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

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00798A000700060042-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 28, 2000
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: March 9, 1973
• Content Type: MF

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
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MEMORANDUM FOR : Mr. Charles G. Stefan
Director, Office of Soviet and
Eastern European Exchanges
Department of State
ATTENTION . Mr. Yale W. Richmond
Mr, John Kendall Ward
SUBJECT Comments on the Fourteen Draft Project Papers for the US-USSR
Environmental Agreement
1. The fourteen CEQ (Council on Environmental Quality - Executive Office
of the President) papers have been circulated for comment to three major Offices
of the Agency as you requested. This memorandum incorporates the continents received.
2. The Agency is interested in all aspects of environmental agreements
with the Soviets and wishes to continue to receive as much information as
possible. The fourteen proposals indicate little potential for US technological
gain, but they do open a possible market for the sale of US technology to the
USSR. The few areas where the US could most likely gain some technology are
cloud physics, micrometeorology as it relates to air pollution, permafrost
and tundra studies, and wildlife conservation.
3. The Agency would be pleased to assist the CEQ to devc1op thnso
nctiv!ties to the :.3Xi*.11[;... p-l- bcr fit of the US. We would be glad
to provide any intelligence support within our capabilities
4. Specific comments on several of the draft project papers follow:
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a. Paper No, 3 -- Water Pollution. Much overlap exists between
this working group and that of Dr. Butcher and his Water Resources Working
Group w;hick 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.
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 Soviet do an
appreciable amount of marine research related to environmental pollution, but
tend to publish in a rather restrictive, technical form. As we have little
knowledge of Soviet analytical abilities in this field, this may enlighten us
and hence be a productive exchange. There is 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 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.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
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 much of what is proposed in this section.
Reference item III. C. 1. The objective of seeking to establish
standardized water quality controls is important and should be more clearly
stated here.
e, 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 environmental 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 environmental
protection measures they are taking now.
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