Recalling paragraph 7 of the financial rules for the Conference of the Parties,

Recalling also decisions III/23 and III/24, adopted at its third session,

Having considered the proposed budget for the biennium 1999-2000 submitted by the Executive Secretary,

1. Endorses the administrative arrangements between the United Nations Environment Programme and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, contained in annex III of document UNEP/CBD/COP/4/24, which entered into force on 30 June 1997, and requests the Executive Secretary to report regularly to the Conference of the Parties, through its Bureau, on the implementation of its provisions;

2. Approves the programme budget for the biennium 1999-2000, amounting to US$ 17,301,600 for the purposes specified in table 1 below;

3. Notes the statement of the Trustee that there is an accumulated surplus in the amount of US$ 3,616,566 and decides to use this amount on an exceptional basis to offset the contributions from Parties during the biennium 1999-2000;

4. Welcomes the annual contribution of US$ 1,000,000 by the host Government to offset the contributions from Parties for the biennium 1999­2000;

5. Approves the staffing table for the programme budget as contained in table 2 below and requests that all staff positions be filled expeditiously;

6. Decides that the three Trust Funds (BY, BE, BZ) for the Convention shall be extended for the period of two years, beginning 1 January 2000 and ending 31 December 2001;

7. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to make transfers, between each of the main appropriation lines set out in table 1 below, up to an aggregate limit of 15 per cent of the total estimated for those appropriation lines, provided that a further limitation of up to a maximum 25 per cent of each such appropriation line shall apply;

8. Invites all Parties to the Convention to note that contributions to the core budget are due on 1 January of each year in accordance with paragraph 4 of the financial rules and to pay promptly and in full, for each of the years 1999 and 2000, the contributions required to finance expenditures approved under paragraph 2 above, as offset by surpluses noted in paragraph 3 and contributions noted under paragraph 4 of the present decision and, in this regard, requests the Executive Secretary to notify all Parties of the amount of their contributions by 1 October of the year preceding the year in which their contributions are due;

9. Urges all Parties and States not Parties to the Convention, as well as governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other sources, to contribute to the special trust funds;

10. Approves the supplementary amount of US$ 542,400 to the 1998 budget for the additional activity related to the Biosafety Protocol, to be drawn from the surpluses in addition to those referred to in paragraph 3 above;

11. Decides that the amount of US$300,000 for servicing of the Working Group on Article 8(j) shall be financed from the surpluses in addition to those referred to in paragraph 3 above;

12. Takes note of the funding estimates for the Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BE) for Additional Voluntary Contributions in Support of Approved Activities for the Biennium 1999-2000 specified by the Executive Secretary and included in Table 3 below, and invites Parties to make contributions to this fund;

13. Takes note of the funding estimates for the Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BZ) for Facilitating Participation of Parties in the Convention Process for the Biennium 1999-2000 specified by the Executive Secretary and included in table 4 below, and invites Parties to make contributions to this fund;

14. Authorizes the Trustee to transfer the unspent balance of additional special voluntary contributions received prior to 1997 from the Trust Fund for the Convention (BY) to the Special Trust Fund (BE) for additional activities approved by the Conference of the Parties and requests the Executive Secretary to consult with the original donor country/countries on the use of these funds for additional activities approved by the Conference of the Parties;

15. Requests the Executive Secretary to report to the Conference of the Parties at its fifth session on income and budget performance, and to propose any adjustments that might be needed in the Convention budget for the biennium 1999-2000.

* Developing Country Parties, in particular the least developed and small island States, and other Parties with economies in transition.