The Newsletter of the Commonwealth Science Council
ISSN 1356-5249

Code Number: NL97007
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Contents:

- CSC Executive Committee meets in London.

- Donor Focus: several organisations are donors for CSC
  projects. The column in this issue focuses on the Overseas
  Development Administration in the UK.

- Solar power projects attract sponsors: the Ashden Trust.

- South Africa welcomed as a new member.

- CSC Publications: 1) Stock Clearance opportunities
                    2) Biodiversity in small island
                    states

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETS IN LONDON

The 33rd Executive Committee meeting of the Commonwealth Science Council took place in London in April. The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Esther Mede, representative of Malawi, the new Chairperson of the Council. The meeting was attended by representatives from eight of the countries on the Committee - Australia, Britain, India, Malawi, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland and Tanzania and an observer form CREN.

The Committee made decisions regarding the work programme of the Council over the next two years and into the future. It also addressed financial concerns and the future format of the organisation.

Figure 1 Esther Mede, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Science Council.

It was agreed to increase the funding to the Fellowship Programme and for Travel Grants to 70,000 GBP for the 1996/97 financial year. Travel grants will receive a greater share of funding compared to Fellowships. The purpose of the Travel Grant Scheme will also be extended to cover short in-

service training courses which are relevant to CSC interests. New information sheets will be prepared to clarify procedures, purpose and eligibility for travel grants and fellowships. This should assist in the selection procedure by making eligibility more obvious.

Programme Review

The Committee reviewed the current CSC programmes. It was agreed to redefine the purpose and scope of the Energy Programme to include renewable energy and energy conservation.

In considering the future work programme, it was decided to consider whether the CREN (Chemical Research and Environmental Needs) programme should be given flagship status. The programme will be thoroughly reviewed prior to a decision being made.

A new project on the demarcation of the limit of the legal continental shelf of coastal countries, will be included in the plan of work for future years.

DONOR FOCUS

Several organisations are donors for CSC projects. In this column Commonwealth Scientist will feature some of the present sponsors:

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

The Overseas Development Administration in Britain has been involved with CSC activities for many years. The organisation is part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The ODA works in partnership with governments of developing countries, with international organisations, including the European Union and United Nations agencies, and with voluntary bodies in Britain and overseas. The ODA also handles Britain's contribution to the international effort to tackle global environmental problems and provides funding towards disaster relief.

The ODA's purpose is to improve the quality of life of people in poorer countries by contributing to sustainable development and reducing poverty and suffering. To this end the ODA aims:

- to encourage sound development policies, efficient markets and good government;

- to help people achieve better education and health and to widen opportunities - particularly for women;

- to enhance productive capacity and conserve the environment; and

- to promote international policies for sustainable development and enhance the effectiveness of multilateral development institutions.

At present there are three CSC projects in which the ODA is actively involved :

Small Islands Water Information Network

The Small Islands Water Information Network Project aims to reduce isolation of water professionals and increase efficiency and productivity through provision of up to date and timely information. Overall the project hopes to facilitate the effective collaboration and exchange of information on the water sector between small island countries. This will occur via a small island information network.

The project is to be run by a partnership of organisations. There are partners in four island regions who will act as nodes in the network. These regions are: the Caribbean represented by the University of West Indies, Centre for Environment and Development; The Indian Ocean, University of Mauritius, Department of Civil Engineering Reduit; The Mediterranean, University of Malta and the South Pacific, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), Suva, Fiji. The Commonwealth Science Council will provide the linkage between all these organisations.

The project will be run as a pilot project by testing the ideas and methodologies in small islands. The design of the project and the user needs will be discussed at a series of planning meetings. This will lead on to the system design consisting of hardware and software. A central database of information will be developed and a method for capturing and disseminating the information worked out.

The British Geological Survey from Wallingford in Oxfordshire is developing the design for the central database for the project. The network will use CD-ROM as part of the information package which will be disseminated widely. It is hoped to create an open network with easy access to the information.

The programme may be expanded to form a Commonwealth wide information network including all Commonwealth countries. A planning meeting to discuss this possibility is scheduled to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan this June.

If you would like more information on the Small Island Water Information Network please get in touch with Dr. Siyan Malomo, Chief Project Officer, Commonwealth Science Council, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London. SW1Y 5HX. UK.

The ODA also supported a seminar on The Problems of Monitoring Pesticide Residues in Exportable Commodities which was run in Colombo, Sri Lanka in April 1996. Response to the workshop has been very positive with involvement from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nepal and Papua New Guinea. Participants were also present from Britain and Germany.

The main aims of the seminar included reviewing the current status of pesticide residue monitoring in the region and the formulation of strategies to strengthen the activities of participating countries. Also considered were the most up-to-date methods for pesticide residue analysis in food , water and in particular in exportable commodities such as rice, tea, fish and minor crops.

The seminar will lead to the compilation of a database on maximum residue limits for various commodities. Also planned is a network of focal points in participating countries to facilitate exchange of information on pesticide use.

The seminar is part of the Chemical Research and Environment Needs (CREN) project. Pesticide residue monitoring is seen as an important part of the programme. The scope of the project has been extended to include chemical contaminants and pollutants.

