Information is one of the pillars of socio-economic development. In recognition of the importance of information in the national development process, ESCAP made information development one of the major components of its regional population programme when it began to work in this field in 1969. The lion's share of financial support for this work comes from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The ESCAP secretariat, through its Regional Population Information Centre, helped to develop and currently supports national population information centres with information materials, technical assistance, advisory services and training for their staff. The aim is to enable countries to become increasingly self-reliant in their information gathering, analysing, processing and disseminating capabilities.

Fully functioning national population information centres can bridge the gap between those who produce new know-ledge and those who need it; they can also contribute to the production of new knowledge. The ultimate goal is to improve the utilization of population data and information for population policy and programme purposes at the national level.

One of the major means that ESCAP employs for achieving this goal is Asia-Pacific POPIN. The Network comprises a number of national population information centres and networks whose regional networking activities are coordinated by ESCAP.

As part of its coordinating functions, the secretariat encourages the establishment of subregional networks such as East and South East Asian POPIN and Pacific POPIN. In the near future, it is expected that South Asia POPIN will be organized by South Asian countries in that subregion. Because of the vast size of the ESCAP region, subregional networking could be an effective way to share information and experiences among information professionals in neighbouring countries.

Human resources development

The ESCAP secretariat provides technical assistance and specialized training for the members of Asia-Pacific POPIN to upgrade the management and technical skills of their staff. Information centre staff must understand the use of modern information technologies for a variety of information-processing applications and must know how to plan, manage and deliver information services and products in a timely way using internationally accepted standards and guidelines. Such staff must also have the capability to present population data and scientific and technical information with effective visual impact and ease of understanding for a wide range of users.

The use of new technologies for information-handling has played an important role in the successful implementation of the more advanced population information centres and networks in the Asian and Pacific region. The application of computers for data analysis, information systems management, word processing and desk-top publishing has greatly enhanced the ability of national population information centres to carry out their mandates more effectively.

Training

The ESCAP secretariat also provides opportunities for information specialists from Asian and Pacific countries to deepen their knowledge and gain experience. In addition, it conducts in-service or "on-the-job" training and organizes study tours of more advanced population information centres.

Database services

The ESCAP secretariat maintains population-related bibliographic information in its computerized database, EBIS/POPFILE, a subset of the ESCAP Bibliographic Information System (EBIS). This makes it possible for users to obtain fast and up-to-date information stored in the database which currently contains over 10,000 bibliographic records. On request, ESCAP conducts searches and supplies users throughout the Asian and Pacific region with relevant printouts. If copies of the cited documents are not available in the user's own country, they can be supplied by ESCAP (with due regard for international copyright law).

In addition to the EBIS/POPFILE database, search services are available from the POPLINE database, which is maintained by the Population Information Program, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. The ESCAP secretariat offers retrospective searches of the POPLINE database on CD-ROM and SDI (selective dissemination of information) searches on a subset of the POPLINE database which is provided monthly to ESCAP under an agreement with The Johns Hopkins University.

POPLINE contains citations and abstracts of a variety of materials including journal articles, monographs, technical reports and unpublished literature on population and family planning including reproductive health, contraceptive methods, community-based services, programme evaluation, demography, censuses and vital statistics, as well as legal, policy and women's issues. The file is updated each month, adding approximately 12,000 records annually.

Publications

To keep population information experts informed on topics of current interest, the ESCAP secretariat produces the quarterly Asia-Pacific POPIN Bulletin, which is the newsletter of this regional network. This periodical incorporates three other publications which used to be published separately: namely, ADOPT (Asian-Pacific and Worldwide Documents on Population Topics), a computer-generated current-awareness journal; Recommended Titles in Population, generated from a computerized book-ordering system; and the quarterly Asia-Pacific POPIN Newsletter.

The ESCAP secretariat also repackages technical information and publishes the quarterly professional journal entitled Asia-Pacific Population Journal. Further, it produces a monthly newsletter entitled Population Headliners, which contains general information on population.

In addition to these and occasional publications such as brochures and data sheets, the ESCAP secretariat produces computer-generated directories on topics such as key personnel in the field of population, current population research projects, and information resources in the Asian and Pacific region. The directories are distributed in print and electronic form and updated periodically. The data are also available for on-line computer searching.

