On May 19, 1998, the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, Walt Disney World's EPCOT in Orlando, Florida, and the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership successfully catalyzed the establishment of a new Asia-Pacific food industry organization called the Pan Pacific Agroindustry Council. The Asian and American multinational food companies present during a two-day Founders� Meeting at the EPCOT properties agreed this organization fulfills a leadership vacuum in the region that is not hypothetical, conceptual, or political, but addresses real corporate needs.

In addition to presentations to the Council members by senior speakers from industry, academia, and government, the Founders� Meeting featured a behind-the-scenes tour of Walt Disney World's environmental operations and properties. The next Pan Pacific Agroindustry Council meeting will occur from March 15-16, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii, where priority items on the agenda are to review and endorse an Environmental Code of Conduct and the Charter for the Council.

The Founding Members include Mr. Ashok Bhardwaj, General Manager, Tata Tea Ltd. (India); Mr. Venku Venkiteswaran, President, Tata Tea Inc. (Plant City, Florida); Dr. Teiko Johnson, Asia-Pacific Manager, FMC FoodTech (Lakeland, Florida); Mr. Renato R. Montemayor, President, Pure Foods Corporation (Philippines); Dr. Un Hua Pek, President, Doosan Training and Technology Center (Korea); Mr. Jae Sung Ryu, General Manager, Doosan Environmental Management Center (Korea); Ms. Aranong Sirirangkamanont, Senior Executive Vice President, Betagro Group (Thailand); Mr. J.C. Wang, President, Lee Tah Farm Industries Co., Ltd. (Taiwan); and Mr. Ru-Chein Yu, President, Charoen Pokphand Enterprise (Taiwan).

The Founders' Meeting featured presentations from Mr. Jeffrey Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Jellinek, Schwartz, & Connolly; Mr. Michael Dwyer, Senior Economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Dr. Anil Gupta, Professor of Organization and Strategy at the University of Maryland; and Dr. Kathryn Jackson, Executive Vice President of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Leadership for the vision of the Pan Pacific Agroindustry Council vision is attributed to Mr. Kenji Sumida, President of the East-West Center; Dr. Henry Robitaille, EPCOT Strategic Partnerships; and Dr. Randy Yamada of the US-AEP Secretariat.

As part of US-AEP efforts to promote the development of industrial environmental extension systems in Asia, the Clean Technology and Environmental Management (CTEM) initiative arranged for a delegation from Singapore and the Philippines to observe various extension models in the United States. Industrial environmental extension systems can offer industry a variety of services, including information on developing cleaner production processes, knowledge of available technologies, and technical training. The study tour, being held June 8-19, includes meetings with the U.S. Department of Agriculture�s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; the National Environmental Training and Education Foundation; the U.S. Department of Commerce�s National Institutes of Standards and Technology; Maryland Technology Extension Services; and the General Physics Corporation. The delegates are experiencing first-hand how to design an extension service and how to link into existing resources. At the tour�s end, participants will outline steps for implementing a suitable extension model for their own organizations. These "blueprints" will be the basis for determining US-AEP assistance in establishing an Industrial Environmental Extension System in Singapore and the Philippines. US-AEP will undertake a similar tour for participants from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in early 1999.

A partnership between the state of New Mexico and the Madhya Pradesh area of India received a US-AEP State Environmental Initiative grant in 1996, with the goal of utilizing New Mexico�s expertise and technologies to improve several environmental issues in Madhya Pradesh. Focus areas include wastewater and solid waste management, air pollution control for vehicles, and use of alternatives for hazardous and ozone-depleting chemicals. One of the project�s milestones was recently reached, as four reports were completed that will guide Indian officials who seek environmental solutions. These reports, specific to India, include: 1) assessing and monitoring the ecological integrity of wetlands; 2) a feasibility study of a landfill methane recovery project; 3) pollution prevention planning using information networks and the Internet; and 4) a strategy for integrated solid waste management. Future editions of UPDATE will report additional partnership efforts and results. For more information on the project, contact Tim Ward at New Mexico State University via phone (505-277-9841) or e-mail. US-AEP�s State Environmental Initiative is implemented by the Council of State Governments.

United States-Asia Environmental Partnership Executive Director Peter Kimm received the Distinguished Alumni Citation at the 139th Commencement of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art on May 27.

Cooper Union President John J. Iselin presented Kimm with the award in the historic Great Hall of the Cooper Union, where Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton have spoken. New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani was Cooper Union�s commencement speaker this year.

The citation recognized Kimm for his outstanding achievements during his public service career, particularly his contributions to millions of the world�s disadvantaged families in the form of improved housing, clean water supply, and sanitation in many of the developing world�s urban areas. Kimm served as director of USAID�s Office of Housing for most of the more than 30 years he has been with the Agency for International Development.

"I�ve had a marvelous career that permitted me to travel to the ends of the earth and put me in the middle of some of the most important events of our times," Kimm told the 195 members of Cooper Union�s 1998 graduating class. "Most important, it put me there in a highly constructive role."

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art was privately endowed by Peter Cooper in 1859, and since then has offered full-tuition scholarships to all its students. With highly competitive entrance requirements, the school has a reputation for academic excellence. Kimm earned his degree in Civil Engineering in 1958.