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which in 1949 will total $200,000, and the maintenance of Field Science Co- operation Offices for the exchange and supply of sentific information, material and personnel.

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30. The Conservation of Natural Resources.-Extensive discussions took place on the problem of the conservation of natural resources and the protection of nature, during which decisions were taken to strengthen the development of the newly formed International Union for the Protection of Nature and to call a meeting of it in conjunction with the United Nations Conference on the Conservation and Utilisation of Natural Resources. The Conference recognised the urgency of the world food situation and the need to` raise nutritional standards by the conservation of natural resources. It accordingly placed at the disposal of the United Nations and the Specialised Agencies its services in the basic sciences, education and mass communica- tions to make known and to meet this problem. Under the Chapter on Social Sciences it further agreed that "Food and People" should be the major theme for discussions in 1949 in its work on the social and inter- national implications of science. (See paragraph 41 following.)

31. International Institutes of the Hylean Amazon and of the Arid Zone. Though not specifically related to the problem of the world's food, two other resolutions take on added importance because of the potential contri- bution they can make towards its solution. We refer to the strengthening of the International Institute of the Hylean Amazon and the development of its work and to the proposal to consider the establishment of an Inter- national Institue of the Arid Zone. Both are imaginative and yet practical and valuable undertakings and the United Kingdom was keen in their support.

32. Scientific Documentation. Considerable agreement was found on the need to improve and expand the basic services of scientific documentation. This involves an attempt to rationalise scientific terminology, with the possibility of preparing multilingual dictionaries in certain specialised fields of science. But more important, because perhaps more urgent, is the need to develop more rapidly an international system of indexing, abstracting and reviewing scientific literature. An internation conference will be held in June of this year on the subject of scientific abstracting.

33. World Centre of Scientific Liaison. The title of this group of reso- lutions reflects the role which the Secretariat in Paris has to play in relation to the scientific world at large. In addition to acting as the headquarters for the work done by the Field Science Co-operation Offices, information services are being maintained for scientific apparatus, scientific films, and for a world register of scientific institutions and scientists. The United Kingdom Delegation was impressed not only with the tremendous advances and achievements of science but also with the complete lack or retardation in larger areas of the world of scientific means and methods. The disparity in this respect between the North American continent, for example, and Africa or Asia seemed to us to demand the utmost help which this. Organisation could give towards closing the gap, if not in materials, at least in scientific knowledge. We therefore supported those activities which are generally labelled under the term World Centre of Scientific Liaison. For similar reasons also we approved of a resolution dealing with the popularisation of science.

34. Other Resolutions.—We merely wish here to refer to two other resolutions which were of considerable interest to certain other delegations,, the first to the United States and French Delegations and the second to