It is becoming increasingly clear that the future of the world cannot be
sustained without scientific support, analysis, prediction and the use
of scientific achievement. The immensity of the problems confronting us,
coupled with the limited financial resources available, urgently demand
the selection of priority areas of research, with a global combination
of scientific effort.
The new geopolitical situation has uncovered Russia's and the former
Soviet Union's scientific potential. This has given rise to wider
opportunities for involvement in work on international projects and
programmes, many of which are discussed in the present volume. The book
addresses specifically priority fields of science in which joint,
multidisciplinary research should be developed, encompassing rational
use of natural resources and regional sustainable development, as well
as the monitoring of the biosphere's ecosystem state and the risks of
natural and anthropogenic hazards, and the creation of new materials and
technologies. The list of priorities includes Siberia's economic, social
and humanitarian problems, as well as the development of information
systems for the rapid exchange of scientific data. There is a recognised
need for the involvement of young scientists in partnership
laboratories, in a probationary capacity.