The partnership supported a series of "science in decision-making workshops" on key issues such as water and sanitation, persistent organic pollutants, and biodiversity that are of particular concern to the host country. Key cross-cutting themes included the elements or principles of science-based decision-making and the role of the local and regional scientific community in ensuring that science is an integral part of the decision-making process. The workshops convened representatives from local and international scientific institutions, government, industry, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and other relevant organizations. These events provided an opportunity for scientists to engage with fellow scientists and governmental decision-makers to discuss practical applications of science in decision-making, and explored ways of strengthening knowledge-action partnerships. The workshops addressed priorities in Agenda 21, the Millennium Declaration, and WSSD, that are important to developing country scientists and decision-makers and that, in their view, would benefit substantially from more scientific input in the decision-making process. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, the United States established and joined with over 20 partnerships to advance Sustainable Development. At the Summit, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Chemistry Council announced a partnership to promote Sustainable Development through better use of scientific knowledge in policy and program decisions. Members of the partnership recognized that wise decisions about sustainable development must be based on a foundation of solid scientific and technical information. The partnership involved the following organizations: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine InterAcademy Panel U.S. Environmental Protection Agency American Chemistry Council Mexican Academy of Sciences State Environmental Protection Administration of China National Council for Science and the Environment National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment Chinese Academy of Sciences Third World Academy of Sciences

Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Mexico: Proceedings of a Workshop (Series: Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making in Developing Countries) (2007) This report contains a collection of papers presented at a workshop in Merida, Mexico -- Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making: Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Mexico. The cross-cutting themes of the workshop were the elements or principles of science-based decision making and the role of the scientific community in ensuring that science is an integral part of the decision making process. Papers included in this volume describe the groundwater resources of Mexico''s Yucatan Peninsula, approaches to managing groundwater in Mexico and governmental and scientific institutions concerned with water resources. Other papers discuss US approaches to managing scarce water resources. Participants in the workshop included representatives from leading scientific and academic institutions, federal state and local governments, non-governmental organizations and businesses.  Agricultural Water Management: Proceedings of a Workshop in Tunisia (Series: Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making in Developing Countries)(2007) This report contains a collection of papers presented at a workshop in Merida, Mexico -- Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making: Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Mexico. The cross-cutting themes of the workshop were the elements or principles of science-based decision making and the role of the scientific community in ensuring that science is an integral part of the decision making process. Papers included in this volume describe the groundwater resources of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, approaches to managing groundwater in Mexico and governmental and scientific institutions concerned with water resources. Other papers discuss US approaches to managing scarce water resources. Participants in the workshop included representatives from leading scientific and academic institutions, federal state and local governments, non-governmental organizations and businesses.
 Implementing the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants--Summary of a Workshop in China (2007) This report summarizes a workshop organized as part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's workshop series on strengthening science-based decision-making in developing countries. The workshop, ''Implementing the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants'' was held June 7-10, 2004, in Beijing, China. The presentations and discussions summarized here describe the types of scientific information necessary to make informed decisions to eliminate the production and use of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) banned under the Stockholm Convention; sources of information; scientifically informed strategies for eliminating POPs; elements of good scientific advice, such as transparency, peer review, and disclosure of conflicts of interest; and information dealing with POPs that decision makers need from the scientific community, including next steps to make such science available and ensure its use on a continuing basis. This workshop was organized by the Science and Technology for Sustainability Program of the Academies' Office of Policy and Global Affairs. The committee listed below was established by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The project's steering committee reviews all proposals and oversees the organization of the workshops. - Michael Clegg (Chair)
Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside - Thomas Lovejoy
President, H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment - Whitney MacMillan
Director Emeritus, Cargill, Inc. - Perry McCarty
Silas H. Palmer Professor Emeritus, Stanford University - Roger McClellan
President Emeritus, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology - F.Sherwood Rowland
Donald Bren Research Professor of Chemistry and Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine
Staff - John Boright, Deputy Executive Director, Policy and Global Affairs (jboright@nas.edu)
- Pat Koshel, Senior Program Officer, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program (pkoshel@nas.edu)
- Derek Vollmer, Program Associate, Policy and Global Affairs (dvollmer@nas.edu)
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