Evening star., 1947-07-23
Stars, Men and Atoms
Jungle Of South America
To Be Vast Laboratory
Scientists From All Nations to STUDY
Problems of Equatorial Life
By Thomas r. Henry

BY Thomas r. Henry
Nearly 100000 square miles Of jungle, the
swampy forest Of the Amazon basin. are to be-
come titanic laboratory where scientists of all
nations will study the basic problems of human
life IN equatorial regions
This Is theNfirst major project of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. DR.. E. J. Corner, assistant d.
rector Of the Singapore Botanical Gardens be-
fore the war; DR.. B. Mslamos, Greek expert in
tropical diseases, and DR.. Alexander Metraux,
formerly Of the Smithsonian Institution, already
are at Belem de Para, Brazil. They are engaged
in setting up the International Institute of the
Hylean Amazon to facilitate cooperative
studies in what remains one of the least known
regions on earth the great plain which
stretches from the Andes to the Atlantic, part
Of the Upper Orinoco, and the three Guianas.
This area makes up nearly q third of the South
American continent
Project Proposed by Brazil.
The project was proposed by Brazil which
offered government museum ut Belem de
Para as headquarters. This, 1t is expected.
will serve as nucleus from which any qualified
scientist, financed either privately or by his
government, can conduct his investigations
This is considered now as the first Of the
research frontier" stations which Unesco will
set up in various parts of the world. Similar
projects, but on much smaller scale at present,
will be launched in Cairo and Marking.
"Hylea" is considered as q natural area, en-
tirely aside from national boundaries. 1t.pre-
sents numerous problems requiring investiga-
tion in many fields. No inventory has yet been
made, for example, Of the regions natural re-
sources. Parts Of it are 50 inaccessible that they
never have been explored. Largely because of
this, no other part OF the earth has been tagged
with more pseudo-scientinc legends. This is
the land Of 'lost worlds" Of mysterious tribes
cut OF for milleniums from the rest Of the
human race, Of fabulous gold mines, Of ruined
cities or surviving misunderstanding to
science folklore.
Conference Expected In August.
1t is expected that towards the end of August
the Brazilian government will cali . conference
at Belem to which representatives from all the
interested nations will be invited. These will
prepare an outline for further activities which
will be submitted to the Unesco general con-
ference in Mexico City in November.
OF particular concern to the organization are
contemplated studies of climatic effects on man.
The region appears to be an ideal location for
such an undertaking on an international basis.
These studies are expected to throw much light
on preservation Of health and vigor In the
tropics in general. Discovery and development
of resources also offers wide field for scientific
studies. OF major Importance is the establish
ment Of weather stations and long series Of
observations to throw light on
the effects of the tropics on world weather.
So far as possible, 1t is stressed, all the pro-
jects approved at the start will have some pros
pect Of immediate practical returns.