The Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) is a constituent of ICSU, the International Council of Scientific Unions. The structure of the parent body ICSU is indicated on the next page. Briefly, ICSU is an interdisciplinary and international scientific organization, speaking for: the 18 adhering unions (for example, the International Union of Geography) and the 12 scientific associates (for example, the International Society of Soil Science) the 66 adhering national academies of science, royal societies and research councils. From time to time, ICSU establishes scientific committees, and gives them considerable freedom to develop their own work programs within designated interdisciplinary areas. Such was the case in 1969 when SCOPE was formed, in response to the same environmental concerns as those that led to the 1972 U.N. Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. The main tasks of SCOPE-to advance knowledge about the influence of human activities on the environment, and to serve as a non-governmental source of advice on environmental problems-have not changed in the last eight years. One of the first activities of SCOPE illustrates the ways in which both of these tasks are pursued. Dr. Bengt Lundholm of Sweden was chairman of a SCOPE Commission on Monitoring, which contributed significantly to the U.N. Stockholm Conference. In fact, the Commission developed the basic design of GEMS, the Global Environmental Monitoring System (see Additional reading). Through the support of the adhering ICSU unions and national academies and research councils, SCOPE has demonstrated its ability to undertake interdisciplinary environmental work, and in particular, to synthesize existing knowledge on global environmental problems.
The structure, support The structure of SCOPE is shown schematically on the next page. A General Assembly is held every three years to elect officers, to review the activities of the organization, and to reformulate objectives for the next three years. SCOPE has a full-time executive secretary, Dr. V. Smirnyagin, and a small secretariat located at ICSU headquarters in Paris. The main activities of SCOPE at the present time are contained within seven projects: biogeochemical cycles dynamic changes and evolution of ecosystems environmental aspects of human settlements ecotoxicology simulation modeling of environmental systems environmental monitoring communication of environmental information, and societal assessment and response. As indicated in Figure 2, SCOPE projects may be done by research centers designated by SCOPE national committees. Chelsea College, London, has become a focal point for environmental monitoring, while the Holcomb Research Institute (Indianapolis, Ind.) has supported some of the work on simulation modeling. SCOPE is supported financially in a number of ways. These are: through an annual subvention from ICSU; through annual dues from SCOPE national committees; through an annual subvention from the Government of France; through contracts with UNEP and some of the UN specialized agencies; through grants from foundations and business enterprises; and through sundry indirect contributions from SCOPE national committees (travel costs for national participants, host country support of meetings). Interdisciplinarycooperation In the last several decades, scientific disciplines have become more and more specialized. Yet the environmental problems facing mankind are widening, and there has been increasing recognition of the need for interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving. For example, the atmospheric Codreenhouse problem is being studied by a wide spectrum of specialists, who in some cases are working quite independentlyof each other. 1058
EnvironmentalScience 8 Technology
Some of the topics under study w: inventoriesof fossil-fuel emissions and scenarios of future outputs (engineers and economists) models of the world carbon cycle (modelers, meteorologists, oceanographers, marine biologists, limnologists, and plant physiologists and microbiologists) models of climate change (modelers, meteorologists, oceanographers, hydrologists and glaciologists working within ICSU-WMO’s Global Atmospheric Research Program) models of the impact of climate change on mankind (meteorologists, sociologists, economists, engineers, foresters, and agronomists). SCOPE is acting as a focal point for these specialists, facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue but always complementing rather than competing with the activities of the ICSU unions and other scientific committees. This task has not been easy. Scientists from the same institute but from different disciplines sometimes have more difficulty in communicating with each other than do scientists from the same discipline but from different institutes, countries, languages or even cultures. An example of a problem area SCOPE has encountered is this: the title of a new project can often be accepted without difficulty. However, an explanatory paragraph written subsequently may cause debate, while a 10-page description may reveal fundamental misunderstandings on the meaning of even the title. One of the reasons for this is that every branch of science is overgrown with jargon, and there are special connotations to words such as test-bed, baseline observations, simulation, assessment, and even environment. One excellent example is the definition of what constitutes baseline observations. To a meteorologist, baseline observations are those made at a remote location far from local sources of pollution. To an oceanographer, baseline observations are those first observations made of a polluted sea or estuary that establish the extent of the water pollution prob-
