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ISRAEL:

The representative from Israel said that the solutions to environment and development must be concerned with technology and industry. Nearly every problem has a technological and scientific solution. Regional cooperation is important and the Mediterranean Action Plan is an excellent example. The first session of the CSD emphasized transfer of technology to enhance the capacity of developing countries and Israel supports the CSD intersessional meetings. Israel's research and development has been directed to returning deserts to productive, fruit-bearing soil. Israel's National Desert Research Institute at Ben Gurion University is engaged in this activity and Israel invites all countries to participate in this venture, especially its neighbors, as there is a need for practical solutions to desertification. The central role of the CSD should be an inter-governmental forum for exchange of information. This week in Cairo, an environmental working group within the peace process declared 1994 as the Year of the Environment in the Middle East.