Egloff, Roger L.

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Notes, News & Comments 83becoming more and more marked as the commercial sec-tor reassesses its strategies in the prospect and light of1992. The voluntary sector should do likewise if itaspires to avoid being increasingly left out of the deci-sion-making process. ECAS will provide a focal pointfor NGOs and INGOs (international nongovernmentalorganizations) in their dealings with EC Institutions, andwill help them to overcome the national handicaps thatdeter them from having an effective 'presence' inBrussels.The future of the voluntary sector lies with those orga-nizations which have strong European links, and, as 1992approaches, involvement with EC institutions and issuescan no longer be regarded as an optional extra. Thevoluntary sector is increasingly affected by EClegislation, and if NGOs wish to be consulted on matterswhich concern them, then they need an effective repre-sentation in Brussels.ECAS does not set out to replace existing NGOs, butrather to offer them a service. It will be a 'consultancy'for the voluntary sector, responding flexibly to the needsof its subscribers and encouraging, wherever possible,direct contacts between NGOs and EC. It will have asmall, mainly Brussels-based, board of directors and anadvisory council which will be as representative as pos-sible of EC countries and of the interests of its subscri-bers. Subscribers will pay a basic subscription plus thecost of any additional services used. There will also befounder subscribers who will have considerable inputinto the advisory council in return for helping ECAS tobecome established.ECAS hopes to serve European, international, natio-nal, and regional, non-governmental organizations thatare independent at once of governments, political parties,and commercial interests. It will provide a range of ser-vices, including a basic information and documentationcentre, regular briefings about EC activities, reports onissues of common concern to a number of NGOs, officefacilities, and briefings for visiting subscriber organiza-tions.Other services will be offered in accordance withdemand: monitoring the work of EC institutions, provi-ding lobbying advice to individual organizations, arran-ging translation and interpretation services for Brusselsmeetings, assisting with fund-raising at EC, advising oncooperation with NGOs in other EC countries, providinga 'watching brief in Brussels, providing legal advice,encouraging the setting up of European public-interestgroups, and facilitating European campaigns.ECAS is currently contacting thousands of NGOs inEC and other European countries, to assess their particu-lar requirements. If you think your organization might beinterested in such a service, then more information maybe obtained from:ANTHONY VENABLESECASRue de Toulouse 221040 BruxellesBelgium.WWF* Launches Feature ServiceIn an attempt to meet the growing demand for top-level environmental reporting, WWF has launched a glo-bal feature service. Produced by the WWF News editorialteam, the WWF Feature Service circulars are being sentto major newspapers, magazines, news broadcasters, andfilm-makers, around the world. WWF's Feature Serviceprovides editors and broadcasters with the latest informa-tion available on the critical environmental issues of theday — including tropical forests, wetlands, biologicaldiversity, climate change, pollution, waste management,and energy conservation.In a pilot series, Donald Allan reports on the death ofBarbara D'Achille, a prize-winning environmental jour-nalist, who was killed by 'Shining Path' guerillas whileshe was on an assignment in the Peruvian Andes. PeterJackson, Reuters' correspondent in India for nearly 20years, exposes the violent clashes between rival factionsin northeastern India's Assam State that have turned animportant Tiger Reserve and World Heritage Site into abattleground. Also in this set of Features, coral-reef* WWF continues to be known as World Wildlife Fund inAustralia, Canada, and the United States of America; in othercountries it is now the World Wide Fund For Nature.expert Susan Wells reveals that a recent survey showshow 93 of the 103 countries with significant coral com-munities are suffering from reef damage. Known as the'tropical forests of the ocean' for their rich biologicaldiversity, coral reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate.WWF encourages editors and broadcasters to use theFeatures in their publications and in news reports.Journalists and announcers may also adapt WWFFeatures to meet their local news needs, and are invitedto request additional information, schedule interviewswith WWF representatives, and use the graphics that areprovided with each set of Features. Journalists who wishto report on WWF activities are also welcome to submitproposals for the Feature Service. Editors and journalistsare requested to send press clippings of published fea-tures or to notify the Feature Service of broadcast use.Further information may be obtained from the undersi-gned (Telephone (022) 64 92 22):ELISABETH KEMPF, EditorWWF FeaturesWWF InternationalAvenue du Mont-Blanc1196 Gland, Switzerland.EuroSolar AssociationIntroducing EuroSolar, the Association for the SolarEnergy Era, '... I do view the energy problem ... as anextensive political, economic, and social, problem exis-ting on a global scale. Mankind has no alternative but toturn to solar energy. ... Solar-energy management mustbe implemented without delay and as widely as possible... An abstract consensus already exists in favour of solarenergy ... Converting this into a concrete, effectiveconsensus is one of the main tasks of this Association'.These were the buoyant words of Dr Hermann Scheer,the West German MP who is Chairman of EuroSolar, inhis keynote speech to the organization's foundationassembly in Bonn, West Germany, in August 1988. Theorganization's aim is to do everything in its power toensure that the world's energy supply is switched awayfrom fossil fuels and over to inexhaustible sources ofenergy — such as solar energy, wind and hydraulicpower, and hydrogen produced by means of solar energy.https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900017434Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 