Administration of the Convention and the budget for the programme of work for the biennium 2005-2006
The Conference of the Parties
1. Welcomes the annual contribution of US $1,000,000 from the host country Canada Province Quebec to the operation of the Secretariat, of which $835,000 has been allocated per annum to offset contributions from the Parties to the Convention for the biennium 2005-2006;
2. Approves a core (BY) programme budget of US $10,497,800 for the year 2005 and of US $10,918,500 for the year 2006, for the purposes listed in the table 1 below;
3. Adopts the scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses for 2005 and 2006 contained in the table 5 below;
4. Approves a Secretariat staffing table for the programme budget contained in table 2 below, and requests that all staff positions be filled expeditiously;
5. Notes the recommendation of the Bureau of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to reappoint the current Executive Secretary. The Conference of the Parties further invites the President of the Conference of the Parties to consult with the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and liaise with the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on future appointments;
6. Decides to set the working capital reserve [77]/ at a level of 5 per cent of the core budget (BY Trust Fund) expenditure, including programme support costs;
7. Approves a drawing of US $4 million from the unspent balances or contributions ("carry-over") from previous financial periods to cover part of the 2005-2006 budget;
8. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to transfer resources among the programmes between each of the main appropriation lines set out in the table 1 below up to an aggregate of 15 per cent of the total programme budget, provided that a further limitation of up to a maximum of 25 per cent of each such appropriation line shall apply. This authority to transfer shall not be applicable to transfers to/from the appropriation line "shared costs";
9. Notes with appreciation the work of the Executive Secretary to identify categories of costs in the budget documents prepared for the consideration of the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties and requests the Executive Secretary to further define their nature and scope;
10. Calls upon the Executive Secretary to present to the eighth Conference of the Parties the results of further work to develop a secretariat-wide modality and tracking system for differentiating the costs for the secretariat and other services, identified as "shared" in table 1 below, between those that are common to the Convention and its Cartagena Protocol, which are borne by Parties to the Convention, and those that are distinct to each instrument, and invites Parties to provide the Secretariat with their views in this regard, and further invites the Executive Secretary to share the outcomes of this work with Parties to the Cartagena Protocol;
11. Directsthe Executive Secretary, in presenting the proposed budget for the biennium 2007-2008 to the eighth Conference of the Parties, to use the modality and tracking mechanism, developed in paragraph 9 above, to apportion the line identified as "shared" in table 1 below to either the common costs to be borne by the Parties to the Convention or to costs that are distinct to each instrument;
12. Notesthe need for the development of safeguards for the use and or distribution of common resources for secretariat and other services between the Convention and its Cartagena Protocol and calls on the Executive Secretary to make proposals for such safeguards within the Convention budget for the consideration of the eighth Conference of the Parties;
13. Notes with concern that a number of Parties have not paid their contributions to the core budget (BY Trust Fund) for 2004 and prior years, which are due on 1 January of each year in accordance with paragraph 4 of the financial rules, and the late payment of contributions to the core budget by Parties during each calendar year of a biennium has contributed to the significant carry-over from one biennium to the next, and, in the event that there is no improvement in the payment of contributions by Parties, invites the Executive Secretary to submit proposals for promoting full and timely payment of contributions by Parties for consideration and review by the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting;
14. Urges Parties that have still not paid their contributions to the core budget (BY Trust Fund) to do so without delay, and requests the Executive Secretary to publish and regularly update information on the status of contributions of Parties to the Convention's trust funds (BY, BE, BZ);
15. Decides that, with regard to contributions, due from 1 January 2001 onwards, Parties whose contributions are in arrears for two (2) or more years will:
(a) Not be eligible to become a member of any bureau of the Conference of the Parties or its subsidiary bodies; and
(b) Not receive any hard copies of documents from the Secretariat;
Subparagraphs (a) and (b) above will only apply in the case of Parties that are not least developed countries or small island developing States;
16. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to enter into arrangements with any Party whose contributions are in arrears for two or more years to mutually agree on a "schedule of payments" for such a Party, to clear all outstanding arrears, within six years depending on the financial circumstance of the Party in arrears and pay future contributions by the due date, and report on the implementation of any such arrangement to the next meeting of the Bureau and to the Conference of the Parties;
17. Decides that a Party with an agreed arrangement in accordance with paragraph 16 above and that is fully respecting the provisions of that arrangement will not be subject to the provisions of paragraph 15 above;
18. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to enter into commitments up to the level of the approved budget, drawing on available cash resources, including unspent balances, contributions from previous financial periods and miscellaneous income;