lem. To a lawyer, observations made along a line of demarcation separating two jurisdictions are baseline. Frequently, also, the specialist talks too much and listens too little. He provides the information that he considers to be most useful, instead of asking his colleagues in other disciplines to define their needs. This difficulty is particularly acute at the interface between the hard and the soft sciences. Yet the attempt to cross interdisciplinary frontiers is challenging, exciting and well worth the frustrations that sometimes arise. In 1972 the General Assembly of ICSU asked SCOPE to identify those environmental issues requiring the most urgent interdisciplinary and international effort by the scientific community. This challenge came at a time when funding agencies in all parts of the world had become concerned about the cost effectiveness of research programs, and had begun to introduce the principles of “managment by objectives.” It was therefore quite natural that SCOPE should be asked to produce and justify a “short-list’’ of environmental priorities. The process of reaching consensus was difficult. In the initial stages, about 20 scientists participated, and the list of priorities changed frequently. However, this early uncertainty led to the development of guidelines that could be used for setting priorities. Over a four-year period, more and more people were brought into the process, through discussions at two general assemblies, and consultations with national committees and project working groups. In time, these discussions led to a SCOPE view on environmental priorities, which were presented to the ICSU General Assembly in October 1976, and which have been recently published as a book, Environmental Issues (SCOPE 10, 1977). The priorities are those given by the seven project titles, supplemented to include the topic climate. This latter subject
Volume 11. Number 12. November 1977 1057
is of high priority but it needs no stimulation by SCOPE since it is already part of the ICSU-WMO GARP program. Seven SCOPE projects Project 1: biogeochemicalcycles. The biogeochemicalcycles of carbon (C), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and phosphorus (P) determine the composition of the atmosphere as well as the fertility of land and water. Disturbances in these cycles may have global, regional and local implications that can only be assessed against the background of integrated, interdisciplinary knowledge of the budgets and the flows of the cycles' components, and of the mechanisms mediating their conversions and transport. Man's impact has been to short-circuit many of the traditional pathways for cycling of materials (for example, by burning fossil fuels, and by spreading fertilizers on the land). This project aims to assemble existing multidisciplinary knowledge on the cycles by means of critical surveys. These serve the next objective, which is to identify gaps in knowledge and to determine research and monitoring priorities for acquiring the data needed for the completion of a holistic, coherent framework that will permit assessment of man's various impacts on the cycles and may provide valuable guidelines for the utilization of natural resources. The project members are J.W.M. la Riviere (The Netherlands); E.T. Degens (Federal Republic of Germany); V.A. Kovda (USSR); and T. Rosswall (Sweden). A workshop on the cycles of N, P and S held in 1975 in Orsundsbro, Sweden, sponsored by the Swedish National Committee for SCOPE, was published as SCOPE Report 7. Funding for the workshop and publication were through the Swedish Natural Science Research Council. A workshop on the carbon cycle was held in Hamburg, Germany, in March, 1977; it was sponsored by the National SCOPE Committees of the Federal Republic of Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden. The report of the workshop will be published at the end of 1977 and will take into account the results of other meetings on related subjects held during 1977. Project 2: dynamic changes andevolufion of ecosystems. Man is continually modifying his environment in an attempt to produce. more food, fiber, goods and services. This oflen produces severe stress on ecosystems that causes instability and loss of productivity. The results are evident in those areas where renewable natural resources have deteriorated; for example, desertification of arid and semi-arid areas, salinization and waterlogging of soils, and destruction of tropical forests. Project 2 focuses on: identifyingthose practices that lead to resource deterioration. and identifying gaps in present knowledge, discrepancies between knowledge and application, and socioeconomic constraints that limit the optimum management of resource use. One of the key requirements for understandinghuman impact on renewable natural resources is the ability to assess dynamic changes in the population structure of key component species in the ecosystems under study. This should be done in both in natural and man-modified situations, since these changes reflect the impact of natural and human events and permit an assessment of the relative stability of various ecosystems and their tolerance to different types of perturbations. These changes are -__I_--
.
The establishment of mechanisms for continuous. holistic evaluation of new data stimulation of work inpriority areas, especially those of relevance to developingcountries Stimulation of biogeochemical cartography ortending activities to cycles of other elements like the heavy metals Establishment of SCOPE centers for the study of the nitrogen and carbon cycles.
