Publications

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This paper proposes that current maritime smuggling routes in the western Indian Ocean region are similar to those in the past and that the motivations of terrorist groups and the presence of radioactive sources in the Indian Ocean littoral and other states present a significant security threat. The majority of regional terrorist groups have a hybrid structure, piggybacking on criminal activity to fund their terror activities. Additionally, states have used maritime routes in the Indian Ocean region to transport nuclear materials and missiles. Thus, the maritime dimension of such threats remains, and may be increasing. This paper focuses on issues, motivations, pathways, and methods to detect and interdict nuclear and radiological trafficking. It analyzes the potential use of maritime technology applications for radiation detection and presents recommendations for states and multinational nonproliferation advocacy organizations to address the threat in the Indian Ocean region.

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The sea presents unique possibilities for implementing confidence building measures (CBMs) between India and Pakistan that are currently not available along the contentious land borders surrounding Jammu and Kashmir. This is due to the nature of maritime issues, the common military culture of naval forces, and a less contentious history of maritime interaction between the two nations. Maritime issues of mutual concern provide a strong foundation for more far-reaching future CBMs on land, while addressing pressing security, economic, and humanitarian needs at sea in the near-term. Although Indian and Pakistani maritime forces currently have stronger opportunities to cooperate with one another than their counterparts on land, reliable mechanisms to alleviate tension or promote operational coordination remain non-existent. Therefore, possible maritime CBMs, as well as pragmatic mechanisms to initiate and sustain cooperation, require serious examination. This report reflects the unique joint research undertaking of two retired Senior Naval Officers from both India and Pakistan, sponsored by the Cooperative Monitoring Center of the International Security Center at Sandia National Laboratories. Research focuses on technology as a valuable tool to facilitate confidence building between states having a low level of initial trust. Technical CBMs not only increase transparency, but also provide standardized, scientific means of interacting on politically difficult problems. Admirals Vohra and Ansari introduce technology as a mechanism to facilitate consistent forms of cooperation and initiate discussion in the maritime realm. They present technical CBMs capable of being acted upon as well as high-level political recommendations regarding the following issues: (1) Delimitation of the maritime boundary between India and Pakistan and its relationship to the Sir Creek dispute; (2) Restoration of full shipping links and the security of ports and cargos; (3) Fishing within disputed areas and resolution of issues relating to arrest and repatriation of fishermen from both sides; and (4) Naval and maritime agency interaction and possibilities for cooperation.

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The Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) promotes collaborations among scientists and researchers in several regions as a means of achieving common regional security objectives. To promote cooperation in South Asia on environmental research, an international working group made up of participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United States convened in Kathmandu, Nepal, from February 17-23,2002. The workshop was held to further develop the South Asia Transboundary Water Quality Monitoring (SATWQM) project. The project is sponsored in part by the CMC located at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico through funding provided by the US. Department of State, Regional Environmental Affairs Office, American Embassy, Kathmandu, Nepal, and the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Office of Nonproliferation and National Security. This report summarizes the SATWQM project, the workshop objectives, process and results. The long-term interests of the participants are to develop systems for sharing regional environmental information as a means of building confidence and improving relations among South Asian countries. The more immediate interests of the group are focused on activities that foster regional sharing of water quality data in the Ganges and Indus River basins. Issues of concern to the SATWQM network participants include studying the impacts from untreated sewage and industrial effluents, agricultural run-off, salinity increases in fresh waters, the siltation and shifting of river channels, and the environmental degradation of critical habitats such as wetlands, protected forests, and endangered aquatic species conservation areas. The workshop focused on five objectives: (1) a deepened understanding of the partner organizations involved; (2) garnering the support of additional regional and national government and non-government organizations in South Asia involved in river water quality monitoring; (3) identification of sites within the region at which water quality data are to be collected; (4) instituting a data and information collection and sharing process; and, (5) training of partners in the use of water quality monitoring equipment.

The Navruz Project is a cooperative, transboundary, river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. The Navruz Project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of their importance to public health and nuclear materials proliferation concerns in the region. The Project also collects data on basic water quality parameters. Data obtained in this project are shared among all participating countries and the public through a world-wide web site (http://www.cmc.sandia.org/Central/centralasia.html), and are available for use in further studies and in regional transboundary water resource management efforts. This report includes graphs showing selected data from the Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 sampling seasons. These data include all parameters grouped into six regions, including main rivers and some tributaries in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river systems. This report also assembles all data (in tabular form) generated by the project from Fall 2000 through Fall 2001. This report comes as the second part of a planned three-part reporting process. The first report is the Sampling and Analysis Plan and Operational Manual, SAND 2002-0484. This is the second report.