19. Decides to fund, upon request, from the core budget (BY) the participation of members of the bureaux of the Conference of the Parties and the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice at the inter-sessional meetings of the respective bureaux;
20. Decides that the trust funds (BY, BE, BZ) for the Convention shall be extended for the period of two years, beginning 1 January 2006 and ending 31 December 2007;
21. Invites all Parties to the Convention to note that contributions to the core budget (BY) are due on 1 January of the year in which these contributions have been budgeted for, and to pay them promptly, and urges Parties, in a position to do so, to pay by 1 October 2004 for the calendar year 2005 and by 1 October 2005 for the calendar year 2006 the contributions required to finance expenditures approved under paragraph 2 above, as offset by amounts in paragraphs 1 and 7, and, in this regard, requests that Parties be notified of the amount of their contributions by 1 August of the year preceding the year in which the contributions are due;
22. 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 trust funds of the Convention and the Cartagena Protocol;
23. Takes note of the funding estimates for the:
(a) Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BE) for Additional Voluntary Contributions in Support of Approved Activities for the Biennium 2005-2006 specified by the Executive Secretary and included in table 3 below;
(b) Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BZ) for Facilitating Participation of Developing Country Parties, in particular the Least Developed and the Small Island Developing States amongst them, and other Parties with Economies in Transition, for the biennium 2005-2006, as specified by the Executive Secretary and included in table 4 below;
and urges Parties to make contributions to these funds;
24. Endorses the decisions of the Bureau of the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties authorizing the Executive Secretary to utilize savings, unspent balances from previous financial periods and miscellaneous income in the amount of US$ 2,436,000 from the BY Trust Fund, of which US$ 878,259 was spent, to fund inter-sessional activities, which were not envisaged and therefore for which no budgetary allocations were approved by the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting, including the participation of developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and small island developing States, and Parties with economies in transition, in the meetings of the Convention as well as to carry out activities approved by the Conference of the Parties and requests the Executive Secretary, in consultation with the Bureau, to continue to monitor the availability of voluntary contributions to the BE and BZ Trust Funds in the event of any shortfalls;
25. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to draw, in consultation with the bureau of the Conference of the Parties, on available cash resources, including unspent balances, contributions from previous financial periods and miscellaneous income within the approved core budget (BY Trust Fund) for the biennium 2005-2006, to cover any shortfalls in the special voluntary Trust Fund (BZ) for facilitating participation of developing country Parties, in particular the least developed and the small island developing States among them, and Parties with economies in transition, for the biennium 2005-2006, in priorities identified in the core budget (BY Trust Fund);
26. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to consult with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties on any adjustments which may be necessary in the servicing of the programme of the work as foreseen in the core budget (BY Trust Fund) for the biennium 2005-2006, including the postponement of meetings, in the event that sufficient resources are not available to the Secretariat in a timely fashion from the approved budget (BY Trust Fund), including available cash resources, unspent balances, contributions from previous financial periods and miscellaneous income;
27. Requests the Executive Secretary, in accordance with rule 14 of the rules of procedure, to provide Parties with an indication of the administrative and financial implications of decisions to be referred by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice; an ad hoc open-ended working group; or an ad hoc technical expert group for adoption by the Conference of the Parties, that may have administrative and budgetary implications that cannot be met from existing resources within the core budget (BY Trust Fund);
28. Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare and submit a budget, taking fully into account paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 above, for the programme of work for the biennium 2007-2008 for the consideration of the Conference of the Parties at its eighth meeting, and to report on income and budget performance as well as any adjustments made to the Convention budget for the biennium 2005-2006;
29. Welcomes the development and continuation of the fellowship programme as a means of enabling developing country Parties and countries with economies in transition to send their nationals to the Secretariat for the purposes of enhancing their understanding of the Convention and for increasing awareness of biodiversity and related issues;
30. Notes that the Junior Professional Officer programme and the internship programme afford an opportunity for Parties to learn about and further develop an understanding of the thematic or cross-cutting issues covered under the Convention;
31. Authorizes the Executive Secretary, in an effort to improve the efficiency of the Secretariat and to attract highly qualified staff to the Secretariat, to enter into direct administrative and contractual arrangements with Parties, Governments and organizations, in response to offers of human resources and other support to the Secretariat, as may be necessary for the effective discharge of the functions of the Secretariat, while ensuring the efficient use of available competencies, resources and services, and taking into account United Nations rules and regulations. Special attention should be given to possibilities of creating synergies with relevant, existing work programmes or activities that are being implemented within the framework of other international organizations.
