A typology of scientific bottlenecks to natural resources development
A preliminary systematic framework for considering the scientific bottlenecks to the development of natural resources is presented, as a basis for discussion and refinement. In giving particular attention to problems of resource use in developing countries, two main types of scientific bottlenecks are recognized. One concerns the quality and quantity of information on natural resources, and the use that is made of that information. The second relates to the quality and quantity of local manpower in the ecological and related sciences that is available to developing countries, and to the conditions that affect the promotion and stability of scientific endeavor in these countries.Action strategies for combatting these bottlenecks are proposed. These strategies emphasize the need to improve the scientific basis for the predictable use of natural resources, to facilitate multi-directional links of scientific cooperation between countries, and to help develop national self-reliance in research and management activities. They stress such principles of action as the promotion of a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary approach within specific geographic units, and the combination of research, training and demonstration within particular field activities. These features of suggested research run counter neither to scientific method nor to the freedom of scientific endeavor. They do, however, entail a change in the way that much research is conceived and organized. More particularly, they entail the incorporation of additional dimensions in the overall research effort, including that of a perception approach to problems.
International, interdisciplinary research in ecology: Some problems of organization and execution. The case of the man and the biosphere (MAB) programme
Ecological problems — because they involve interactions and interfaces — require for their solution a flexible, interdisciplinary approach. Ecological research can best be supported in an international, intergovernmental framework, but, at first sight, the requirements of such a framework may seem unwieldy to traditionally trained natural and social scientists. Experience acquired in implementing UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme indicates that it is possible to overcome the difficulties of conducting integrated research and to achieve internationally comparable results. The MAB Programme is a good example of both the potential and the limitations of integrated, international ecological research programs. There seem to be three imperatives for success: (1) research must be problem oriented, (2) the. unit selected for study must be sufficiently comprehensive and based on human use systems, and (3) research workers in various natural and social science disciplines and the administrative decision-makers must share responsibility for planning and execution.
The Role of UNEP in Environmental Education
A major goal of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is to catalyze and encourage international and national action for more effective management of the environment. There are three fundamental tasks associated with this goal: (a) Indentification of major environmental problems through environmental assessment; (b) Promotion of solution to these problems, and prevention of new ones, through effective environmental management; and (c) Measures to support the functional tasks of assessment and management, for which education, training and information are important and indispensable tools.