The third programme to attract sponsorship from the ODA is the SAUNEM project - Southern African Universities Network in Extractive Metallurgy. The project aims to expand the research capacities in extractive metallurgy in universities and to improve their ability to serve national needs in the mining sector which is of strategic economic importance. It will also improve the academic standing on the international scene mainly through postgraduate study.

Universities which are participating in the project include Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Lesotho and Namibia. Given the importance of the mining sector to this region there is need to underpin the industry with increased scientific understanding and engineering expertise. Establishing links between the physical and mathematical sciences and the wealth creating sectors is most important.

The network created in this project will link departments of Chemistry, Metallurgy and Chemical Process Engineering. The Department of Chemistry at Surrey University and the Department of Mineral Resources Engineering at Imperial College are to act as collaborating institutions in the UK.

Following a meeting in South Africa participation from Universities in this country is now expected. Actions have also been taken to include Mozambique and Angola in the project and positions have been reserved for them. Project proposals are currently being prepared and it is hoped to attract other donor agencies to the scheme.

An immediate objective of the project will be to establish a closely interactive network of the main university departments. E mail will be used extensively to assist the networking process. It will help to link scattered and weak departments.

If you would like further information on either the Pesticide or SAUNEM projects please get in touch with : Dr. Jaya Perera, Senior Project Officer, Commonwealth Science Council, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London. SW1Y 5HX. Tel: 00 44 171 747 6213. Email comsci@gn.apc.org

SOLAR POWER PROJECTS ATTRACT SPONSORS

The Ashden Trust, one of the Sainsbury family charitable trusts, is currently supporting CSC's project partners in east Africa. The Trust is one of the largest charitable trusts in Britain.The trust was impressed by CSC's experience of working closely with local people and through indigenous organisations.

Figure 2 A solar panel is set up in a village

The Trust has also approved funding for Karadea (Karagwe Development Agency), a Non-Government Organisation in northwest Tanzania, to run training courses and offer apprenticeships. These will cover training, maintenance and installation of solar energy systems. The Staples Trust, another of the Sainsbury family charitable trusts, has also supported a training course which rehabilitated solar equipment in a Maasai school, also in Tanzania.

Both trusts hope to continue to draw on the expertise of CSC in the identification and support of innovative projects in this area.

SOUTH AFRICA WELCOMED AS NEW MEMBER

The Council is pleased to announce that South Africa has become one of its 35 members.

Ferdi van der Walt, the Head of International Liaison for the Foundation for Research Development, in Pretoria. South Africa is the member. Ms Sushila Singh at the South African High Commission is the London contact.

There are a number of Science Council initiatives in Southern Africa at present. These include biodiversity projects on Plant Resources and Fungal Diversity, the Southern Africa Development Community Geoscience Database Management Project and the Southern African Universities Network in Extractive Metallurgy and Renewable Energy Training Centres.

A new collaborative programme called the Commonwealth Ocean Resources Programme for the Western Indian Ocean has just been launched to investigate the needs and resources of the countries on the eastern seaboard of Africa. South Africa is one of the participating countries. Other participants are Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar. The initiative was launched at a meeting at the Foundation for Research Development in Pretoria in February. The scheme will examine research needs in ocean sciences through assessment of current and future activities. It will lead to the establishment of a network of institutions for management of ocean resources in the Western Indian Ocean.

If you would like further information on this project please contact Dr. Siyan Malomo, Chief Project Officer, CSC, in London. Tel : 00 44 171 747 6211

PUBLICATIONS

1. STOCK CLEARANCE

The Commonwealth Science Council is currently sorting stocks of publications. We are offering some books AT REDUCED RATES TO MEMBERS. If you would like to obtain any of the following please get in touch with:

Sue Oliver

Information Officer
Commonwealth Science Council
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5HX, UK

Tel: 00 44 171 747 6219
Fax: 00 44 171 839 6174
Email : comsci@gn.apc.org

Conservation Biology. A Training Manual for Biological Diversity and Genetic Resources.
Edited by P Vapoor-Vijay and J White. 1992 ISBN 0 85092 392 1
Reduced price 10.00 GBP sterling.

Passive and Low Energy Building Design for Tropical Island Climates by N V Baker/ECD Partnership.
1987 ISBN 9 85092 312 1
Free of Charge

Processing of Animal Byproducts in Developing Countries by M Kumar
1989 ISBN 0 85092 334 4
Reduced price 5.00 GBP sterling

Practical Servicing of Laboratory Instruments by David Andrews
1994 ISBN 0 85092 406 5
Reduced price 10.00 GBP sterling.

2. Biodiversity in Small Island States

This new publication provides a methodology for identifying and monitoring biodiversity on small islands. The book was written following a workshop on biodiversity which was held in Malta in October 1995.

Figure 3 Biodiversity in small island states publication

The book can be purchased from the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, London, Britain. Please contact Letie Gannon on tel: 0044 171 747 6389.

Price 5.00 GBL Sterling.

ISBN 0 85092 468 5
Catalogue number CSC (96) BRP1

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