must not only be open to public scrutiny, but must incorporate public participation in all phases of planning and development. The OTA contributors include experts on radiology, environmental evaluation, health and life sciences, and marine and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as advisors from public interest groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. This scholarly array of advisors and contributors suggests various initiatives that Congress might consider, discusses the next stages of dismantlement and materials management, approaches solutions to the ultimate disposition of radioactive materials, and pursues ways to encourage and assist Russia in establishing appropriate practices.

The text, although marked by professionalism and scholarship, isn't too technical for the lay reader, and the narrative is accompanied by an abundance of charts, graphs, maps, and schematics that read almost as fluidly as the prose. Several appendices provide more in depth discussions of some of the more pertinent factors of nuclear waste disposal and management, and suggest areas of further study and public involvement. A highly appropriate volume for both the casual and non-casual reader.

UNICEF has provided children the world over with sustenance during times of hardship, which for a majority of the world's children means always.

SOURCE: UN Photo/UNICEF

World Information Transfer

A Non-Profit, United Nations Affiliated
Non-Governmental Organization.
Promoting Environmental Literacy.

Board of Directors Dr. Christine K. Durbak, Chair Mr. Farouk Mawlawi, Executive Vice Chair Dr. Andriy O. Demydenko, Vice Chair Mr. Roland A. DeSilva, Vice Chair Dr. Claudia Strauss, Secretary Ms. Carolyn Comitta, Treasurer Mr. Franklin Swersky, Esquire, Legal Adviser Dr. Sharham Ayazi Amb. Alexander Borg-Olivier Dr. Karen Burke Christopher Findlay Christopher Geoghegan Dr. Bernard D. Goldstein Dr. Wadi Haddad Amb. Yuri Shcherbak Mr. Jay Walker

WIT SPEAKERS BUREAU WIT has expert speakers who can address your company, club or organization on various aspects of the environment. Call or-write the WIT office for information or reservations.

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ATTENTION: Please let us know of your greatest concern for the environment.

"Why should I send my daughter to school? Who then is going to look after the babies, fetch water, clean and cools, when I go to market to sell my vegetables? Who is going to help me dig, weed and harvest?" A Nigerian mother

WIT Membership Individuals and/or organizations can become WIT members and receive four issues of WIT's World Ecology Report and other membership benefits for a tax deductible annual fee as follows: Student - $15.00 or 20 DM Individual - $25.00 or 40 DM Organization - $50.00 or 100 DM Supporter - $100.00 or 200 DM Benefactor - $500.00 or 1000 DM Please provide the information requested below and return it along with a check made payable to: World Ecology Report 274 Madison Avenue Suite 601 New York, NY 10016-0789 USA Renewal NAME: ___________________________________________ ORGANIZATION: __________________________________ ADDRESS: _______________________________________ CITY: _________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: _______ COUNTRY: _______________________________________

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Carolyn T. Comitta
WIT Regional Director - North America
18 West Chestnut Street West Chester, PA 19380
Tel: (610) 696-3896 Fax: (6l0) 430-3804

Dr. Andriy O. Demydenko
Taras Boitchouk
WIT Regional Directors - Eastern Europe
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Christopher Geoghegan
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WIT Regional Directors - Western Europe
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Dr. M. R. Khawlie
WIT Regional Director - Middle East
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Tel: 961-1-822665 Fax: 961-1-822639

Dr. Rashmi Mayur
WIT Regional Director - Asia
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Bombay, 40021, India
Tel: 91-22-204-5758
Fax: 91-22-287-1250

Gerry Lynch
WIT Regional Director - Oceania
3/55 William Street
Double Bay, Sydney 2028, Australia

Christopher J. Moorehead, P. Eng.
WIT Regional Director - Canada 30
Whitewood Road
Toronto, Ontario Canada M45 2X7
Tel: (416) 923-2918
Fax: (4l6) 923-7521

Prof. Dr. Vilen N. Tikhonov
WIT Regional Director - Russia & Siberia
Novosibirsk - 90, Russia, 630090
Zolotodolinskaya 1-12
Tel: 7-383-235-6851
Fax: 7-383-2.35-6558
E-mail: tikhonov@CGINSK.SU

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