THE MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION COMPENDIUM
BILATERAL / REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
First Update; pages 734-739
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Done at Washington, D.C. 27 March 1995
Entered into force 27 March 1995
Primary source citation: Copy of text provided by the U.S. Department of State
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AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN FOR COOPERATION IN THE GLOBE PROGRAM
The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter, the sides),
Intending to increase the awareness of students throughout the world about the global environment,
Seeking to contribute to increased scientific understanding of the Earth, and
Desiring to support improved student achievement in science and mathematics,
Have agreed to cooperate in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program as follows:
ARTICLE 1 - THE GLOBE PROGRAM
ARTICLE 2 - COOPERATING AGENCIES
On the U.S. side, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, acting in conjunction with other U.S. Government agencies participating in the GLOBE Program;
On the Kazakhstani side, the Ministry of Ecology and Biological Resources, acting in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and other Kazakhstani agencies participating in the GLOBE Program.
ARTICLE 3 - RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Identify U.S. schools that will participate in the GLOBE Program (details regarding GLOBE schools in Appendix A);
2. Select, in consultation with international scientists and educators, the GLOBE environmental measurements and types of measurement equipment (described in Appendix B);
3. Select Principal Investigator Teams for the GLOBE environmental measurements, and support the U.S. members of the Teams;
4. Calibrate, if necessary, measurement equipment that cannot be calibrated by GLOBE teachers and students;
5. Develop, in consultation with international scientists and educators, GLOBE educational materials;
6. Translate GLOBE instructional materials related to measurement procedures and data reporting protocols into the six United Nations languages, and provide these plus all broader GLOBE educational materials to the Kazakhstani side for further reproduction as necessary;
7. Conduct annual regional training sessions for GLOBE Country Coordinators and GLOBE teachers who will serve as trainers for additional GLOBE teachers in Kazakhstan, and provide a copy of GLOBE training materials to the Kazakhstani side;
8. Design, develop, operate, and maintain GLOBE data processing capabilities and other necessary technology and equipment;
9. Provide GLOBE software, as necessary, for use on Kazakhstani GLOBE school computers. (To the maximum extent possible, textual material appearing on computer screens will be accessible in the student's choice among the six United Nations languages.);
10. Accept environmental data reported from GLOBE schools around the world, and develop and provide resultant global environmental images (visualization products) to the Kazakhstani side; and
11. Evaluate the overall GLOBE Program periodically, in consultation with international GLOBE Country Coordinators, and modify the overall program as appropriate.
B. The Kazakhstani side will:
1. Select Kazakhstani schools to participate in the GLOBE Program (details regarding GLOBE schools in Appendix A) and provide an updated list of Kazakhstani GLOBE schools to the U.S. side at the beginning of each school year;
2. Ensure that Kazakhstani GLOBE schools conduct the fundamental activities of GLOBE schools detailed in Appendix A (take GLOBE environmental measurements, report data, and receive and use resultant global environmental images, using GLOBE educational materials under the guidance of teachers trained to conduct the GLOBE Program);
3. Name a Kazakhstani Government Point of Contact responsible for policy-level communications with the Director of the GLOBE Program;
4. Name a Country Coordinator responsible for day-to-day management, oversight, and facilitation of the GLOBE Program in Kazakhstan;
5. Ensure that the Country Coordinator and some GLOBE teachers attend GLOBE regional training and in turn provide GLOBE training to at least one teacher in each Kazakhstani GLOBE school;
6. Ensure that GLOBE instructional materials related to measurement procedures and data reporting protocols are utilized in Kazakhstani GLOBE schools, and that broader GLOBE educational materials are appropriately translated, adapted, reproduced, and distributed to all Kazakhstani GLOBE schools;
7. Ensure that Kazakhstani GLOBE schools have the necessary measurement equipment to take GLOBE environmental measurements (described in Appendix B);
8. Ensure that teachers and students at Kazakhstani GLOBE schools calibrate GLOBE measurement equipment according to procedures provided in GLOBE instructional materials;
9. Ensure that Kazakhstani GLOBE schools have the necessary computer and communications systems (described in Appendix C) to report GLOBE environmental measurements and to receive and use GLOBE visualization products, or make agreed alternative arrangements for such reporting and receipt. (At a minimum, the Kazakhstani Country Coordinator will need access to Internet so that all measurement data from Kazakhstani GLOBE schools will be reported via Internet.); and
10. Evaluate GLOBE operations in Kazakhstan periodically and assist the U.S. side in conducting periodic evaluation of the overall GLOBE Program.
