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The 3rd Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
Regina, Canada
27 May - 5 June 1987

Resolution III.1: Secretariat matters

RECALLING Article 8 of the Convention which provides that IUCN shall perform the continuing Bureau duties under the Convention;

ACKNOWLEDGING the services provided by IWRB [now Wetlands International (1996)] to assist IUCN in the performance of its duties;

RECOGNIZING that the extent of the services provided by IUCN and IWRB has so far been limited as a consequence of the lack of a financial provision in the Convention;

RECALLING that the Second Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties (Groningen, 1984) established a Task Force to consider the most effective way of providing full secretariat services to the Contracting Parties in the event of the adoption by a meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of an amendment to the Convention providing for an adequate financial regime;

CONSIDERING that the Task Force concluded that the joint submission made by IUCN and IWRB for the establishment of a permanent structure for administrative, scientific and technical support under the Convention constituted the only practical option to pursue and recommended that the mechanics of such an arrangement be adopted by the Contracting Parties;

FURTHER CONSIDERING that, pursuant to the recommendation of the Task Force, IUCN and IWRB have prepared a draft Memorandum of Agreement relating to the contribution to be made by IWRB to the services provided by the Bureau as well as to the payments to be made by the Bureau, from the Convention budget, in remuneration of such services as will be provided by IWRB; and

NOTING that the entry into force of such an agreement is contingent upon its acceptance by the Conference of the Contracting Parties.

THE CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES

1) APPROVES the recommendation of the Task Force regarding the provision of a permanent structure for administrative, scientific and technical support by the Bureau under the Convention in the following terms:

a) A Convention Bureau shall be provided by IUCN through the establishment of an integrated unit which is funded from the Convention budget and which performs all the tasks required by the Conference of the Contracting Parties. It shall comprise a section attached to IUCN and a section attached to IWRB;

b) The policy to be followed by the Bureau shall be determined by the Conference of the Contracting Parties and, between meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, the Bureau shall operate under the supervision of the Standing Committee;

c) IUCN shall enter into a cooperative agreement with IWRB for the establishment of a distinct section at IWRB Headquarters to provide technical and scientific advisory services for the Bureau;

d) The Convention Bureau provided by IUCN shall be administratively responsible to the Director General of IUCN who shall be responsible to the Conference of the Contracting Parties for financial and personnel administration;

e) The distinct section established by IWRB under the terms of the cooperative agreement concluded with IUCN shall be administratively responsible to the Executive Director of IWRB who shall be responsible to the Conference of the Contracting Parties for financial and personnel administration. For all other purposes, it shall be a component of the Bureau and shall be responsible to the Head of the Convention Bureau at IUCN;

f) The civil service salary scale applicable in the country where IUCN is located along with IUCN personnel provisions shall apply to the distinct section established by IUCN;

g) The civil service salary scale applicable in the country where IWRB is located along with IWRB personnel provisions shall apply to the distinct section established by IWRB;

h) The Convention budget, as approved by the Conference of the Contracting Parties, shall be administered by IUCN. Funds shall be disbursed according to budgetary provisions and instructions given by the Conference of the Contracting Parties;

i) IUCN shall keep a separate bank account for all income received and expenditures incurred in the performance of Bureau duties under the Convention. Annual audits shall be carried out in accordance with procedures mandated by the Conference of the Contracting Parties.

2) APPROVES the Memorandum of Agreement concluded between IUCN and IWRB as attached to this Resolution.

For further information about the Regina COP or the Ramsar Convention, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@ramsar.org). Posted 24 February 1997, updated 2 March 2000, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.