On November 21, 1990, 34 nations signed the "Charter of Paris for a New Europe." This document is like a Bill of Rights for the post-cold war Europe. It is unprecedented in its scope and the number and diversity of participating countries. Among the 34 signers were the United States, the Soviet Union, Canada, and 31 European Nations. The Charter contains a pledge of particular interest to us as environmental professionals:

"...We pledge to intensify our endeavors to protect and improve our environment in order to restore and maintain a sound ecological balance in air, water, and soil... We commit ourselves to promoting public awareness and education on the environment as well as the public reporting of the environmental impact of policies, projects and programs...

We stress the need for new measures providing for the systematic evaluation of compliance with existing commitments and, moreover, for the development of more ambitious commitments with regard to notification and exchange of information about the state of the environment and potential environmental hazards."