The transboundary nature of water resources demands a transboundary approach to their monitoring and management. However, transboundary water projects raise a challenging set of problems related to communication issues, and standardization of sampling, analysis and data management methods. This manual addresses those challenges and provides the information and guidance needed to perform the Navruz Project, a cooperative, transboundary, river monitoring project involving rivers and institutions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan facilitated by Sandia National Laboratories in the U.S. The Navruz Project focuses on waterborne radionuclides and metals because of their importance to public health and nuclear materials proliferation concerns in the region. This manual provides guidelines for participants on sample and data collection, field equipment operations and procedures, sample handling, laboratory analysis, and data management. Also included are descriptions of rivers, sampling sites and parameters on which data are collected. Data obtained in this project are shared among all participating countries and the public through an internet web site, and are available for use in further studies and in regional transboundary water resource management efforts. Overall, the project addresses three main goals: to help increase capabilities in Central Asian nations for sustainable water resources management; to provide a scientific basis for supporting nuclear transparency and non-proliferation in the region; and to help reduce the threat of conflict in Central Asia over water resources, proliferation concerns, or other factors.

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To promote cooperation in South Asia on environmental research, an international working group comprised of participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the US convened at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 12 to 14, 1999. The workshop was sponsored in part by the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, through funding provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nonproliferation and National Security. The CMC promotes collaborations among scientists and researchers in regions throughout the world as a means of achieving common regional security objectives. In the long term, the workshop organizers and participants are interested in the significance of regional information sharing as a means to build confidence and reduce conflict. The intermediate interests of the group focus on activities that might eventually foster regional management of some aspects of water resources utilization. The immediate purpose of the workshop was to begin the implementation phase of a project to collect and share water quality information at a number of river and coastal estuary locations throughout the region. The workshop participants achieved four objectives: (1) gaining a better understanding of the partner organizations involved; (2) garnering the support of existing regional organizations promoting environmental cooperation in South Asia; (3) identifying sites within the region at which data is to be collected; and (4) instituting a data and information collection and sharing process.

Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson, has stated that one of the nuclear waste legacy issues is ``The challenge of managing the fuel cycle's back end and assuring the safe use of nuclear power.'' Waste management (i.e., the back end) is a domestic and international issue that must be addressed. A key tool in gaining acceptance of nuclear waste repository technologies is transparency. Transparency provides information to outside parties for independent assessment of safety, security, and legitimate use of materials. Transparency is a combination of technologies and processes that apply to all elements of the development, operation, and closure of a repository system. A test bed for nuclear repository transparency technologies has been proposed to develop a broad-based set of concepts and strategies for transparency monitoring of nuclear materials at the back end of the fuel/weapons cycle. WIPP is the world's first complete geologic repository system for nuclear materials at the back end of the cycle. While it is understood that WIPP does not currently require this type of transparency, this repository has been proposed as realistic demonstration site to generate and test ideas, methods, and technologies about what transparency may entail at the back end of the nuclear materials cycle, and which could be applicable to other international repository developments. An integrated set of transparency demonstrations was developed and deployed during the summer, and fall of 1999 as a proof-of-concept of the repository transparency technology concept. These demonstrations also provided valuable experience and insight into the implementation of future transparency technology development and application. These demonstrations included: Container Monitoring Rocky Flats to WIPP; Underground Container Monitoring; Real-Time Radiation and Environmental Monitoring; Integrated level of confidence in the system and information provided. As the world's only operating deep geologic repository, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) offers a unique opportunity to serve as an international cooperative test bed for developing and demonstrating technologies and processes in a fully operational repository system setting. To address the substantial national security implications for the US resulting from the lack of integrated, transparent management and disposition of nuclear materials at the back-end of the nuclear fuel and weapons cycles, it is proposed that WIPP be used as a test bed to develop and demonstrate technologies that will enable the transparent and proliferation-resistant geologic isolation of nuclear materials. The objectives of this initiative are to: (1) enhance public confidence in safe, secure geologic isolation of nuclear materials; (2) develop, test, and demonstrate transparency measures and technologies for the back-end of nuclear fuel cycle; and (3) foster international collaborations leading to workable, effective, globally-accepted standards for the transparent monitoring of geological repositories for nuclear materials. Test-bed activities include: development and testing of monitoring measures and technologies; international demonstration experiments; transparency workshops; visiting scientist exchanges; and educational outreach. These activities are proposed to be managed by the Department of Energy/Carlsbad Area Office (DOE/CAO) as part of The Center for Applied Repository and Underground Studies (CARUS).