Over the past year, the Vermont-Indonesia "sister lake" partnership supported by US-AEP�s State Environmental Initiative (SEI) has worked steadily to share effective U.S. watershed management techniques. The Lake Champlain (Vermont) and Lake Toba (Indonesia) project, now entering its final phase, has received acknowledgment from participants in Indonesia, as well as from the United Nations.

Former Vermont Agency of Natural Resources coordinator Lisa Borre, who led the project, will be honored by the Lake Toba Heritage Foundation with the "1998 Lake Toba Award." And the United Nations featured the partnership in a 1998 publication, "Sustainable Development Success Stories," published by the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Among the results cited: "A long-term relationship has been established between key institutions on both lakes, which will allow for the continued transfer of U.S. watershed management experience, technologies, and practices to the Lake Toba region."

In one of the project�s concluding activities, the state of Vermont hosted a September 14-19 technical exchange for three Indonesian delegates. Participant Mr. Limbong represents a paper mill situated near Lake Toba. He visited an International Paper facility in Vermont, where a "sister industry" relationship was discussed to continue to exchange ideas about pollution control and sustainable forestry. These topics are critical to the Indonesian mill, which is now closed due to public opposition to the factory�s air pollution and concerns about rapidly diminishing forests. Ir. Vera Situmorang, owner of Indonesia�s Hotel Prapat and member of the local hotel association, studied ecotourism development, while Dr. Ir. Bungaran Saragih of Bogor University obtained information about establishing a science and education center.

Summarizing his experience of the exchange, Dr. Saragih commented: "I am first impressed by the people and their commitment to Lake Champlain, second by the linkages and partnerships that have been formed among the people and institutions, and third by the focus and attention on the lake as an asset. It takes many people and many years, but it is important to take the first step and then keep working at it."

Addressing the need for improved environmental management in the Asian petrochemical industry, US-AEP�s Office of Technology Cooperation in Singapore worked with US-AEP�s Environmental Exchange Program (EEP) and the Singapore Confederation of Industries� (SCI) Clean Technology and Environmental Management (CTEM) Center to host a September 21-23 workshop. The event attracted 40 chemical and environmental company representatives from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Brunei, and Hong Kong. Speakers from Dow Chemical, Chevron, the American Petroleum Institute, the University of Texas, and the Singapore Environmental Technology Institute (ETI) presented information on pollution prevention and industrial ecology. In addition, participants visited the Hoechst Celanese Vinyl Acetate Monomer facility on the Singapore Jurong Island petrochemical complex. In a strong showing of local and U.S. support, Derrick Loh, Secretary-General of SCI, and U.S. Embassy Singapore Deputy Chief of Mission Herb Schulz welcomed participants to the event, while SCI's Director of Business Development Charlie Chan and U.S. Embassy Senior Commercial Officer Jonathan Bensky provided closing remarks.

Welcome to Liza Luboff, a new Program Associate at US-AEP�s Environmental Exchange Program. Ms. Luboff has an extensive background in international affairs: She received her Master's degree in international affairs from Ohio University, with specializations in Southeast Asian studies, political science, and history. In addition, she comes to IIE from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she conducted research on Southeast Asian countries. Luboff has lived in Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico.