Resolution VII.28 on Financial and budgetary matters

"People and Wetlands: The Vital Link"
7^th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971),
San José, Costa Rica, 10-18 May 1999

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 COP7 DOC. 26;

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

5. NOTING WITH SATISFACTION that, following COP6 Resolution VI.17, the Standing Committee has established a Subgroup on Finance and that, according to the Report of the Chairperson of the Standing Committee, the Subgroup has functioned efficiently and has provided valuable guidance and advice to the Standing Committee and the Ramsar Bureau; and

6. RECALLING Action 8.2.4 of the Strategic Plan 1997-2002, which reads "Give priority to funding for training programmes, education and public awareness work, development of the Ramsar Database, and the Convention’s Communications Strategy [now renamed the Convention’s Outreach Programme]";

7. NOTES WITH PLEASURE that for triennium 1995-1997 the Ramsar Bureau has managed the Convention’s funds prudently and has ended each year with a small budget surplus;

8. ALSO NOTES WITH PLEASURE that due to careful financial management and exchange rate gains it has been possible during this triennium for the Ramsar Bureau to create a reserve equal to one-twelfth the annual budget, as prescribed by Resolution VI.17;

9. EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE to the Contracting Parties that have served in the Subgroup on Finance during the last triennium, and in particular to the United States of America, which acted as Chair of the Subgroup;

10. 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 2000-2002 triennium;

11. FURTHER DECIDES that the Subgroup on Finance, as established by Resolution VI.1, shall continue to operate under the aegis of the Standing Committee and with the roles and responsibilities specified therein;

12. Approves the budget for the 2000-2002 triennium as attached as Annex I to enable the implementation of the Work Plan 2000-2002 of the Convention, as adopted by Resolution VII.27, to the maximum extent possible;

13. 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 2000 (Annex II) and yet to be approved for the years 2001 and 2002, 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 this 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 toward funding the position of a Development Assistance Officer in the Ramsar Bureau. All other Contracting Parties will continue to be assessed in accordance with the UN scale of contributions as indicated in Annex II;

14. URGES the Ramsar Bureau, as human and financial resources allow, to endeavour to secure the additional resources needed in order to establish the post of Development Assistance Officer within the secretariat, with the aim of mobilising resources to facilitate implementation of the Convention by developing countries and those with economies in transition;

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

16. REQUESTS the Standing Committee to prepare a proposal for Ramsar COP8 on measures that could be taken in the case of Contracting Parties that are in arrears of two or more years at the time of the ordinary meeting of the COP, taking into account the practice in the United Nations and other intergovernmental bodies, including other conventions;

17. RECALLS Resolution VII.5 adopted at this Conference, relating to the future operations of the Ramsar Small Grants Fund, and URGES all Contracting Parties, donor agencies, International Organization Partners and others to consider making contributions to assist the Convention to reach the target of US$1million per year in disbursements through the Fund;

18. DECIDES to establish a Voluntary Fund for the Convention’s Outreach Programme (Resolution VII.9); REQUESTS the Standing Committee to prepare and adopt the Terms of Reference for the Fund at its annual meeting in 1999; and INVITES Contracting Parties, NGOs, foundations, the private sector and other institutions to contribute to the Fund;

19. WELCOMES the partnership between the Convention, the private sector and other agencies under the project entitled "Caring for Water Resources and Water Quality"; and ENCOURAGES the Ramsar Bureau to continue exploring the possibilities for partnership and sponsorship arrangements with the private sector in support of the Mission of the Convention;

20. ENDORSES the programme of internships instituted by the Ramsar Bureau during the last triennium as an effective training scheme and a cost-benefit staff support arrangement for the Regional Coordinators at the Ramsar Bureau; and URGES Contracting Parties to consider adding their contributions to support its continuation and expansion;

21. DIRECTS the Standing Committee to list and prioritize the actions required of the Ramsar Bureau, the Standing Committee, and the Scientific and Technical Review Panel arising from the Convention’s Work Plan, Recommendations, and Resolutions adopted at each COP, this to be tabled at the Standing Committee meeting following each COP, indicating which elements are to be funded from the adopted budget;

22. DIRECTS the Ramsar Bureau to report to each COP those actions (as listed in paragraph 21) which were funded and completed in the preceding triennium and those planned actions which could not be implemented, and the reasons for which these could not be completed;

23. REQUESTS the Ramsar Bureau to continue to provide to each COP, in addition to data on core funding, a summary of all additional fund contributions received since the preceding COP; and

24. FURTHER REQUESTS the Ramsar Bureau to identify and cost its priority activities not funded from the core budget that would better implement elements of the Work Plan, and in cooperation with the Standing Committee, seek to raise sponsorship and grants and to provide this updated assessment to each Standing Committee meeting and COP.

Wetlands International provides co-financing
(1) for the year 2000 of: SFR 23,700
(2) for the year 2001 of: SFR 21,500
(3) for the year 2002 of: SFR 51,300

	2000	2000	2000
Member State	UN %	Ramsar %*	SFR

Albania	0.003	0.003	1,000
Algeria	0.086	0.087	2,637
Argentina	1.103	1.111	33,822
Armenia	0.006	0.006	1,000
Australia	1.483	1.493	45,474
Austria	0.942	0.949	28,885
Bahamas	0.015	0.015	1,000
Bahrain	0.017	0.017	1,000
Bangladesh	0.010	0.010	1,000
Belgium	1.104	1.112	33,852
Belize	0.001	0.001	1,000
Bolivia	0.007	0.007	1,000
Botswana	0.010	0.010	1,000
Brazil	1.471	1.481	45,106
Bulgaria	0.011	0.011	1,000
Burkina Faso	0.002	0.002	1,000
Canada	2.732	2.751	83,772
Chad	0.001	0.001	1,000
Chile	0.136	0.137	4,170
China	0.995	1.002	30,510
Colombia	0.109	0.110	3,342
Comoros	0.001	0.001	1,000
Congo	0.003	0.003	1,000
Congo, Democratic Rep.	0.007	0.007	1,000
Costa Rica	0.016	0.016	1,000
Côte d’Ivoire	0.009	0.009	1,000
Croatia	0.030	0.030	1,000
Czech Republic	0.107	0.108	3,281
Denmark	0.692	0.697	21,219
Ecuador	0.020	0.020	1,000
Egypt	0.065	0.065	1,993
El Salvador	0.012	0.012	1,000
Estonia	0.012	0.012	1,000
Finland	0.543	0.547	16,650
France	6.545	6.591	200,692
Gabon	0.015	0.015	1,000
Gambia	0.001	0.001	1,000
Georgia	0.007	0.007	1,000
Germany	9.857	9.926	302,249
Ghana	0.007	0.007	1,000
Greece	0.351	0.353	10,763
Guatemala	0.018	0.018	1,000
Guinea	0.003	0.003	1,000
Guinea-Bissau	0.001	0.001	1,000
Honduras	0.003	0.003	1,000
Hungary	0.120	0.121	3,680
Iceland	0.032	0.032	1,000
India	0.299	0.301	9,168
Indonesia	0.188	0.189	5,765
Iran, Islamic Rep.	0.161	0.162	4,937
Ireland	0.224	0.226	6,869
Israel	0.350	0.352	10,732
Italy	5.437	5.475	166,717
Jamaica	0.006	0.006	1,000
Japan	20.573	20.717	630,838
Jordan	0.006	0.006	1,000
Kenya	0.007	0.007	1,000
Latvia	0.017	0.017	1,000
Lebanon	0.016	0.016	1,000
Liechtenstein	0.006	0.006	1,000
Lithuania	0.015	0.015	1,000
Luxembourg	0.068	0.068	2,085
Madagascar	0.003	0.003	1,000
Malawi	0.002	0.002	1,000
Malaysia	0.183	0.184	5,611
Mali	0.002	0.002	1,000
Malta	0.014	0.014	1,000
Mauritania	0.001	0.001	1,000
Mexico	0.995	1.002	30,510
Monaco	0.004	0.004	1,000
Mongolia	0.002	0.002	1,000
Morocco	0.041	0.041	1,257
Namibia	0.007	0.007	1,000
Nepal	0.004	0.004	1,000
Netherlands	1.632	1.643	50,043
New Zealand	0.221	0.223	6,777
Nicaragua	0.001	0.001	1,000
Niger	0.002	0.002	1,000
Norway	0.610	0.614	18,705
Pakistan	0.059	0.059	1,809
Panama	0.013	0.013	1,000
Papua New Guinea	0.007	0.007	1,000
Paraguay	0.014	0.014	1,000
Peru	0.099	0.100	3,036
Philippines	0.081	0.082	2,484
Poland	0.196	0.197	6,010
Portugal	0.431	0.434	13,216
Republic of Korea	1.006	1.013	30,847
Romania	0.056	0.056	1,717
Russian Federation	1.077	1.085	33,025
Senegal	0.006	0.006	1,000
Slovak Republic	0.035	0.035	1,073
Slovenia	0.061	0.061	1,870
South Africa	0.366	0.369	11,223
Spain	2.591	2.609	79,449
Sri Lanka	0.012	0.012	1,000
Suriname	0.004	0.004	1,000
Sweden	1.079	1.087	33,086
Switzerland	1.215	1.224	37,256
Syrian Arab Republic	0.064	0.064	1,962
Thailand	0.170	0.171	5,213
The FYR Of Macedonia	0.004	0.004	1,000
Togo	0.001	0.001	1,000
Trinidad & Tobago	0.016	0.016	1,000
Tunisia	0.028	0.028	1,000
Turkey	0.440	0.443	13,492
Uganda	0.004	0.004	1,000
Ukraine	0.190	0.191	5,826
United Kingdom	5.092	5.128	156,138
Uruguay	0.048	0.048	1,472
USA (1)		0.000	-
Venezuela	0.160	0.161	4,906
Viet Nam	0.007	0.007	1,000
Yugoslavia	0.026	0.026	1,000
Zambia	0.002	0.002	1,000
Totals	74.478	75.000	2,328,222

Other Contributions (1)	25.000	25.000	761,250
Total	99.478	100.000	3,089,472	*

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 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 6 July 1999, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.

			2000		2001		2002

1	Staff Costs		1984		2024		2064
		(salaries and social charges)

2	Scientific and Technical Services
	a)	Ramsar Database	135	⁽¹⁾	138	⁽²⁾	140	⁽³⁾
	b)	Ramsar Advisory Missions	0		0		0

3	Travel on Official Business		100		102		104

4	Purchase/Maintenance of Equipment/
	Office Supplies (including depreciation)		20		20		21

5	Administrative Services & Operating costs
	a)	IUCN services: computer/finance/
		occupancy/personnel administration	427		436		444
	b)	Operating Costs: fax/telephone/photocopy/	124		126		129
		clerical help/hospitality/bank charges, etc.

6	Communications and Reporting
	a)	Publications/translation/mailing	145		148		151
	b)	Newsletter	20		20		21

7	Subsidiary Bodies
	a)	Standing Committee delegate support	40		41		42
	b)	STRP members' support	40		41		42
	c)	Regional representatives' support	10		10		10
	d)	Standing Committee chair fund	0		0		0

8	Conference of the Parties
	a)	Cost of the conference	0		0		0
	b)	Conference delegate support	0		0		0

	Total Core Budget		3045		3106		3168