EXPENDITURES
2005
2006
(US$ thousands)
I
Programmes
Executive direction and management
870.6
926.5
Scientific, technical and technological matters
1,873.2
1,910.1
Social, economic and legal matters
1,641.4
1,048.8
Implementation and outreach
886.8
946.1
Resource management and conference services
588.7
1,504.3
Shared costs
3,267.1
3,326.6
Sub-total (I)
9,127.8
9,662.4
II
Programme support charge 13%
1,186.6
1,256.1
Sub-total (II)
III
Working capital reserve (5%)
183.4
Sub-total (III)
-
GRAND TOTAL (I + II + III)
10,497.8
10,918.5
Less contribution from the host country
835.0
Less savings from previous years (surplus)
2,000.0
NET TOTAL (amount to be shared by Parties)
7,662.8
8,083.5
Priorities identified in the core budget (US $3,306,720 including 13% programme support costs and 5% working capital reserve)
Meetings of the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties
Meetings of the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
Meetings of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Article 8(j) and related provisions
Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing
Eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties
A.
Professional category
ASG
1
D-1
3
P-5
4
P-4
16
P-3
9
P-2
0
TOTAL PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY
33
B.
Total General Service category
26
TOTAL (A+B)
59
I. Description
1. MEETINGS/WORKSHOPS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTION AND MANAGEMENT
Regional meetings for COP-8
$40,000
SCIENTIFIC TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL MATTERS
Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Protected Areas 1/ 2/
$370,000
2nd AHTEG on review on forest biological diversity 3/
$60,000
Regional synergy workshops with UNCCD and UNFCCC
$120,000
Regional training courses jointly with UNCCD and UNFCCC to promote synergy at the national level
AHTEG on implementation of integrated marine and coastal areas management
AHTEG on invasive alien species 4/
AHTEG on indicators - further evaluation of progress
Development of a preparatory process on island biodiversity for SBSTTA 5/
$ 100,000
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL MATTERS
Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing 6/ 7/
Four regional technical expert workshops on ecosystem services assessment, financial costs and benefits associated with conservation of biodiversity, and sustainable use of biological resources
$160,000
Organization of regional workshops on the composite report on the status and trends of indigenous knowledge
Steering committee with indigenous and local communities to assist in the completion of the report.
Capacity-building and training workshops at the local, national, and subregional levels;
Workshop on cultural, environmental and social impact assessments based on the Akwé: Kon Voluntary Guidelines
$80,000
Meeting of Legal and Technical Experts on Liability and Redress
IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTREACH
Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention 8/
$250,000
Regional workshops on scientific and technical cooperation
$200,000
$ 200,000
Workshops for the development of national level CEPA skills
$300,000
Informal advisory committee on CEPA
2. STAFF
Agricultural biodiversity Programme Officer (FAO)
$146,500
$150,900
CEPA Programme Officer
$133,300
$137,300
GIS specialist and database manager
3. CONSULTANTS
Complete phase I of the composite report on the status and trends regarding the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity
$30,000
Second phase of the composite report
Preparation of technical studies on role of intellectual property rights
$10,000
Development of web pages/print media that provide access to information on relevant initiatives and databases for technology transfer
$5,000
User's manual on biodiversity and tourism;
$20,000
Third review of the financial mechanism
$150,000
Update the strategic plan of the clearing-house mechanism to 2009
$25,000
Examine ways to develop regional portals to visualize and exchange national and regional cartographic information from all thematic areas
$50,000
Advice on how the clearing-house mechanism can make relevant information interoperable among the three Rio conventions
$6,000
Clearing-house mechanism-translation and maintenance of the Convention website
$100,000
4. PUBLICATIONS
Publication of composite report guidelines as a booklet in the official languages of the United Nations
$ 10,000
Second edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook
Development of a peer-reviewed web-based "sourcebook" for the ecosystem approach, accessible through the clearing-house mechanism; and production of hard copies and CD-Rom.
