Show Amazon Area NoW 4 ow Testing Site U. U U N N. N Plans Survey Of Possibilities LAKE SUCCESS N Y Three Three million square miles of South America have been staked out as asa asa asa a testing ground for aid to under under- underdeveloped underdeveloped underdeveloped developed areas of the world A head hend start already has been made by scientists seeking to gear the riches of the Amazon area to social and economic ress Top priority has been given to research by the United Nations educational scientific and cultural al organization Preliminary field surveys survey have been undertaken Findings are not complete but have stimulated great optimism on the potential contributions the region can make to world-wide world economic advance advance- ment The Amazon is as large as Europe almost as big as the United States and 20 times as large as the United Kingdom It sprawls from the Andes on the west to the Atlantic on the east and from the Orinoco river on t the h c e north southward to t the h e mountains of Bolivia All tributary waters flow fIo into the Amazon It includes parts of Brazil Bo Bo- Bolivia Bolivia Bolivia livia Peru Ecuador Colombia Venezuela and British Dutch and French With its two million inhabitants it is one of the most sparsely populated populated populated areas in the world The international character and scientific significance of the re re- region region region gion is shown by the interest in its exploration by such outside na na- nations nations nations as the United States Stat s France Netherlands Britain and Italy Scientific missions have made many trips into Amazonia in the past But their long and difficult tasks remained largely fruitless for want of a permanent center cepter to ordinate co-ordinate their findings and do something about them The International Institute of the Amazon A inspired by Brazil in t i n co cooperation operation with wit wi t h UNESCO was organized org a year ago at Iquitos Peru Signatories to the Ill Ill-IA conven conven- convention convention tion bon are Brazil Braz J Peru Colombia Venezuela Bolivia Ecuador E c u ado a d o r France Holland and Italy The convention comes into force when five states of the Amazon region have ratified it Ecuador and Colombia already have rati rati- ratified ratified ratified fied the proposal and France acting 1 for French Guiana has endorsed en en- endorsed endorsed it UNESCO said it hopes to get down to the real survey job this year UNESCO Director D ire i r e c tor t o r General Jaime Torres Bodet of Mexico called the a perfect ex ex- example example example ample of how projects for under under- underdeveloped underdeveloped developed regions can and must go hand in hand land with direct eco eco- economic economic economic assistance |