12:57:44, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at84 Environmental ConservationThis needs to be done on both a small and a large scale— indeed, to the extent that proves possible, globally.There is wide recognition that the issues involved can-not be treated within a national framework, and so theAssociation is developing a European network that willbe committed to the above aims. It does not duplicate therole of existing organizations, such as the InternationalSolar Energy Society, as it seeks to unite political andeconomic strategies with the promotion of technicaladvances. The EuroSolar programme incorporates broadproblems of Third World debt and the threatened globalclimate crisis.EuroSolar represents an opportunity to introduce solarenergy into our economic structures. The dynamism,pragmatism, and vision, of the EuroSolar programme,can provide new momentum for much-improved use ofsolar energy in our complex socio-economic and politicalframework.The media have at last started to give wide coverageto the alarm of scientists regarding the degradation of ourenvironment. What we need now is a plan for remedialaction to counter such scourges as atmospheric pollution,and there is a genuine possibility for EuroSolar to mobi-lize a consensus for such a plan of action, which so farlacks clear formulation.ROGER L. EGLOFFOffice of Cooperation for RenewableEnergies (COPER)1 Rue de VarembeCH-1202 GenevaSwitzerland.International Association for the Study of Common PropertyThis group began in 1983 as a US National Academyof Sciences Steering Committee on Common PropertyResource Management. After the conclusion of theCommittee's allotted task in 1987, members continued asan interdisciplinary, interuniversity working group ofscholars interested in common property issues, networ-king with others of similar interests. Through the widelydistributed newsletter, Common Property ResourceDigest, the network membership had reached 4,000 indi-viduals and institutions by the summer of 1990.The surge of interest in common property comes at atime when alternative approaches are being sought, eve-rywhere in the world, to make sustainability properlyoperational. All too often, it is assumed that users ofcommon property, if left to their own devices, will over-exploit those resources, and that users are incapable ofcooperation or of collective action even towards theirown mutual benefit. But many recent studies show thatthis is not necessarily so. Communal property systems doexist, and community-based resource management oftenshows promise as a basis for sustainable development, ifsupported or revived.An institutional design that incorporates the wisdomand the needs of local people, and safeguards for them ashare of the proceeds of sound resource-use, can attracttheir cooperation as willing protectors and responsiblemanagers of the resource. This view contrasts with theconventional top-down, elitist, central governmentapproaches to resource management, and recognizes adiversity of solutions, including those involving respon-sibility-sharing between governments and local commu-nities. In view of the importance of this task for the futu-re of the world's resources, and in view of the interest fora systematic, interdisciplinary approach (as indicated bynetwork membership), the founding members of theAssociation met in early summer 1989 at DukeUniversity.The International Association for the Study ofCommon Property is devoted to understanding andimproving the management of environmental resourcesthat are held or used collectively by communities, in bothdeveloping and developed countries. The Association'sgoals are to encourage exchange of knowledge acrossdiverse disciplines, areas, and resource types; to fostermutual exchange of scholarship and practical experience;and to promote institutional design that is appropriate tosustainable development.The Association represents an interdisciplinary mem-bership (including anthropology, sociology, history, poli-tical science, planning, public policy, geography, agricul-tural and resource economics, applied ecology andresource management, environmental studies, and humanecology), area specializations all over the world, andvarious resource sectors — including forestry, fisheries,and wildlife, grazing lands, and water. Members arescholars, government officials, development consultants,and resource managers — all with a shared interest inunderstanding common property resources in order toavert' tragedies of the commons'.Dues are US $20 for members whose annual incomesexceed US $15,000 per year, and US $5 for those withannual incomes under US $15,000. Members receive theCommon Property Resource Digest without charge, andalso news of Association activities and meetings.Members of the Association are also eligible to apply fortravel funds to subsidize the cost of attending the annualmeeting; these funds are intended to encourage interna-tional participation and will be awarded on the basis ofneed. For membership, please write to Mr EdwardLotterman, IASCP Secretary-Treasurer, Common Pro-perty Resource Digest, Department of Agricultural andApplied Economics, University of Minnesota, 1994Buford Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.The International Association for the Study ofCommon Property will hold its first annual meetingduring 27-30 September 1990, at Duke University, inDurham, North Carolina, USA. The theme of the confe-rence will be 'Designing Sustainability on the Com-mons', and proposals for individual papers and entirepanels are invited. At this first meeting, panels that com-bine disciplines, resource types, and/or geographic areas,and that will allow for considerable discussion betweenpanellists and audience,-are particularly encouraged. Toinquire about the Association's first annual meeting,please write to Dr Margaret McKean, IASCP ProgramChair, Department of Political Science, Duke University,Durham, North Carolina 27706, USA.FIKRET BERKES, ProfessorInstitute of Urban and Environmental StudiesBrock UniversitySt CatharinesOntario L2S 3A1Canada.https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900017434Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 12:57:44, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at

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