1058
Environmental Science 8 Technology
commonly referred to under the general topic of ecological succession. Rapid theoretical and experimental progress has been made in this field in recent years, particularly in terms of the degree to which future changes in ecosystem structure can be predicted from the pattern of previous changes, under given management regimes. It now seems likely that a better dynamic understanding of successional processes may play a key role in clarifying some of the present controversy in ecology as to the interrelationships between such characteristicsas dominance and diversity on the one hand, and stability and resilience of ecosystems on the other Jointly with UNESCO, SCOPE Project 2 organized a workshop in Santa Barbara, California, in 1976 on the topic of ecological succession. The proceedings have been published by UNESCO in their Man and Biosphere (MAB) series. The project chairman is Dr. R.O. Slatyer of Australia. Members of the preparatory committee are J. Menke (US.), Z.Naveh (Israel), B. Huntley (S.Africa), J.N.R. Jeffers and D.J. Mabberley (U.K.). Project 2 is now beginning a detailed analysis of the ecological effects of fire. A preparatory meeting held in England in January 1977 decided that the program should have two main objectives: to improve the scientific understanding of the manner in which fire interacts wth biota; and to improve the manner in which fire can be used as a tool in ecosystem management. It is envisaged that various modes of activity will be established within each participating country. The first example of such activity was the international symposium organized by H. Mooney on the "Environmental Consequences of Fire and Fuel Management in Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems," held at Stanford Universitv from 1-5 Auoust 1977. The overall svnthesis of Project 2 will 6ulminate in anintern;3tional conference to be held, possibly in mid-1979. Project 3: environmental aspects of human settlements. The environmental problems that arise from rapid population growth and major redistribution of population are worldwide, but affect the less-developed areas of the world to a particularly acute degree. These problems include overcrowding, poor housing, and sanitation, deficient services and a degradation of the natural landscape. Concomitant with these largely urban environmental problems are those resulting from rural depopulation and inadequate rural housing and services. Work in this area has tended to be widely diffusedand to lack ^^*i^^ ""A-.ta'., _^^^^" the orientation needed for effective ClruYIr. lra3vll for this is that different perspectives are obtained from such varied disciplines as architecture, the social, biomedical, and natural sciences, engineering, and urban and regional planning. Especially in the developing countries, these differing perspectives have been further colored by usages and standards derived from previous colonial relations. There is, thus, a major need for interdisciplinaryappraisals of existing states of knowledge of the environmental aspects of human settlements. Such an appraisal requites a careful selection of topics amenable to scientific study and comparative research programs. One such topic of priority is the evaluation of the scientific rationale and the range of application appropriate for standards relating to shelter provision. The SCOPE project was concerned with the following aspects of shelter provision and its impact on the environment: the use of renewable and non-renewabie resources; climate; cultural values; building and administration costs; water supply; air quality; occupational noise levels; geophysical hazards; sanitary and educational services. The project chairman was Prof. A. Mabogunje of Nigeria. Other project committee members were J. Hardoy (Argentina), R.P. Misra (India), J.S. Weiner (U.K.), N. Ginsburg (U.S.) and A. Kuklinski (Poland). Through regional collaborating institutes in Nigeria, India and Argentina, building standards and criteria were obtained from many countries in Africa, Asia and South America. The information was evaluated in each institute, and a synthesis of these
