The Devil's Advocate, who is a cynic, points to many international programmes which are related to The Biosphere, whether past or ongoing. He asks what a World Campaign for The Biosphere could do beyond attempting to coordinate the coordinators.

The Archangel answers by drawing attention to the success of such programmes in stimulating activity on many important subjects and fronts. But the critical situation of the world now demands more. He therefore hopes that all who have at heart the future health, wealth, and happiness, of mankind, which can only flourish in a healthy Biosphere—whether they be pessimists or optimists—will support the Campaign with all the means at their disposal.

For the purposes of the Campaign, The Biosphere can be defined in summary as ‘the peripheral envelope of the Earth in which living things exist naturally’. Thus it includes parts of the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere—and, most important, it includes mankind as the pandominant member of the animal kingdom.

As to a starting-date for the Campaign, there is a case for deferment owing to the time necessary for preparing and approving a programme and then establishing a network organization for putting it into operation. However, considering the urgency of the problems at issue and the timing of related programmes, there is a stronger case for starting now, in 1982, and for including the preparatory phase within the Campaign, which would then commence with the second decade of UNEP.

Four aims are included in the Draft Declaration about the Campaign: (1) education and allied activities, (2) scientific understanding, (3) practical activities, and (4) accommodation of humanity to The Biosphere. The aims (1), (2), and (3), should go forward hand-in-hand in order to achieve (4). The main emphasis could be on (1); but as (2) is already the subject of several international programmes, (3), which provides good material for (1), should also receive emphasis. Meanwhile, much careful discussion will be needed in order to prepare a plan that will be acceptable to participating organizations.

The concept of ‘biosphere reserve’ emerged from the programme of Man and the Biosphere (MAB) of which it constitutes an essential part. This paper describes how the concept has progressively evolved as the Programme was being implemented, and as the multiple objectives and characteristics of Biosphere Reserves were clearly identified.

The primary function of Biosphere Reserves remains the in situ long-term conservation of plant and animal genetic resources, together with research on ecosystem management and conservation, monitoring of changes in The Biosphere, training of specialists, and environmental education. They are being progressively integrated into a world-wide network of ‘representative ecological areas’ that is intended to cover all major representative natural and semi-natural ecosystems.

The paper stresses the flexibility and versatility of the new concept, and gives examples of how this concept is being implemented. It underlines current trends in the building-up of the international network, which now includes 214 Biosphere Reserves in 58 countries, and the future prospects for its full development. The paper also suggests that the direct involvement of the local population in the management of Biosphere Reserves, together with the maintenance of research and monitoring activities in them, constitute the best guarantee for long-term conservation of genetic resources on a world-wide basis. It announces the proposed ‘International Conference on Biosphere Reserves’, which it is hoped can be held in Minsk (USSR) in the autumn of 1983.

After a requested account of how, starting from his student days, he had come gradually to ‘care about our Only One Biosphere’ and think globally (even if commonly acting only locally), the Author presents his ‘thoughts on what might best be done to [foster a World Campaign for the Biosphere] and make it operationally effective’. This Campaign should be world-wide and have the objective of educating everybody everywhere to full realization of the following facts and their often imperatively grave implications: (1) The Biosphere constitutes a single integrated whole of which all parts are often intricately interdependent, (2) we humans form an integral part of the Biosphere but are becoming far too numerous and heavily dominant for its or our own good, (3) we are absolutely dependent on the health of the Biosphere for our own subsistence and more as it constitutes our sole life-support, (4) The Biosphere in part or even in toto is in several ways fragile, but (5) it is gravely threatened by various human activities and out-sized capabilities such as those of nuclear weaponry which are said to be sufficient to destroy our civilization several times over, and conceivably even the entire Biosphere.

The second, longer part of the article is devoted to consideration of the following chosen ‘round dozen’ recommended activities through which it is thought the Campaign might best be advanced, at least in its early stages: (1) Publishing and broadcasting pertinent information and support by all appropriate means; (2) Using other vehicles of desirable publicity, including posters and stickers; (3) Instructive advertising and audienceattracting showmanship; (4) Books on the Biosphere and illustrated study manuals; (5) Specialist research and its vigorous application; (6) Need to control human numbers and behaviour; (7) National Parks, Biosphere Reserves, and Biological Gardens, etc.; (8) Pertinent conferences, meetings, and other ‘free’ deliberations; (9) Need to change human attitudes and priorities; (10) Need to establish due ethics and laws; (11) Institutional and organizational involvement towards survival; and (12) ‘Guardians of the Biosphere’ recognition and awards.

The above 12 points largely follow those presaged in the Editorial in our preceding issue, since completion of which it has emerged that this Campaign should be socalled (without reference to any time-scale), and that it might best be furthered by two United Nations agencies, an intergovernmental one, and at least one nongovernmental one—all hopefully working in concert.

Environment can be better managed only if people have understanding and appreciation of it. This can be achieved only through environmental education, and that is one reason why environmental education is so important and essential at present. Another is to understand our complete dependence on The Biosphere as our only life-suppert and safeguard it against increasing population-pressures.

The basic aim of environmental education is to make individuals and communities understand the complex nature of natural and Man-made environments resulting from the interaction of their biological, physical, social, economic, and cultural, aspects. There are several major requirements which are likely to contribute to its success. These are interdisciplinarity, interrelatedness, flexibility, non-dogmatism, problem anticipation, emphasis on problem-solving, and ‘practise what you preach’.

Environmental education alone and by itself will not solve all environmental problems, but environmental education is a prerequisite for better environmental management and, ultimately, for safeguarding The Biosphere.

Coal liquefaction processes provide a basis to transform a solid into liquid fuels that are suitable for transportation purposes but release a wide range of air emissions, water effluents, and solid wastes, with considerable potential for locally reducing environmental quality. Compared with other major sources of emissions such as coal-fired power-plants, liquefaction plants release relatively low levels of emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides for an equivalent quantity of coal-feed. However, coal liquefaction processes potentially release hydrocarbons to air, water, and land. The ‘direct’ coal liquefaction processes, which hydrogenate coal under high temperature and pressure, may release potentially more hazardous hydrocarbons than ‘indirect’ processes, which break down coal by partial combustion and then synthesize liquid fuel. The presence of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in process streams of ‘direct’ processes, and their heavy fuel products, may require special processing to minimize environmental intrusion.

Environmental issues in the US are dependent on where coal resources are developed. Plants located in the humid eastern US are likely to have discharges to receiving streams, many of which are already ‘water quality limited.’ Thus eastern locations are more likely to have water quality-related problems and issues than western US locations. However, because of water consumption requirements of the coal liquefaction processes, arid western locations are more likely to experience water availability issues. These more arid regions may also experience greater potential effects on terrestrial environments, as the assimilative capacity and regrowth of vegetation is typically lower in arid than in humid environments.