Cooperation in Science and Technology
( COST )
Cooperation in the field of science and
technology was implemented on the basis of the
ASEAN Plan of Action on Science and Technology
for Development.
The progress of the projects actively pursued
during the period under review is summarized
below:
ASEAN Protein Project
The Protein project reached completion in
December 1984 after ten years of implementation
by the Sub-Committee on Protein.
A joint review team visited project sites and
contacted research personnel for the necessary
review reports of the project.
An end of the term project report, "ASEAN
Protein Project 1 974 - 1 984" was published, and a
list of ASEAN member countries' microbiological
culture collections resulting from the ASEAN
Protein Project is being compiled for publication.
ASEAN Food Habits Project
To continue the achievements of the Protein
project, the Food Habits Project was approved for
implementation and Australia confirmed its
commitment of A$ 2.0 million to fund the Project.
The following material output are expected
from this project;
- Food composition table for use in the
ASEAN region;
- Monograph on ASEAN experiences with
intervention programmes;
- Handbook on traditional food processing
technologies;
- Annotated bibliography on food habits
research; and
- Improved knowledge and understanding of
the nature of food habits and their causes
and consequences.
Projects on the Management and Utilization of
Food Waste Materials
The project is now in its third year of a five
year first extension phase. Several technologies
developed under this project have reached the
stage of commercial/industrial application to
benefit the public and potential end-users.
The Working Group on Food Waste Materials
is now in the final stage of preparing the following
for publication:
- Industry Information Reports
- ASEAN Directory of Researchers in
Fermentation Technology
The latest and 4th issue of an on-going
publication, the "ASEAN Newsletter on Food
Waste Materials" was printed in April 1 985.
ASEAN Food Technology Research Development
The ASEAN Food Technology Research and
Development Project officially approved in July
1982 completed its first phase of activities at the
end of financial year 1984/85.
A project extension request was forwarded to
Australia and a joint ASEAN - Australia project
appraisal was undertaken in March 1985 to enable
Australia to make the appropriate response.
Important regional accomplishments of the
Project include the acceleration of the development
of food processing technologies and the
initiation of a regional effort for the evaluation of
the quality and safety of ASEAN Foods.
Climatology Project
The "ASEAN Climatic Atlas" and the
accompanying volume "Compendium of Climatic
Statistics" have been distributed to all ASEAN
Meteorological Services and are available to
interested parties. The Sub-Committee on Climatology
began undertaking the preparation of a
manual on the use of the ASEAN Climatic Atlas
and Compendium.
A seminar on ASEAN Weather Modification
Programme was successfully held in Chiang Mai,
Thailand on 9 - 16 December 1984.
Cooperation on Non-Conventional Energy
Research
Development in ASEAN's cooperative
research on non-conventional energy with
Australia, Canada and the U.S. were as follows:
i) The first phase of cooperation with
Australia commenced in August 1984,
with the training of ASEAN scientists
and technologists in the field of energy
conservation, which will be followed by
training in coal technology and biomass
for heat and power;
ii) The second phase of cooperation with
the United States ended successfully,
and the Memorandum of Understanding
for the third phase covering training and
research in coal technology, energy
management and energy conservation in
buildings, is being finalized; and
iii) Energy seminars have been scheduled to
be held under the auspices of the
Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA). The Memorandum of
Understanding for the seminar has been
formulated and is under consideration
by ASEAN member countries.
Project on the Environment
Among the highlights of the agreement
reached at the Second ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
on the Environment in November 1984 were the
Declaration on ASEAN Heritage Parks and
Reserves, the Bangkok Declaration on the Environment
which is an endorsement of the ASEAN
Environmental Programme II (ASEP II), and the
initialling by the Ministers of the ASEAN Agreement
on Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources. Recognising that environmental
problems are all - encompassing and transcend
national boundaries the Ministers also decided to
endorse Resolutions on policy guidelines on actions
needed to solve environmental problems in the
ASEAN region.
Progress was achieved in the activities under
the purview of the Experts Group on Environment.
These include activities in the areas of
Environmental Management including Environmental
Impact Assessment, Industry and Environment, Nature
Conservation, Marine Environment,
Environmental Education and Training and in
Environmental Information.
Programmes in Marine Sciences
ASEAN's active cooperative programmes in
marine sciences with Australia, Canada and the
United States saw the following development;
i) Progress in the cooperative programme
with Australia involving two projects on
Tides and Tidal Phenomena and Living
Resources in Coastal Areas with
Emphasis on Mangrove and Coral Reef
Ecosystems;
ii) The signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding on ASEAN - Canada Cooperative
Programme in Marine Science
signed on 21 December 1984 to support
studies on Marine Resource Management
and Development and Pollution Monitoring Studies; and
iii) The formulation of the project documents
of the ASEAN - US Marine
Science Programme during the ASEAN -
US Programme Development Workshop
in May 1985.
Management of Science and Technology
This project was successfully launched in
March 1985 with a High Level Symposium on S &
T Policy Development and training programmes on
R & D Management, taking place in Canberra,
Australia.
For more information, please refer to project details