$ 40,000
CEPA exchange mechanisms - publications
User's manual on biodiversity and tourism
Regional report on the Arctic region
5. EQUIPMENT
Enhanced capacity of the clearing-house mechanism to improve the infrastructure for data and information management for accurate and monitoring of mountain biological diversity.
$70,000
CEPA electronic portal
Sub-total I
$2,753,100
$2,336,500
II. Programme support costs (13%)
$357,903
$303,745
Sub-total II
III. Working capital reserve (5%)
$155,550
$132,012
Sub-total III
TOTAL COST (I + II+III)
$3,266,553
$2,772,257
Notes
1/ Funding pledged by Italy.
2/ pledged funding for an additional meeting on protected areas, back to back with a meeting of SBSTTA.
3/ Funding pledged by Germany.
4/ Funding pledged by New Zealand.
5/ pledged to fund a meeting on island biodiversity in 2004.
6/ Funding pledged by Spain.
7/ Funding pledged by Thailandfor an additional meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing.
8/ Funding pledged by Canada.
Description
(US$)
I. Meetings
750,000
Regional meetings in preparation for the Conference of the Parties (4) (COP-8)
200,000
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
540,000
Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on the Strategic Plan and 2010 targets
Ad-Hoc Open-ended Working Group meeting on Article 8(j)
Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Protected Areas
300,000
Support to indigenous and local communities
100,000
Subtotal I
2,260,000
2,970,000
293,800
386,100
TOTAL COST (I + II)
2,553,800
3,356,100
Party
UN scale of
assessments
2004
(per cent)
Scale with 22%
ceiling, no LDC
paying more than
0.01 %
Contributions
due
1 Jan. 2005
1 Jan. 2006
Total
contributions
2005-2006
Afghanistan
0.002
0.003
198
209
407
Albania
0.005
0.006
495
522
1,017
Algeria
0.076
0.098
7,520
7,933
15,452
Angola
0.001
99
104
203
Antigua and Barbuda
0.004
297
313
610
Argentina
0.956
1.234
94,589
99,783
194,372
Armenia
Australia
1.592
2.056
157,517
166,165
323,682
Austria
0.859
1.109
84,992
89,658
174,650
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
0.013
0.017
1,286
1,357
2,643
Bahrain
0.030
0.039
2,968
3,131
6,100
Bangladesh
0.010
766
808
1,575
Barbados
989
1,044
2,033
Belarus
0.018
0.023
1,781
1,879
3,660
Belgium
1.069
1.380
105,770
111,577
217,347
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
0.009
0.012
890
939
1,830
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
0.015
1,187
1,253
2,440
Brazil
1.523
1.967
150,690
158,963
309,653
Bulgaria
0.022
1,682
1,774
3,456
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
0.008
792
835
1,627
Canada
2.813
3.632
278,326
293,607
571,933
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
0.223
0.288
22,064
23,276
45,340
China
2.053
2.651
203,130
214,282
417,412
Colombia
0.155
0.200
15,336
16,178
31,514
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
0.037
0.048
3,661
3,862
7,523
Cuba
0.043
0.056
4,255
4,488
8,743
Cyprus
0.050
3,859
4,071
7,929
Czech Republic
0.183
0.236
18,107
19,101
37,207
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Denmark
0.718
0.927
71,041
74,941
145,982
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
0.035
0.045
3,463
3,653
7,116
Ecuador
0.019
0.025
1,880
1,983
3,863
Egypt
0.120
11,873
12,525
24,398
El Salvador
0.028
2,177
2,296
4,473
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
396
418
813
European Community
2.500
191,570
202,088
393,658
Fiji
Finland
0.533
0.688
52,737
55,632
108,368
France
6.030
7.786
596,626
629,382
1,226,007
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
8.662
11.184
857,044
904,097
