Buenos Aires, Argentina - IUCN

ut felt that the needs in Western Europe were very
different. The delegation noted the dense network of
international bodies and agreements dealing with
conservation in Western Europe and argued that further
institutional infrastructure was not needed. For
this reason the delegation did not regard the Action
Plan for Protected Areas in Europe as a priority.
Instead the priorities should be more East-West contacts
and a focus on global issues in Western Europe.
Following this theme, Regional Councillor Antonio
Machado called for the European Programme to
address the issue of consumption patterns in the
region, patterns that are the ultimate cause of many
conservation problems in developing countries.
Another delegate drew the attention of the meeting
to the welcome offer by the UK Government to
organize a meeting to bring together members from
all parts of Europe, to facilitate a pan-European
approach.
The Goncol Foundation (Hungary) called for more
work on environmental education in Central and Eastern
Europe. It was suggested that this be considered
at the next meeting of the Programme Advisory Group
(for the East European Programme).
Antarctic Programme. The Environment and Conservation
Organizations of New Zealand reported that a
meeting earlier in the Assembly had proposed
changes to the priorities for this Programme. A revised
Programme document, prepared during the General
Assembly, was approved by the Programme Committee
and is appended to their report (page 106). The
delegate outlined the main activities proposed. In
reply, the Director General pointed out that only modest
resources were available for the Union's work on
Antarctica, at present only sufficient for the Workshop
on Human Impact.
Budget
In response to a question, the Assistant Director
General, Management, confirmed that Council had
agreed to provide SFR 100,000 for the Indigenous
Peoples Task Force.
The Australian Littoral Society asked that the budget
tables show the allocation of staff time to each
Programme.
Antonio Machado, Regional Councillor, drew
attention to the importance of National Committees
and suggested Council develop guidelines for their
operation. The Director General believed that though
the Council can elaborate policy between sessions of
the General Assembly, a matter of this importance
may have to await the revision of the Statutes (Resolution
19.5).
54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY