Resolution VIII.27: Financial and budgetary matters

1. RECALLING the budgetary provisions established by Article 6, paragraphs 5 and 6, of the Convention;

2. ACKNOWLEDGING WITH APPRECIATION the prompt payment by the majority of Contracting Parties of their contributions to the core budget of the Convention;

3. NOTING WITH GRATITUDE the additional financial contributions made by many Contracting Parties through their Ramsar Administrative Authority and other agencies, including some development assistance agencies, and also the contributions made by non-governmental organizations and the private sector for activities undertaken by the Ramsar Bureau, as shown in the information document Ramsar COP8 DOC. 12;

4. ACKNOWLEDGING ONCE MORE WITH APPRECIATION the effective financial and administrative services provided by IUCN - The World Conservation Union to the Ramsar Bureau; and

5. NOTING that Contracting Parties have been kept informed of the financial situation of the Convention secretariat through the financial audited reports for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 and the minutes of the Standing Committee meetings in 1999, 2000 and 2001, circulated to Contracting Parties in due time;

THE CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES

6. NOTES WITH PLEASURE that since Ramsar COP7 in 1999 the Ramsar Bureau has managed the Convention's funds prudently and efficiently, ending each year with a small budget surplus which has been reverted into the Reserve Fund established by Resolution VI.17;

7. EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE to the Contracting Parties that have served in the Subgroup on Finance of the Standing Committee during the past triennium, and in particular to Armenia, which acted as Chair of the Subgroup;

8. DECIDES that the Terms of Reference for the Financial Administration of the Convention contained in Annex 3 to Resolution 5.2 shall be applied in toto to the 2003-2005 triennium;

9. FURTHER DECIDES that the Subgroup on Finance, as established by Resolution VI.17, shall continue to operate under the aegis of the Standing Committee and with the roles and responsibilities specified therein;

10. APPROVES the budget for the 2003-2005 triennium as attached as Annex I to enable the implementation of the annual work plans of the Ramsar Bureau;

11. DECIDES that the contribution of each Contracting Party to this budget shall be in accordance with the scale of assessments for the contribution of Member States to the United Nations budget as approved by the UN General Assembly for 2003 (Annex II) and yet to be approved for the years 2004 and 2005, except in the case of Contracting Parties which, in applying the UN scale, would make annual contributions to the Convention Budget of less than SFR 1,000, in which case the annual contribution shall be that amount. The difference between the assessed contribution for these Contracting Parties according to the UN scale and the minimum threshold of SFR 1,000 shall be allocated, when actual payments have been effected, to budget line 9 of the core budget (COP-related costs incurred by the Bureau). All other Contracting Parties will continue to be assessed in accordance with the UN scale of contributions as indicated in Annex II; and

12. CALLS UPON all Contracting Parties to pay their dues promptly by 1 January of each year, and URGES Contracting Parties in arrears to make a renewed effort to settle them.

Annex I

Core budget 2003-2005
(Swiss francs)

INCOME

The forecast income for 2003-2005 represents a 4% increase per year, based on the forecast income for 2002. The annual 4% increase is composed of 1.5% to cover inflation and 2.5% real growth (see actual figures at the bottom of the Expenditure chart in the next page).

* Items 1 and 2 of the income are calculated by applying the UN scale of assessments to the proposed expenditure (see next page), minus item 3 and 4 of the income. Nevertheless, in accord with Resolution VII.28, the minimum to be paid by a Party is one thousand Swiss francs per year. At the time of COP8, for 68 developing countries and countries with economies in transition, this is more than their percentage of contribution according to the UN scale. This creates the difference of income versus expenditure shown here. This additional amount, or portion thereof which is actually collected, shall be transferred to budget line 9 of the core budget (COP-related costs incurred by the Bureau), as per paragraph 11 of Resolution VIII.27.

Notes on income

1. Annual contributions from Contracting Parties (see Annex II with the list of contributions for 2003).
2. Voluntary contribution by the United States of America, equivalent to 22% of the total amount to be paid by Contracting Parties.
3. The Swiss Government, in addition to paying its annual dues, donates to the Ramsar core budget the income tax paid by the non-Swiss staff employed by the Ramsar Bureau.
4. Interest earned on deposits of cash not immediately needed for disbursement.

Annex II

Annual Contributions for the year 2003

(Note: For the fiscal years 2004 and 2005, see paragraph 11 of the Resolution.)

Note

1. Argentina requested that in applying the United Nations scale of assessment, its contribution for 2003 be adjusted by the rate proposed by the United Nations Committee on Contributions, unanimously adopted by all the Committee's members at its 62nd session. The Committee on Contributions recommended by consensus that, when assessing Argentina's contribution for 2003, the General Assembly should apply a rate of 0.969% instead of the rate of 1.149% originally foreseen.