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whose territories comprise the area, and it has needed the stimulation of an independent international organization to bring them together to do a piece of work that is in their common interest. During 1947, following on decisions taken at the Paris UNESCO Conference, the Brazilian Government convened a Commission at Belem do Para to consider the establishment of an International Hylean Amazon Institute. It was attended by representatives of all nine countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, British Guiana, French Guiana, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela), together with delegates from the United States of America, the Inter-American Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the Pan-American Union, the International Labour Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the World Health Organization. This Commission presented a report to the Mexico City Conference, which instructed the DirectorGeneral to take steps to set up an Inter-Hylean Amazon Institute. Early this year he will call a meeting of a Council, composed of the representatives of all the nations and organizations just mentioned, together with representatives of any other country that may be interested. Without any financial commitments beyond 1948, UNESCO will grant to the Council of the Institute sums necessary for preparation for the Council meeting, and will make available the services of the Field Science Co-operation Office in Latin America. The Director-General will also negotiate with the interested Governments and organizations concerning the future financing of the Institute, and will report to the Third General Conference. Brazil, we understand, has already earmarked the income from a large capital sum towards the support of the Institute. The New Zealand delegation had, to begin with, some doubts about the project, and pressed hard on the one hand to have UNESCO's liabilities limited, and, on the other, to have the liabilities of the interested countries closely defined. We are now satisfied that the arrangement finally decided upon is as tight as could be reasonably expected, and that, so long as UNESCO's part is confined to acting as a " starter," the end results may well be out of all proportion to the small expenditure incurred by the Organization. The scientific findings of the Institute will, of course, be made freely available to all member States. The scientific delegates from all countries were most enthusiastic over the whole project. As another of its scientific projects for 1948 UNESCO will convene in Paris a conference of expert delegates from countries and international organizations interested in the establishment and maintenance of high altitude stations, but it will not meet the expenses of delegates. It will extend its policy of making grants-in-aid to international scientific and technical organizations, and will continue