1,761,140
Ghana
Greece
0.530
0.684
52,440
55,319
107,759
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
0.126
0.163
12,467
13,151
25,618
Iceland
0.034
0.044
3,364
3,549
6,913
India
0.421
0.544
41,655
43,942
85,597
Indonesia
0.142
14,050
14,821
28,871
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
0.157
0.203
15,534
16,387
31,921
Ireland
0.350
0.452
34,630
36,531
71,161
Israel
0.467
0.603
46,206
48,743
94,949
Italy
4.885
6.308
483,336
509,872
993,208
Jamaica
Japan
19.468
22.000
1,685,816
1,778,370
3,464,186
Jordan
0.011
0.014
1,088
1,148
2,236
Kazakhstan
0.032
2,474
2,609
5,083
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
0.162
0.209
16,029
16,909
32,938
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
1,484
1,566
3,050
Lebanon
0.024
0.031
2,375
2,505
4,880
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
0.132
0.170
13,060
13,778
26,838
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
0.077
0.099
7,619
8,037
15,655
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
0.262
20,085
21,188
41,274
Maldives
Mali
Malta
1,385
1,461
2,846
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
1.883
2.431
186,310
196,538
382,848
Micronesia (Federated States of )
Monaco
Mongolia
Morocco
0.047
0.061
4,650
4,906
9,556
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
594
626
1,220
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
1.690
2.182
167,214
176,394
343,607
New Zealand
0.221
0.285
21,866
23,067
44,933
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
0.042
0.054
4,156
4,384
8,539
Niue
Norway
0.679
0.877
67,182
70,871
138,053
Oman
0.070
0.090
6,926
7,306
14,232
Pakistan
0.055
0.071
5,442
5,741
11,182
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
0.092
0.119
9,103
9,603
18,705
Philippines
0.095
0.123
9,400
9,916
19,315
Poland
0.461
0.595
45,613
48,117
93,730
Portugal
0.470
0.607
46,503
49,056
95,559
Qatar
0.064
0.083
6,332
6,680
13,012
Republic of Korea
1.796
2.319
177,701
187,458
365,159
Republic of Moldova
Romania
0.060
5,937
6,263
12,199
Russian Federation
1.100
1.420
108,837
114,813
223,650
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
0.713
0.921
70,546
74,419
144,966
Senegal
Serbia and Montenegro
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
0.388
0.501
38,390
40,498
78,887
Slovakia
0.051
0.066
5,046
5,323
10,369
Slovenia
0.082
0.106
8,113
8,559
16,672
Solomon Islands
South Africa
0.292
0.377
28,891
30,478
59,369
Spain
2.520
3.254
249,336
263,025
512,361
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
0.998
1.289
98,745
104,166
202,911
Switzerland
1.197
1.546
118,435
124,937
243,372
Syrian Arab Republic
0.038
0.049
3,760
3,966
7,726
Tajikistan
Thailand
0.270
20,679
21,814
42,493
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
0.041
3,166
3,340
6,506
Turkey
0.372
0.480
36,807
38,828
75,634
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
0.235
0.303
23,252
24,528
47,780
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
6.127
7.911
606,223
639,506
1,245,729
United Republic of Tanzania
Uruguay
0.062
4,749
5,010
9,759
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
0.171
16,919
17,848
34,767
Viet Nam
0.021
0.027
2,078
2,192
4,270
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
0.007
693
731
1,423
TOTAL
80.445
100.00
7,662,800
8,083,500
15,746,300
[77]/ The purpose of the working capital reserve shall be to ensure continuity of operations of the Convention's Secretariat in the event of a temporary shortfall of cash. Drawdowns from the working capital reserve shall be restored from contributions as soon as possible.
