In response to the global outcry for environmental information, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched its International Data Sharing Program in 1989 and began to forge information partnerships with developing nations. The three objectives of the program are to establish EPA as a partner in information exchange, to disseminate significant environmental information, and to assist developing nations in establishing effective environmental management capabilities. The EPA uses the regional service center model for disseminating information beyond U.S. borders. Regional information networks provide a focal point for dissemination and provide information support to a geographic area. As the donor partner, EPA supplies the basic equipment, initial training, and core materials needed for support to the region. One example of a regional network is the INFOTERRA system in southern Africa, an information exchange network consisting of 138 nations coordinated by the INFOTERRA Programme Activity Centre in Nairobi. When this network is fully developed, countries within the region will be able to collect and disseminate their own materials, exchange environmental information among themselves, and obtain from the United States any needed documentation or data. A second example of a regional network is the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), which was initially developed to address the pollution problems of Hungary, and now expanded to include Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The common element in these examples is the regional cooperative approach to information sharing. (DB)