Academia 'Sinica is directed by Fang Yi who also heads-up the National Commission on Science and Technology within Academia Sinica.

The Chinese Association (or Corpora- tion) of Science and Technology is chaired by Pei Li Shen who is also the Chairman of the working committee of that Association. Societies under the Association concerned with conservation include the following:

Z o ological Society (40- 50 years of history) Ecological Society (formerly a branch of

Zoological Society) Ornithological Society Botanical Society Pediology Society Society for Environmental Sciences Geographical Society

These are all national societies, i.e. "Societies of China". There are in addi- tion, many municipal and regional socie- ties especially in Peking and Shanghai. []

Japan

increasing the power of associations; using the nationalization of firms to en- sure that more account is taken of envi- ronmental needs; exploiting the revival of European policy to secure the unifi- cation of anti-pollution measures at Eu- ropean level.

The Minister also indicated his own priorities: water policy, including devel-

MODELL 8"/ Ad hoc Group on Global E n v i r o n m e n p r o b l e m s Created tal

An ad hoc group on global environ- main areas of environmental problems mental problems, an advisory body to on a global scale, and madeurgencyCOmprehen- ~ ~ ~ ~ -~ the Director General of the Environment sive judgments as to the of these ~ / I Agency, has been established to study problems; (ii) prepared suggestions on problems affecting the environment of the shape of Japan's basic policy on ~ - - ~ - - ~ - - " ~ - ~ /~/ the earth as a whole, global environmental problems, and

(iii) examined the issues that will require The first report of the group (i) made study in the future and the ways in

a broad assessment of the present situa- which such study might be conducted. tion and future developments in the []

France Courtesy: E. Fichter

New Environmental Policy The Minister for the Environment, aspects" of the governments new envi-

Michel Cr~peau, recently outlined what ronmental policy: taking full advantage he described as the "three essential of administrative decentralization and

opment of the Seine; a systematic ex- pansion of environmental information and training; and a new effort to prevent industrial pollution, based on detailed coordination with industrialists. []

I l l O~A]"~" u/~OEg~TBN~ I"}', ~ ' ~ ~ T S $ ~ ' M I ~ ) O~.JDI~, " L. RayRaimonda

u_ K Curb on Waste Imports

The government recently promised action to stop imports of toxic wastes from other European countries. Impor- ters had discovered several loopholes in the national laws that allowed them to take advantage of the low charges levied in the UK for the disposal of such wastes.

Unlicensed storage tanks around the coastline now contain many thousand tonnes of toxic waste, imported mainly from the Netherlands. The imports were originally declared as toxic wastes "in transit" or as "stock in trade" and con- sist of phenols, creosol, chlorophenols and other chlorinated organic materials of high toxicity. []

Environmental Poficy and Law, 7 (1981) 181