surveys, made at a Paris workshop in early 1977,will be published in the near future. Project 4: ecotoxicology. Ecotoxicology is concerned with the toxic effects of chemicals and physical agents on living organisms, especially on populations and communities within defined ecosystems; it includes the interactions of those agents with the environment and with their transfer pathways. Presently, there is no unified conceptual treatment of the scientific basis for assessing the effects of pollutants on man and the biosphere. The objective of Project 4 is to fill this gap by preparing a monograph on the principles for the assessment of the effects of noxious agents in the environment, as a contribution to a scientific system for developing criteria, setting standards, designing monitoring programs, and determining research priorities. The project is under the direction of the following committee members: G. C. Butler (Canada) (Convener), Ph. Bourdeau (EEC), A. G. Johnels (Sweden), F. Korte (FRG), N. Nelson (US.), T. A. Tashev (Bulgaria), and R. Truhaut (France). The monograph is being written by 13 authors from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, FRG, Sweden, U.K., and U.S. Three meetings have already been held. These are: preparatory committee, London, August 1975, financed by the Holcomb Research Institute, Butler University, Indianapolis; workshop of preparatory committee and writers, Brussels, July 1975,financed by the European Economic Community; and a workshop of preparatory committee and writers, Munich, December 1976,financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Gesellschaft fur Strahlen und Umweltforschung. The final manuscript, to be published by John Wiley 8 Sons Ltd., England, is in press. A grant for preparation and editing of the manuscript was secured from the Rockefeller Foundation. Project 5: simulation modeling of environmental systems. Simulation. models are used in almost every branch of the physical, biological, sociological and.economic sciences. They are particularly useful in representing complex systems containing many components, elements and processes. Simulation modeling of complex ecosystems requires interdisciplinary understandingand cooperation; unfortunately; scientists engaged in such studies are often working in groups that have little contact with one another. There is a need for various groups to establish such contacts. Although contacts between modelers within a particular discipline are usually close enough for effective communication, interdisciplinary contacts leave much to be desired. The SCOPE International Commission on Simulation Modeling was co-chaired by F.N. Frenkiel (U.S.) and D.W. Goodali (Australia). In 1974,the project sponsored a Workshop on Environmental Impact Assessment, in Victoria Harbour, Ontario, Canada, which produced a widely referenced book on the subject (SCOPE 5 , 1975). Funding came from UNEP, UNESCO and Environment Canada. In 1975,the U.S. National Committee for SCOPE endorsed the convening of several workshops on the U S . experience in simulation modeling of environmental systems. This led to the publicationof a book that synthesized the results. (see Additional reading, Holcomb Research Institute, 1976). SCOPE 9 Simulation Modeling of Environmental Problems is based on a workshop on simulation modeling held at the Holcomb Research Institute (Butler University, Indianapolis, US.) in March 1976.The report draws heavily upon the US. and other experiences and is now in press. The participantsand co-authors of the report included 26 scientists from 10 countries. Funding came from the Holcomb Research Institute. The concluding recommendations in the report refer to education and training, to modeling standards and principles, modeling information and documentation, and to research and international cooperation. These and other recommendations were forwarded to the national committee for SCOPE, national correspondents on Stimulation Modeling and the ICSU unions
SCOPE 1 (1971). Global environmental monitoring (out of print). SCOPE 2 (1972). Man-made lakes as modified ecosystems. $2.00. SCOPE 3 (1973). Global environmental monitoring system: action plan for phase I. $3.00. SCOPE 4 (1974). Environmental sclences in developing countries. $1.00. SCOPE 5 (1975). Envimnmental Impact assessment: principles and procedures. $8.00. SCOPE 6 (1975). Envlronmtal pollutams-selected analytical memods. Ann Arbor Science Publishers. Inc. P.O. Box 1425,Ann Arbor, Mich. $22.50. SCOPE 7 (1976). Nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur global cycles. EcologicalBuIletinsVolume 22. Swedish Natural Science Research Council. $9.50. SCOPE 8 (1977). Risk assessment of environmental hazards (in press). SCOPE 9 (1977). Environmental simulation modeling. Will be available frcin R a m publishers. I1 1 4th Ave.. New York, N.Y.
10003 $16.50. SCOPE 10 (1977). Environmental Issues Available only from John Wiley Sons, Ltd., Baffins Lane, Chicester. Sussex, PO19 IUD, U.K. $15.00. SCOPE I 1 (1977). Ecotoxicology (in press). SCOPE Miscellaneous Publkatlon No. 1 (1974). Environment and development. Proceedingsof SCOPElUNEPSymposiumon Environmental Sciences in Developing Countries, Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 1974. In early 1977,SCOPE contracted with John wiiey a Sons Ltd. to arrange future publication of all SCOPE reports. Copies of SCOPE 2-6 publications can be obtained through the SCOPE Semetarlat. 51 Blvd. de Montmaency, 75016 Paris, France, until late 1977 when all SCOPE publications will be disb-lbutedby John Wiley a Sons.