All the population publicatons of the ESCAP secretariat are distributed to a variety of audiences according to a computerized stratified mailing list.

Grants

As a means of encouraging wider dissemination and utilization of regional population materials, the ESCAP secretariat provides small grants to countries to translate United Nations publications into national languages. Also provided are grants for directories to encourage the countries to produce national databases and directories on topics such as key personnel in the field of population, current population research projects, and population institutions. Armed with appropriate information, even the poorest and least developed countries can more effectively plan ahead to address population issues, guide population research and formulate effective national policies.

Meetings

Sharing information and experiences among population information professionals is the aim of the ESCAP secretariat in organizing consultative meetings and workshops. At such meetings, staff of national population information centres and networks have the opportunity to discuss population information issues in depth with peers, exchange solutions to common problems, develop guidelines for cooperative efforts, such as directory and database development, and consider the usefulness of new technologies for information work within the regional context.

The secretariat has encouraged and facilitated a TCDC (technical cooperation among developing countries) approach to a number of such exchanges with mutual benefit to participating countries.

In order to promote effective exchange of information and networking methodologies among population-related networks, the ESCAP secretariat coordinates with other regional information networks such as the WHO/HELLIS (the Health Literature and Library Information System) of the World Health Organization and WINAP (the Women's Information Network for Asia and the Pacific).

In all its population information activities, the ESCAP secretariat attempts to assist member and associate member Governments in their efforts to devise effective solutions to their population and development problems. In other words, its goal is to help them to develop their human resources and their national information resources so that they may attain self-reliance in the management of their population information systems. The ultimate aim is to improve the utilization of population data and information in order to make their national population programmes more effective.

Looking to the future

Because of the development of computers and telecommunications, it is already technically and economically feasible to link information resources in order to make access to recorded population information more effective and beneficial. For example, the major portion of published technical population literature can be identified currently through computer searches of various databases. Services that were once available only through the ESCAP secretariat are now being made available through population information centres in some of the developing countries of the region with access to CD-ROM (compact disc - read only memory), a breakthrough technology for textual information storage and retrieval.

The applications of computer technology are growing as rapidly as the technology itself. Thus, computerization of population information will be important for the effective generation, processing and dissemination of population information. Moreover, the use of powerful and affordable microcomputer technologies to bypass the traditional approach of more expensive mainframe computerization is receiving increased attention from some countries in the region. Nonetheless, micro-computers are not a panacea for solving problems. In this context, there is a need among almost all the countries concerned for some degree of standardization in the use of software, hardware and input preparation, as well as for development of more extensive human resource development programmes to provide advanced training in the management of technical information. In this regard, the ESCAP secretariat plays a continuing role.

With the further development of telecommunications technologies, physical linkages, in addition to functional linkages, have become technologically feasible. In some countries of the region, the transmission of information through telephone lines has been fully digitalized so voice, data, video or fax can be simultaneously transmitted through one cable. Once this Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is fully developed, it will revolutionize communication. Since users will be able to communicate with each other simultaneously in various forms, such as video, audio and data through ISDN, it may promote tele-conferencing and cooperative research among parties separated by great distances. This process holds many implications for improving the availability of population information, especially in on-line modes. On-line services have revolutionized literature searching in the developed countries since their introduction in the early 1970s. Bibliographic databases, magnetic tape or disk files of bibliographic information from many different sources can be manipulated and made available for direct, interactive searching. Thousands of bibliographic references covering all branches of science including population and social studies, are thus accessible. All that is necessary to conduct a search is a low- priced terminal and a telecommunications connection.

While actual usage of on-line systems in the region is currently limited to the more advanced countries, if tele- communication networks can be established and made available to users at reasonable cost, perhaps via satellite links, there is considerable potential for some developing countries of the region to gain access to extremely large stores of bibliographic as well as factual and textual information and powerful search programs.

Although modern technology may be making it easier than ever before to transmit information to others in quantities and at speeds never thought possible a few decades ago, the main limitations to what can be carried by communication channels will probably remain human limitations. The challenge in the twenty-first century, as it is now, will be for the channellers and the users of population information to select what is useful. Perhaps the most important development in the future will not emphasize so much the supply of information and related services, but will focus on stimulating demand.

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