But our region is a special one, with many unique environmental inputs that do not result from anthropogenic activities. One may list natural features such as volcanic emissions and the high primary productivity of tropical marine ecosystems. Whatever the environmental aspects under consideration, we may be sure that an ultimate solution will only be reached through a full and complete understanding of the processes involved.

Our unique environmental features, coupled with the geography of the region, clearly dictate a need for strong co-operation amongst the countries to produce satisfactory solutions. Moreover, the wealthy nations of the region have a moral obligation to provide assistance to developing countries throughout Asia and the Pacific. We are more than happy to purchase cars, electronic goods and even scientific equipment made cheaply in Asia, while at the same time turning a blind eye to the environmental problems caused by rapid industrialization of countries with a basic rural economy. When the "western" nations of the region have elected to confront environmental problems of their developing neighbours, the response has all too often been an ill-focused reflex reaction, rather than a sincere attempt to assist the countries come to grips with the issues. Large sums of money were (and in some cases still are) frequently allocated for the purchase of expensive and complex scientific equipment. Although this is a partial step in the right direction, it is of little use when the necessary infrastructure for the operation and maintenance of this equipment is not put in place.

Sadly, there is a disturbing number of laboratories throughout the region where donated equipment sits idle, because of a lack of operational expertise. Donating a capillary gas chromatograph is a positive gesture, but in terms of the broader picture, it is of little use without training of staff in the maintenance of the equipment, cleanup procedures for environmental samples, quality assurance and interpretation of data. During the 1980s in particular, these problems became apparent to a number of scientists throughout the Asia Pacific Region and we became committed to providing a satisfactory solution. 

1989 and the Birth of a New Approach

If any event could be singled out as the birthplace of the new approach, it must surely have been the 1989 Chemistry International Conference in Brisbane, Australia. This was a most significant meeting for a number of reasons: Firstly, at a local level, it represented the debut of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute's Environment Division. Of course, the Institute had for long counted many eminent environmental chemists amongst its membership, but the creation of a division in its own right attested to the rising status of the discipline. Moreover, many of the scientists involved in the formation of the new division (such as Professor Des Connell, the foundation president, Associate Professor Barry Noller and Dr Graeme Batley) already had strong links with Asia and supported further strengthening of the ties. Secondly, the conference also included an FACS meeting, so that many Asian scientists were able to attend and discuss the problems of their countries with Australian colleagues.

Of the various problems seen to be confronting chemists throughout Asia, two areas (namely the environment and food) were singled out for further attention. In both cases, the need for training was recognized and happily, in both instances the meeting resulted in the formation of fledgling organizations to confront this need. In the case of environmental chemistry, the initial alliance was amongst the Commonwealth Nations, through the Commonwealth Science Council. The program was given the name "Chemical Research and Environmental Needs" (Project CREN) and its charter would be to further the knowledge of environmental chemistry through the conduct of environmental chemistry seminars, workshops and production of publications. 

Project CREN

Of necessity. Project CREN was a low budget approach, but this very feature conferred upon it what marketing consultants would term a "sustainable competitive advantage". As identified above, the major problems of environmental chemistry in the region were not always a lack of equipment but rather a lack of training. These could be solved relatively cheaply, through the conduct of seminars and training courses that Project CREN was able to provide. Now in its 12th year, Project CREN has conducted a number of courses for groups of between 10 and 20 trainees from various Commonwealth Countries. Some of these are listed below:

Some Courses conducted by Commonwealth Science CouncilProject CREN since 1997

The success of the Project CREN approach has been significant and has been largely due to the enthusiasm of the program co-ordinator, Dr. Jaya Perera, of Commonwealth Science Council, London. 

The exact nature of the activity is governed by the subject matter. For example, the 1997 training course on low level nutrient analysis consisted of a 10 day workshop, in which participants were given "hands-on" training in all aspects of the subject, from sampling, through manual and instrumental techniques to data interpretation. Such practical components are not always possible, but even the activities dealing with forest fires and sewage plume modelling have included field visits to inspect the site of the problems. 