and committees. Further activities in the field of simulation modeling will be related to the requirements of other SCOPE projects. An internationalseminar on simulation modeling of the biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems within the framework of the SCOPE program has been proposed for 1978 by the USSR national committee. Project 6: environmental monitoring. In a separate paper in this issue, Andrew Sors and Gordon Goodman describe the SCOPE Monitoring and Assessment Research Center that has been established at Chelsea College, London. England. Project 7: communication of environmental information and societal assessment and response. Project 7 was established in recognition of the need to improve ways of communicating scientific information about the environment to decision-makers, and to understand more fully the factors that account for varied societal assessments and responses. It has been observed that warnings given by scientists about possible threats to human health and well-being arising from environmental changes can be seriously misunderstood or misinterpreted. At worst, scientific warnings are neglected or almost totally ignored until an extremely serious or even catastrophic situation arises. Alternatively, the public may overreact, resulting in the adoption of precipitate actions or decisions in excess of the needs of the case. The project chairman is Ian Burton (Canada), and the members of the preparatory committee were A. Engstrom (Sweden) and L.K. Caldwell (US.). Project 7 has focused its approach on the study of environmental risk assessment methods and procedures in an international context. As the first phase of the study, a workshop was held at Wood's Hole, Mass., in April 1975,under the sponsorship of UNEP and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). A report based in part on this workshop was prepared by R.W. Kates (US.). It reviews the scientific and social dimensions of Volume 11. Number 12, November 1977
1059
risk assessment and is entitled Risk Assessment of Environmental Hazards (SCOPE 8). A second workshop was held in Hungary in June 1977 at the invitation of the HungarianAcademy of Sciences, and supported, in part, by the UNEP. This workshop represented the second phase of study whose aim was to provide scientific personnel, particularly in developing countries, with practical guidance to the alternative measures and procedures available for risk assessment. Further information about SCOPE project 7 may be obtained from Professor Ian Burton, Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I
Get TOC high-precision, I simDlicitv, sDeed,and save money.
The Beckman Model 915A Total Organic Carbon Analyzer. the first instrument approved by the EPA. is still your best buy. For a lot of reasons. First, it employs the combustion/infrared method that's simple. reliable, and accurate with sensitivity to better than kO.05 mg per liter, full scale. -Then, instead of three gas cylinders, it needs only a single cylinder of purified air. Operating costs are about one-third those of comparable competitive instruments. Using standard procedures, analysis time is a mere two to four minutes per sample. And with simple pretreatment (also required by competitive units). even such difficult samples as sewage, sludge and sediments can be accurately analyzed. Also, there's no fleeting answer readout. Your data is recorded.. .and permanently available for retrieval. And if all that isn't enough, the Beckman Model 915A initially costs significantly less than the closest, comparably performing competitor. The Beckman-quality TOC Analyzer is backed by 13 years of technology and by direct Beckman sales and service people all over North America and Western Europe. Learn more by contacting your local Beckman representative or Process Instruments Division, Beckman Instruments, Inc., 2500 Harbor Blvd.. Fullerton. CA 92634.
EECKMAN" CIRCLE 12 O N READER SERVICE CARD
1060
Environmental Science & Technology
The need for improved communication
The SCOPE organization is well known within ICSU and within the U.N. specialized agencies. However, SCOPE is unknown to many young scientists in laboratories and institutes around the world. Recognizing the need for increased visibility at the local level, SCOPE has taken several positive steps: The SCOPE publication program has been turned over to John Wiley & Sons Ltd., which has a worldwide distribution system. The national committees and project working groups are being encouraged to add young scientists to their memberships. Efforts are being made to find young scientists, particularly from developing countries, to attend SCOPE-sponsored symposia and workshops. *The present article (and the accompanying one by Sors and Goodman) may contribute to improved communication with individual scientists around the world. A brochure and newsletter on SCOPE are now available from the SCOPE Secretariat in Paris with current information on objectives and project working groups. Readers who would like to become involved should write for more information from their National Academy of Science, Royal Society or Research Council. In the US., the International Academy of Sciences serves as the national committee. The committee is presently chaired by Nathaniel Wollman, University of New Mexico. Information on the activities of IEPC and SCOPE is available from IEPC, National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constituion Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. Alternatively, they may write to Dr. V. Smirnyagin,.executive secretary of SCOPE, 51 Blvd. de Montmorency, 75016 Paris, France. Additional reading Holcomb Research Institute (1976) Environmental Modeling and Decision Making, the US. Experience. Prepared for the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, Praeger Publishers: New York. Martin, B., Sella, F., Earthwatching on a Macroscale. Environ. Sci. Techno/., 10, 230 (1976). Slatyer, R., Ed. Dynamic changes in terrestrial ecosystems: patterns of change, techniques for study and application to management. UNESCO/MAB: Paris, France. MAB Technical Notes 4, 1977.
R. E Munn is presently a consultant to the Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, and editor-in-chief of Boundary-Layer Meteorology Journal. Dr. Munn has been associated with SCOPE since its inception and has served on the SCOPE Steering Committee for Environmental Issues (SCOPE IO). Melinda Cain is policy research associate
with the Climate Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. She was previously a staff associate for the International Environmental Programs Committee at the National Academy of Sciences-NationalResearch Council. Coordinated by LRE
