April 23, 2001

REPORT PRESENTS RECOMMENDATIONS OF FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE, POLICY AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

EXPERTS SAY NEW APPROACHES ARE NEEDED TO IMPROVE AND EXPEDITE ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONMAKING

LANDMARK REPORT TO BE RELEASED ON EARTH DAY BRIEFINGS SCHEDULED FOR CAPITOL HILL AND IN AGENCIES

On Earth Day 2001, the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is releasing a report reflecting the views of many of the nation’s leading environmental scientists and decisionmakers calling for major changes in the relationship between science and environmental policy. The report emphasizes the need for “significant” investment in new approaches to science and for changes in governmental organization to address “serious voids” that impede efforts to acquire and translate scientific knowledge.

The report, which offers specific recommendations for improving the scientific basis for environmental decisionmaking, is based on deliberations by more than 450 scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders from a broad range of disciplines, interests, and locales. The group was convened late last year as the first National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment. NCSE asked participants to assess the current state of environmental decisionmaking in the United States and to advise the incoming Administration and the new Congress on needed improvements. The results are contained in a new report entitled "Recommendations for Improving the Scientific Basis for Environmental Decisionmaking," which can be found at www.cnie.org/2000conference   Printed copies are available from NCSE: staff@NCSEonline.org or 202-530-5810.

NCSE has scheduled a series of briefings to present the report:

Wednesday April 25 at the National Science Foundation
A Capitol Hill press briefing Thursday, April 26 at 10:00 a.m., chaired by NCSE President Ambassador Richard Benedick, and featuring remarks by members of the Science Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Friday April 26 at 10:30 a.m. in the Science Committee Hearing Room 2325 Rayburn House Office Building, for Congressional staff and interested public
At a date and location to be determined for Senate staff and interested public
May 18 at the National Academy of Sciences

To arrange for a briefing for your organization, contact Rob Viehl at 202-530-5810; staff@NCSEonline.org

REPORT PRESENTS RECOMMENDATIONS OF FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE, POLICY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The report addresses the environmental challenges now facing our society through a detailed set of recommendations compiled by 14 expert working groups that met during the conference. Among the issues deliberated were:

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health
Environmental Implications of Biotechnology
Environmental Indicators
Federal Government Structure
Global Environmental Change
Higher Education
Human Health and the Environment
Information Systems
Invasive Species
Pollution Prevention/Waste Management
Population and the Environment
Public Education
Sustainable Communities
Sustainable Resource Management

A New Interdisciplinary Science of Sustainability

The report calls for a new interdisciplinary science of sustainability
that integrates:

Economic Security
Ecological Integrity, and
Social Equity.

Sustainability Science seeks to improve upon the substantial, but still limited, understanding of nature-society interactions. It aims to provide a better understanding of the complex dynamic interactions between human society and nature so that the alarming trends towards increasing vulnerability are reversed. Achieving sustainability will not only require changes in scientific collaborations and mindsets, but also changes in the institutions that fund and communicate science.

New Entities Would Encourage Collaboration and Communication

In addition to various programs recommended for development by key players such as the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the report also advocates forming new or reinvigorated entities, including:

a National Environmental Information Infrastructure that would support intensified public information, education, and training on environmental issues,
a Bureau of Environmental Statistics, analogous to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that would provide periodic “state-of-the-science” reports on key environmental issues,
a Joint Committee on the Environment in the U.S. Congress, analogous to the Joint Economic Committee,
a resurrected Office of Technology Assessment,
Policy Centers within all federal science and resource management agencies.

In addition to the clear need for additional funding and programs, the report also addresses how possible savings in both time and money could be realized. For instance, the report discusses how crucial it is to identify and coordinate the missions and activities of the numerous governmental, quasi-governmental, and nongovernmental organizations involved in environmental decisionmaking to avoid duplication of effort and to create synergy. Further, the report asserts that “the breadth, depth, and diversity of the scientific specialties involved make interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches essential.”

Underscored throughout the report is the contention that sound environmental decisionmaking is dependent on “an effective interface between scientists and policymakers and the reliable and timely translation of information and views between the two communities.” The report further emphasizes “the need for science-based education at every level of society if the general public and their elected public officials are to make informed, effective, and timely decisions.”

Conference video tapes available from NCSE

Copies of video tapes from the conference, including the John H. Chafee Memorial Lecture on Science and the Environment, presented by Nobel Laureates F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina, are available for $20 each from NCSE – see www.cnie.org/2000conference/tapes   or contact staff@NCSEonline.org  for details.

For copies of the report, more detailed information on briefings, and assistance in scheduling briefings or interviews, contact:

David Blockstein at david@cnie.org  and (202) 530-5810, ext. 205,
Rob Viehl at staff@ncseonline.org  and (202) 530-5810 or
Deborah Strauss at dstrausslynch@aol.com   and (202) 530-5810 or (301) 229-3123.

On December 6 and 7, 2001, the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Council for Science and the Environment will host the second National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment, with a theme of Sustainable Communities: Science and Solutions.

Additional information about other activities of NCSE is available at www.cnie.org