In order to perpetuate the outcomes of the activities under Project CREN, Commonwealth Science Council has laid emphasis upon the formation of Commonwealth Knowledge Networks. These networks are formed with workshop participants as core personnel and allow scientists to maintain contact with one another (generally by means of email) and discuss emerging issues. The success of Project CREN has been recognized by Commonwealth Science Council, who have elevated it to Flagship Program status.

Apart from the obvious advantages of training, the programs serve a valuable cause in networking between institutions in the respective countries. Commonwealth Science Council has also provided limited funds to enable scientists to build on linkages established through the training programs. For example, during the 1997 workshop on cyanobacterial toxins, it was noted that Sri Lanka had particular problems in this regard. Further grants from Commonwealth Science Council have allowed experts to make two subsequent visits to Sri Lanka, in order to assess the problems at first hand.

Interaction outside the Commonwealth

Although less formally structured than Project CREN and lacking a steady financial commitment, similar activities have been conducted with non-commonwealth countries. There are many dedicated scientists such as Dr Soemanto Imamkhasami and Dr Julia Kantasubrata (LIPI, Bandung, Indonesia) and Dr Jae Ryoung Oh (KORDI, Ansang, Korea) who work tirelessly in organizing training courses in their home countries. Finding ways to bring international presenters to such meetings is a major part of the task and a number of mechanisms have been employed. Funding is provided by certain granting agencies such as UNESCO, APEC, AusAid, Australia Indonesia Institute, JAICA and KOICA. The infectious enthusiasm of these co-ordinators is such that several of us have made self-funded tours to their countries in order to assist with the training courses. Thus, activities have been conducted in China, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, on topics ranging from the basics of HPLC to sugar mill waste streams. 

Activities in non-Commonwealth countries however have not been restricted to conduct of training sessions. Mr. Dan Wruck, who co-ordinates a low level nutrient analysis program for waters in Australia has also been involved in running a parallel program for a number of Asian laboratories. This program has proven extremely useful for the participating organizations and has helped them to standardize their analytical procedures. Quality assurance is a major growth area for environmental analytical chemistry throughout the region and creation of appropriate Asian CRMs is one initiative that needs to be addressed in the near future. Though an Australian funded program, Indonesia and Thailand have made considerable progress in this area, as regards food analysis and extension of this work to environmental samples is an obvious next step. 

Although interactions such as the Commonwealth Knowledge Networks are a little more difficult to facilitate, several such interactions have been successfully established within the Asia-pacific region. An example is provided by the work of Dr. Ravi Naidu (CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide) in establishing the network known as Soil Contamination Research in Asia and the Pacific (SCRAP, 
http://www-crcslm.waite.adelaide.edu.au/scrap.html). This organization has successfully held two international conferences in the past four years and is providing a valued resource for people working in the field of contaminated sites. Programs of this kind send a clear message to the rest of the world that Asian scientists are strongly committed to investigating the problems of the region. In 2000, for the first time in its history, ISO's soils committee (TC/190) held a meeting outside Europe, the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia being chosen as the venue. Thus the work of organizations such as SCRAP bears fruit not only for ourselves, but by helping publicize our unique environmental problems to the rest of the world.

Emphasis on Knowledge Sharing

Although much of this article has been concerned with provision of assistance as regards training, the overall attitude is one of co-operation. As we share problems, we are all keen to share our solutions. Acid sulfate soils are as much a problem in Vietnam and Indonesia as they are in Australia. A similar comment could be made regarding the environmental effects of forest fires, the mining industry, sugar milling, 

This organization has recently established a web page known as NECTAR (Network for Environmental Chemistry throughout the Asia-Pacific Region) and you can access this page athttp://chin.icm.ac.cn/FACS/projects/cren-introduction-2001.PDF. NECTAR will be updated approximately every three months and by the time this article goes to press, the second edition for 2001 will be in place. As editor of NECTAR, I welcome brief contributions from any FACS member. These may take the form of forthcoming events in the field of environmental chemistry, comments on particular problems or even short articles (no more than 200 words). We have many challenges in the coming years - endocrine disrupters, marine toxins and volatile organics in air to name but a few. Let us move forward together to meet the challenge.