ARTICLE 4 - FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
ARTICLE 5 - EXCHANGE OF DATA AND GOODS
ARTICLE 6 - RELEASE OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE GLOBE PROGRAM
ARTICLE 7 - CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION
ARTICLE 8 - ENTRY INTO FORCE, AMENDMENTS, WITHDRAWAL
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Done at Washington on the twenty-seventh day of March, 1995, in duplicate, in the English, Russian, and Kazakh languages, all texts being equally authentic.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: [Signature]
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: [Signature]
APPENDIX A GLOBE Schools
Each partner country will be responsible for identifying its participating schools. Schools should be selected so as to satisfy the objectives of the GLOBE Program. In particular, countries should emphasize the selection of schools that will maximize the number of students worldwide participating in the program. Also, countries should consider involving schools in locations that will yield measurement data that is important to the international environmental science community.
Students at all GLOBE schools throughout the world will conduct the following fundamental activities: they will make environmental measurements at or near their schools; report their data to a GLOBE data processing site; receive vivid graphical global environmental images (visualization products) created from their data and the data from other GLOBE schools around the world; and study the environment by relating their observations and the resulting visualization products to broader environmental topics. All of these activities will be conducted under the guidance of specially trained teachers (GLOBE-trained teachers).
GLOBE educational materials will be used in GLOBE schools under the guidance of GLOBE-trained teachers. These materials will detail procedures for taking environmental measurements and protocols for reporting data; explain the significance of the measurements; guide the use of the visualization products; and integrate the measurement aspects of the program into a broader study of the environment.
Schools throughout the United States and the rest of the world that are not GLOBE schools may become GLOBE Affiliate schools by observing the GLOBE Program in operation through the Internet. Students at these schools will benefit from the use of GLOBE visualization products and educational materials accessible on-line. All GLOBE Affiliate schools will be encouraged to become participating GLOBE schools.
APPENDIX B GLOBE Environmental Measurements and Equipment
GLOBE environmental measurements will contribute in a significant way to the scientific understanding of the dynamics of the global environment. Every GLOBE school will conduct a core set of GLOBE environmental measurements in the following critical areas: Atmosphere/Climate, Hydrology/Water Chemistry, and Biology/Geology. Where possible, a GLOBE school may coordinate its activities with those of other neighboring GLOBE schools, so that the complete set of GLOBE measurements will be available from a locality. As the GLOBE Program evolves, elective measurements not common to all GLOBE schools may be added in order to address local environmental issues.
Students at all age levels will be active participants in the GLOBE Program. The actual participation will be designed so as to be grade-appropriate for grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 (or equivalent). Younger students will make limited measurements which may be qualitative rather than quantitative. Older students will make additional measurements and more sophisticated measurements, as appropriate for their grade level. Measurement equipment will not need to be standardized; rather, performance specifications will be provided.
Following is an example list of core measurements and the equipment that will be needed to take these measurements. The full list will be initially determined and periodically updated as provided in Article 2.A.2, based on experience gained in implementing the GLOBE Program.
