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San José, Costa Rica 10-18 May 1999 |
Briefing |
Delegates at COP7
convened in Plenary to consider the reports of the technical sessions,
appoint the members of the STRP, and consider and adopt COP7 resolutions.
The Minister of the Environment of France made a special presentation. |
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Reports of the Technical Sessions and the budget debate
Bill
Phillips, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ramsar Secretariat (pictured
on the far right), provided an overview of the five technical sessions.
He reported that drafting groups had revised the resolutions relevant
to each technical session to reflect amendments proposed by the regionally-based
discussion groups. He said the technical sessions were an innovative approach
that had considered 13 of COP7s 32 draft resolutions.
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EGYPT was among the delegations that strongly supported the 5-5-5 proposal. | |
On
behalf of the Neotropical Region, URUGUAY tabled two additional amendments,
recommending that the STRPs composition reflect the different bio-geographic
characteristics represented in CPs and that STRP members, to the extent
possible, come from countries not represented in the SC.
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The US stressed that the Work Plan applied to the Convention as a whole, not only to the Bureau, and supported BRAZILS suggestion to incrementally allocate the 5-2-2 proposal over the three years, to 2%, 3% and 4%, respectively. He added that any CP is welcome to supplement the budget with voluntary contributions. | |
Secretary General Delmar Blasco answers questions about theSecretariat's proposed operating budget |
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IRELAND said the 5-5-5 proposal was necessary for Ramsar to achieve its objectives, implement its Work Plan, engage a development assistance officer, and send positive signals to CPs regarding implementation of the Convention in the next millenium. | |
GERMANY
said it is not in favor of increasing the budgets of international organizations.
He noted that while a development officer would be advantageous, there
are other ways to raise the necessary funds, such as through payment of
dues owed by CPs.
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IUCN introduced an amendment that the STRP provide guidance on legislation rather than model legislation on risk assessment, as each CP has its own particular national legal context. He also inserted text that urges CPs to review existing legal and institutional measures pursuant to the resolution on CP legislative and policy reviews on wetlands, prior to adopting legislation and programmes to prevent the introduction of alien species. | |
BIRDLIFE
INTERNATIONAL stressed the need to remain focused on what is transpiring
on the Ramsar sites themselves and invited CPs to discuss how COP8 can
adequately consider this issue.
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Miscellanous photos |
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CROATIA explained that the draft resolution on the Status of Yugoslavia in the Ramsar Convention (COP7 DOC.15.36) calls upon Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to submit to the Convention Depositary a notification of succession to the Ramsar Convention as other successor States to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have done. | |
Dominique
Voynet, French Minister of the Environment, made a special presentation
to the Plenary. She discussed Ramsars significant role in the sustainable
development and conservation of wetlands, and outlined Frances Convention-related
activities at the national and international levels. She underscored wetlands
essential role in renewing water resources and the potential for private
enterprise to contribute to the achievement of Ramsars objectives.
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ENB's Chris Spence seeking clarification from the French delegation |
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