the report on the state of the environ- ment, 1983, and the regional presence of UNEP. In addition, item 6 would in- clude an evaluation of progress made towards the achievement of the 1982 goals.

At the same meeting, also on the re- commendation of the Bureau, the Coun- cil decided on the date and place of the intersessional informal consultations with Governments to be held between the ninth and lOth sessions. []

Adoption of the Report The Governing Council considered

the draft reports at the 8th and 9th plenary meetings on the 25th and 26th May 1981.

The representative of Japan claimed that too many political decisions had been adopted and that his country would prefer that UNEP stay out of these con- troversies as that was only disturbing the work which had to be done for the environment.

The UK delegate agreed with this statement and in addition, remarked that he felt that UNEP could not conti- nue in this way that there was much too much paper work, and that the agen- da must be changed to avoid so many statements being made which divert from the subject on the agenda. He would like to see resolutions and papers earlier "instead of at the last minute to be followed by rushed decisions". "I can say for my country, that there will be more resources available for UNEP only when it has proved to be more efficient".

The representative of Ghana, sup- ported by many others, expressed mis-

"givings about the statement by the UK delegate, and remarked that it amounted to interference in the decisions of the

other delegates and countries. This was greeted by applause, especially by the African states.

Following the break, since the cli- mate was tense and before the final round of speeches began the represen-

,tative of Saudi Arabia made a statement to the effect that all had been very busy and although all now were prone to ner- vousness, all had one thing in common: the well-being of UNEP. The divergences of opinion which had emerged during the session were a reflection of the com- plex nature of environmental concerns and he hoped that they would not be allowed to disrupt the cooperation which had been built up so far.

Also at the 9th meeting, the Council took note of the reports of Sessional Committees I and II (see above) as orally revised by the rapporteur and adopted the draft decisions recommend- ed by the committees.

(To avoid confusion and unnecessary cross references details of these deliber- ations in Plenary are included in paren- thesis in the committee reports follow- ing the relevant draft decision.)

The Governing Council adopted the present report at the 9th meeting on 26 May subject to the incorporation of the amendments approved at the 8th and 9th meetings. []

Closure of the Session In an eloquent statement at the end

of the conference, the President called for more solidarity between nations as the only means of solving the problems facing the world and reminded delegates that "whether we like it or not, or accept it or not there are no boundaries in the field of the environment".

He spoke of the financial difficulties facing UNEP and stressed that without a

greater effort by all concerned, UNEP cannot succeed in its goals. He stressed the interest, quality and importance of the general debate and added that "never before have we heard so many brilliant statements, which constitute an impor- tant contribution in the way of guide- lines and government opinions which will help the Executive Director in his ardous task".

He voiced his "profound satisfaction" that the Council had taken a definite decision to convene a Senior Level Meet- ing on Environmental Law and had ac- cepted the invitation of Uruguay to hold the meeting there. He was convinced that this would prove to be one of the most important meetings of the decade. Although delegates could not be unaware of the difficulties inherent in the Monte- video meeting, it was hoped that it "will help us to find ways and means condu- cive to the establishment of legal ma- chinery which we have to create in order to achieve our own vital objectives. "Be- cause if there is no law, there is no im- plementation thereof".

The President then declared the 9th session of the Governing Council closed.

[] MJ

LOS For testimony of James L. Malone

before the US House of Representatives Merchant Marine & Fisheries Committee, see page 146.

ECA Resolutions on (i) the strengthening

of national capabilities for environ- mental legislation, assessment and man- agement as a development strategy, (ii) human settlements are printed on page 145.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

Elizabeth Haub Prize The Elizabeth Haub prize in Environmental Law was awarded by the Free Uni-

versity o f Brussels and the ICEL to Russell E. Train, on June 11, 1981. Following are extracts from the Laudatio and other speeches given on this occasion.

Allocution prononc6e par le Recteur Jean Michot

C'est la sixi~me fois depuis sa cr6a- tion en 1974 qu'a lieu aujourd'hui la re- mise du Prix Elizabeth Haub, et le lau-

r6at que nous honorons est le quinzibme • d'une liste de personnalit6s de renom

international, ~ qui le Prix fut attribu6 pour la contribution qu'ils ont apport6e dans les domaines de la conservation de

Environmental Policy and Law, 7 (1981)

la nature et de ses ressources, du droit, de la politique, de l'6conomie de l'envi- ronnement dans divers pays, darts le do- maine du d6veloppement de la 16gisla- tion relative g la protection de l'environ- nement, de l'urbanisme et de l'am6nage- ment du territoire, ainsi que de l'~tude des diverses 16gislations en la mati~re.

Relisant r6cemment le palmar~s du Prix Elizabeth Haub, j'ai 6t6, une fois de plus frapp~ tout g la fois par la qua- lit~ des laur6ats et par l'6tonnante diver-

135