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North-South Meeting
Volume 9/Number 2/February 1978
Environmental Education in Israel The Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture has just published the Israel National Report to the UN Conference on Environmental Education. Dr Uri Marinov, Director of the Environmental Protection Service, in a Foreword, points out that although decision makers throughout the world have been quick to respond to the high priority of protecting the environment, short term economic development without adequate environmental safeguards have been too often preferred. The essential compatibility of economic, social and environmental objectives over the medium and long term is not sufficiently appreciated. The answer to this is seen as lying in "what has perhaps been the least appreciated facet of the environmental effort: environmental education". In Israel, several different offices, divisions and departments deal with environmental education. The Environmental Protection Service itself has an Education Department which acts as an initiating unit and as a coordinator for formal and informal environmental developments. At its instigation, an Environmental Education Centre was established in 1975 with an advisory board of educators and scientists, to initiate and develop environmental curricula, establish inservice teacher training programmes and organize information seminars directed at the general public. Several departments of the Ministry of Education and Culture have included environmental education among their responsibilities, under the guidance of the Committee on Environmental Education of the Pedagogical Secretariat. Several environmental curricula have been developed for use in primary or secondary schools and in universities. Some are still in the experimental stage and are being tested in various schools. These programmes reflect a comprehensive approach to environmental studies, but not a preference for either the disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach to curricula development. Several universities offer courses in environmental studies as part of general or education degree programmes. In some, more advanced specialized training is offerred up to Ph.D level to ensure that there will be a pool of professionals capable of environmental problemsolving and on having an impact on decision-making at all levels. The Weizmann Institute of Science has several units engaged on research in water pollution, sea pollution and water desalination.
North-South Meeting The OCEANEXPO 77 maritime exhibition and symposium held in Bordeaux provided an impressive meeting ground for north and south. There was massive participation by very senior officials and decision makers, mainly from Black Africa and the Arab
countries, including 8 Ministers, 15 Ambassadors and hundreds of Directors and Secretaries-General of mihigtries, shipping companies, oil companies, harbours and ship owners. The trade fair included contributions by 200 contributors from 19 countries and was attended by 6500 professionals from 64 countries. It was under the honorary chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Senegal, and the organization was assisted by several departments of the European Community Commission as well as the French Ministry of Cooperation. Developing countries with a coastal frontage are becoming increasingly aware of the need to exploit marine and maritime resources rationally and offer an important market for both industry and expertise in the developed northern part of the world. The next OCEANEXPO, scheduled for 1980, has this very much in mind and is being strongly directed towards the developing world. Four days have been programmed for the 53 countries of the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP Group), for the 21 Arab countries and the Latin American and Asian countries.
Oil Drilling Threat to US East Coast Environmentalists view with some misgivings the official approval given to ten major oil companies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to drill one exploratory well each in the area lying between 80 and 216 km off the coast of New Jersey and Maryland. This outer continental shelf area is estimated to contain up to 1400 million barrels of oil and exploration leases were sold by the Federal government to private oil companies a year ago. Citizens groups and environmental bodies argue that even the exploratory drilling programmes could result in pollution of the sea and beaches and damage marine life. The EPA has stressed that the permits which set limits governing the disposal of effluents as well as ensuring safety regulations are enforced apply only to the exploration wells and should oil or gas be found fresh permits will be required before exploitation wells can be sunk.
Mariculture Research The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has published a report on the present research activities in the field of mariculture in member countries of the organization. The report lists for the 18 member countries the laboratories, manpower and facilities employed in this work and also lists under each of the 35 organisms an analysis of the work done and planned for the future. It also has an analysis of the research effort broken down under the major research topics: type of culture, breeding and rearing feeds and feeding, diseases and their control, parasites, predator control and the ecology of aquaculture. Cooperative Research Report 70 may be obtained from ICES, Charlottenlund Slot, DK-2920 Copenhagen, Denmark. 31
Environmental Education in Israel The Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture has just published the Israel National Report to the UN Conference on Environmental Education. Dr Uri Marinov, Director of the Environmental Protection Service, in a Foreword, points out that although decision makers throughout the world have been quick to respond to the high priority of protecting the environment, short term economic development without adequate environmental safeguards have been too often preferred. The essential compatibility of economic, social and environmental objectives over the medium and long term is not sufficiently appreciated. The answer to this is seen as lying in "what has perhaps been the least appreciated facet of the environmental effort: environmental education". In Israel, several different offices, divisions and departments deal with environmental education. The Environmental Protection Service itself has an Education Department which acts as an initiating unit and as a coordinator for formal and informal environmental developments. At its instigation, an Environmental Education Centre was established in 1975 with an advisory board of educators and scientists, to initiate and develop environmental curricula, establish inservice teacher training programmes and organize information seminars directed at the general public. Several departments of the Ministry of Education and Culture have included environmental education among their responsibilities, under the guidance of the Committee on Environmental Education of the Pedagogical Secretariat. Several environmental curricula have been developed for use in primary or secondary schools and in universities. Some are still in the experimental stage and are being tested in various schools. These programmes reflect a comprehensive approach to environmental studies, but not a preference for either the disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach to curricula development. Several universities offer courses in environmental studies as part of general or education degree programmes. In some, more advanced specialized training is offerred up to Ph.D level to ensure that there will be a pool of professionals capable of environmental problemsolving and on having an impact on decision-making at all levels. The Weizmann Institute of Science has several units engaged on research in water pollution, sea pollution and water desalination.
North-South Meeting The OCEANEXPO 77 maritime exhibition and symposium held in Bordeaux provided an impressive meeting ground for north and south. There was massive participation by very senior officials and decision makers, mainly from Black Africa and the Arab
countries, including 8 Ministers, 15 Ambassadors and hundreds of Directors and Secretaries-General of mihigtries, shipping companies, oil companies, harbours and ship owners. The trade fair included contributions by 200 contributors from 19 countries and was attended by 6500 professionals from 64 countries. It was under the honorary chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Senegal, and the organization was assisted by several departments of the European Community Commission as well as the French Ministry of Cooperation. Developing countries with a coastal frontage are becoming increasingly aware of the need to exploit marine and maritime resources rationally and offer an important market for both industry and expertise in the developed northern part of the world. The next OCEANEXPO, scheduled for 1980, has this very much in mind and is being strongly directed towards the developing world. Four days have been programmed for the 53 countries of the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP Group), for the 21 Arab countries and the Latin American and Asian countries.
Oil Drilling Threat to US East Coast Environmentalists view with some misgivings the official approval given to ten major oil companies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to drill one exploratory well each in the area lying between 80 and 216 km off the coast of New Jersey and Maryland. This outer continental shelf area is estimated to contain up to 1400 million barrels of oil and exploration leases were sold by the Federal government to private oil companies a year ago. Citizens groups and environmental bodies argue that even the exploratory drilling programmes could result in pollution of the sea and beaches and damage marine life. The EPA has stressed that the permits which set limits governing the disposal of effluents as well as ensuring safety regulations are enforced apply only to the exploration wells and should oil or gas be found fresh permits will be required before exploitation wells can be sunk.
Mariculture Research The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has published a report on the present research activities in the field of mariculture in member countries of the organization. The report lists for the 18 member countries the laboratories, manpower and facilities employed in this work and also lists under each of the 35 organisms an analysis of the work done and planned for the future. It also has an analysis of the research effort broken down under the major research topics: type of culture, breeding and rearing feeds and feeding, diseases and their control, parasites, predator control and the ecology of aquaculture. Cooperative Research Report 70 may be obtained from ICES, Charlottenlund Slot, DK-2920 Copenhagen, Denmark. 31