COMMENTS ON DRAFT PROJECT PAPERS FOR THE US-USSR ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00798A000700060043-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 28, 2000
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: March 1, 1973
• Content Type: MF

IAL
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1 March 1973
MEMORANDUM FOR: 25X1A
SUBJECT Comments on Draft Project Papers
for the US-USSR Environmental
Agreement
1. The Geography Division of OBGI has a strong
interest in all aspects of environmental agreements
with the Soviets and we want to continue to receive as
much information on all the exchanges as possible.
Specific comments on several of the draft project
papers are as follows:
A. Paper No. 3 -- Water Pollution. Much
overlap exists between this working group and that of
Dr. Butcher and his Water Resources Working Group which
is a part of the Cooperative Agreement in the Fields
of Science and Technology. We hope that these two
groups will coordinate their activities.
The choice of Lake Baikal for the visit of
the expert group to the USSR is in some respects a
poor one. Although it has received much publicity,
Baikal is one of the less polluted large lakes in the
USSR. Opportunity to observe research conducted on
the Volga River would be very valuable. We also think
inclusion of the Aral and Caspian Seas, and marginal
seas such as the Baltic Sea, would be beneficial,
rather than restricting the program to rivers and
estuaries. On balance, the proposal would appear to
offer the USSR more opportunities for gain than the
US. We agree with many of the comments in Annex A,
Mr. Pisano's criticisms of the program.
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schedule c.- eategor
?5B (1), (2), , or (Wj. ( 1.0 one OrI1ore)
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B. Paper No. 5 -- Urban Environment. On
page 8 of the draft paper it is noted that the Soviets
may not accept the areas dealing with permafrost
construction technology and waste management. If these
two areas are not part of the agreement, the US would
have little opportunity to gain from the program.
C. Paper No. 6 -- Wildlife Conservation. This
section of the proposal would be of mutual benefit to
both countries. It also could be an opportunity to
have US'personnel visit some areas of the Soviet Arctic
which are off the beaten track.
D. Paper No. 9 -- Marine Organisms. The
Soviets do an appreciable amount of marine research
related to environmental pollution, but tend to publish
in a rather restrictive, technical form. Since we
have little knowledge of Soviet analytical abilities
in this field, this may enlighten us and hence be a
productive exchange. This Office has an interest in
how the Soviets will treat these topics at the several
international forums -- UN Environmental Secretariat,
Law of the Sea Conference, Marine Pollution Conference,
and the UN Water Conference -- and these exchanges may
well give us some insights on their views and positions.
Reference item II. B. 3. a. We believe
that Baku is a must for a visit by US personnel because
of the marine pollution research conducted in Baku and
environs. Also, the scientists could visit the off-shore
oil drilling facilities in the Caspian Sea at Neftyanyye
Kamni and the research ship Bakuvi which is engaged in
marine biological research for the Azerbaydzhan Academy
of Sciences.
Reference item III. A. 1. Available
information, if fully exploited, would probably be
sufficient to accomplish the objectives of the preliminary
visit.
Reference item III. B. 2. a. The
International Activities Staff of the National Marine
Fisheries Service, Department of Commerce already does
mush of what is proposed in this section.
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Reference item III. C. 1. The objective
of seeking to establish standardized water quality
controls is important and should be more clearly stated
here.
B. Paper No. 14 -- Legal and Administrative.
At this point there seems to be little that the US
could learn from the Soviets in the way of an environ-
mental policy framework in government or mechanisms
and strategies for pollution control and enforcement.
They have a history which abounds with environmental
legislation, but with few results. The exchange would,
however, help us evaluate the efficacy of the environ-
mental protection measures they are taking now.
2. Any questions about these comments, or any
additional information on the exchanges should be
directed to x2706.
25X1A 25X1A
Chief, USSR-Europe Branch
Geography Division, OBGI
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