Measurements (Equipment Needed) for Grades K-5: Atmosphere/Climate Studies: Air Temperature (Max/Min Thermometer) Precipitation (Rain Gauge) Barometric Pressure (Barometer) Cloud Observations (Cloud Kit (Wall Chart, Slides, Etc.)) Weather Image Analysis (Hardcopy Images - see note below)
Hydrology/Water Chemistry Studies: Water Temperature (Thermometer) Water pH (Litmus Paper/Colorimetric) Water Chemistry (Water Testing Kit) Hydrologic Assessment (Hardcopy Images)
Biology/Geology Studies: Biometrics (Tape Measure, Simple Clinometers) Species Identification (Simple Dichotomous Keys) Soil Temperature (Thermometer) Land Cover Assessment (Hardcopy Images)
Measurements (Equipment Needed) for Grades 6-12: Atmosphere/Climate Studies: Air Temperature (Max/Min Thermometer) Precipitation (Rain Gauge) Barometric Pressure (Barometer) Dew Point (Sling Psychrometer) Wind Speed/Direction (Anemometer, Wind Vane) Trace Gases (to be determined) Cloud Observations (Cloud Kit) Weather Image Analysis (Hardcopy Images)
Hydrology/Water Chemistry Studies: Water Temperature (Thermometer) Water pH (Pens, pH Meter) Water Chemistry (Water Testing Kit) Soil Moisture (to be determined) Hydrologic Assessment (Hardcopy Images)
Biology/Geology Studies: Biometrics (Clinometer, Tape Measure) Species Identification (Keys, Taxonomic Manuals) Phenology (Camera, Film) State-Of-Health (Texts, Color Plates, Local Resources) Soil Temperature (Thermometer) Soil Types (Soil Manuals, Keys) Global Positioning System (GPS) Measurements (to be made, as necessary, by the U.S. to determine the location of GLOBE study sites on the ground) Land Use/Cover Assessment (Hardcopy Images)
Note: References to "Hardcopy Images" -- These studies, where possible, will be conducted using hardcopy images produced from weather satellites such as GOES/Meteosat and land surface systems such as Landsat/SPOT satellite datasets which the U.S. will provide.
APPENDIX C GLOBE Computer and Communications Systems
In order to derive maximum benefit from the GLOBE Program, all schools will be encouraged to use an international information network, initially using the Internet, along with classroom computers using software capable of multimedia presentations. Technology associated with the GLOBE Program will continually evolve to higher levels and participants will be encouraged to upgrade over time. Following is a description of GLOBE computer and communications systems consistent with current GLOBE requirements.
The U.S. Side will adapt or develop software for IBM-compatible and Apple Macintosh computer configurations to support the required GLOBE school activities of data entry, data analysis, and use of visualization products. Current planning calls for limiting this software development effort to IBM-compatible or Apple Macintosh computers capable of running TCP/IP and supporting World Wide Web client software, such as Mosaic, with GLOBE extensions. Overall attributes of this minimum usable GLOBE school computer configuration are as follows:
A) for IBM-compatible: 386 SX processor, Windows 3.1 in enhanced mode, 4MB of RAM, 60MB of available hard disk space, and a direct Internet connection or dial-up connection using SLIP or PPP and 14,400bps modem, preferably with V.42bis, which can enable 57,600bps operation using data compression; and
B) for Apple Macintosh: 68030 20MHz processor, 4MB of RAM, 60MB of available hard disk space, and a direct Internet connection or dial-up connection using SLIP or PPP and a 14,400bps modem, preferably with V.42bis, which can enable 57,600bps operation using data compression.
A higher performance GLOBE school computer system is also being developed for the following configuration: a 486/66 processor, 16MB of RAM, 500MB of available hard disk space, super VGA monitor, double-speed CD-ROM reader, sound card, and MPEG speed-up board.
It is recognized that there is a broad range of technological capabilities among potential GLOBE schools. The diversity of technology accessible by schools worldwide may require in some cases that environmental measurements be reported in hard copy and that a variety of media be used to distribute visualization products, including photographs and broadcast television. All schools that want to participate in the program will be accommodated.