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SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

SBI Chair Mohamed Ould El-Ghaouth (Mauritania) opened the fifth session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI-5) on Tuesday, 25 February. He noted that SBI-5 must take definitive decisions and, because no SBI meeting is scheduled during COP-3, the group must discharge all its duties beforehand.

FCCC Executive Secretary Michael Zammit-Cutajar addressed a number of items on the SBI agenda. On the review of the financial mechanism, he stated that the GEF needs a predictable demand from the Convention if it is to conduct a successful replenishment, and Parties must send a clear and timely signal regarding their future intentions. On support for initial communications by non-Annex I Parties, he said there is an urgent need for a support arrangement consisting of: a concerted “marketing” effort to ensure that all eligible Parties have access to financial resources; a central point for collecting information on the progress of communication projects; and a programme to enable groups of countries to exchange experiences.

Regarding the election of the SBI’s officers, the Chair noted that the issue must be postponed until later in the meeting as consultations were still underway. On 26 February, the Chair reported that José Romero (Switzerland) was elected Vice-President of the SBI and Patricia Iturregui Byrne (Peru) as Rapportuer.