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Late Breaking News from The Biodiversity Convention's COP-3

Updated 5 November 1996

Argentina's Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources Maria Julia Alsogaray was elected COP President Monday

In COP-3's first Plenary session, a wide range of speakers struck a common chord, calling for cooperation and moves toward implementation of the Convention. Representatives from related international environmental conventions (Climate Change, Desertification, Wetlands, and Migratory Species), and leaders of the Global Environment Facility, UNEP, the CBD, and UNDP all spoke on variations of this theme.

Delegates also elected the officers of COP-3 and Louis Currat of Switzerland as Chair of the Committee of the Whole. Delegates then began substantive discussions on agricultural biodiversity issues, while in the corridors, participants expressed concern about the prospect of a proliferation of working groups, which would be particularly problematic for small delegations. Details of these discussions are in Tuesday's Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

You can also download Tuesday's Earth Negotiations Bulletin in either text or PDF format.

Keep an eye on this page for daily updates, including photos of the opening COP-3 session, and highlights from the negotiations. And for highlights of the previous days' negotiations, check Late Breaking News for:

• Monday 4 November 1996