The Ramsar Convention Manual.pdf

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The Ramsar Convention Manual, 3 rd edition National Reports and the 'National Planning Tool' Recommendation 2.1 (1984) urged Parties to submit detailed National Reports (NRs) to the Secretariat at least six months before each ordinary meeting of the Conference, and this tradition has continued unbroken to this day. The Ramsar Convention enjoys the highest percentage of NRs received of all the environment-related conventions - of 113 Parties at the time of COP7 in 1999, 107 NRs were received and 3 newly-acceded Parties were exempted; of 133 Parties at the time of COP8 in 2002, 119 NRs were received and 8 Parties that had recently joined the Convention were exempted. The National Reports are submitted in one of the three official languages and become part of the public record. They are studied and summarized by the Ramsar Secretariat in the form of regional overviews, which are submitted to the COP as official working documents. The texts of the National Reports themselves are published on the Ramsar Web site, and their contents are analyzed into a database which allows the production of statistical reports on the implementation of the Convention over a wide range of variables. National Reports provide: □ a valuable overview of national experiences; □ continuous monitoring of the implementation of the Convention; □ a means of sharing information relating to wetland conservation measures that have been taken, any problems that may have arisen, and appropriate solutions to such problems. National Reports on implementation of the Convention are structured according to the current Strategic Plan and seek information on each Party's success in progressing the Operational Objectives and their respective Actions called for in that Plan. Each triennium, the Standing Committee adopts a "National, Planning Tool / National Report Format" to be distributed to the Parties well in advance of each meeting of the COP - the purpose of this document is not only to facilitate reporting on past achievements but perhaps more importantly to assist the Parties in structuring their activities within the framework of the Strategic Plan. When the National Planning Tool is being used as foreseen by the COP, triennial national reporting becomes much less burdensome for the Parties, requiring only a "snapshot" in time of their ongoing work. Ordinary meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties 1. Cagliari, Italy, 1980 2. Groningen, Netherlands, 1984 3. Regina, Canada, 1987 4. Montreux, Switzerland, 1990 5. Kushiro, Japan, 1993 6. Brisbane, Australia, 1996 7. San Jos6, Costa Rica, 1999 8. Valencia, Spain, 2002 9. Kampala, Uganda (scheduled for 2005) Extraordinary meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties 1. Paris, France, 1982 2. Regina, Canada, 1987 3.2 The Standing Committee The Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention is the intersessional executive body which represents the COP between its triennial meetings, within the framework of the decisions made by the COP. The Contracting Parties that are members of the SC are elected by each meeting of the COP to serve for the three years until the next one. The SC was established by Resolution 3.3 of the 1987 Conference of the Contracting Parties. Its tasks were first set out in the "Framework for Implementation of the Ramsar Convention" (Resolution 5.1, 1993), but are presently defined by Resolution VII. 1 (1999): "The Contracting Parties that have accepted to be elected as Regional Representatives on the Standing Committee shall have the following tasks: 24
A Guide to the Convention on Wetlands, (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) □ To designate their delegates to the Standing Committee taking into account their significant responsibilities as Regional Representatives, according to paragraph 10 of this resolution, and to make every effort that their delegates or their substitutes attend all meetings of the Committee. □ When there is more than one Regional Representative in a regional group, to maintain regular contacts and consultations with the other regional representative(s). □ To maintain regular contacts and consultations with the Contracting Parties in their regional group, and to use the opportunities of travel within their regions and of attending regional or international meetings to consult about issues related to the Convention and to promote its objectives. □ To canvass the opinions of the Contracting Parties in their regional group before meetings of the Standing Committee. □ To advise the Secretariat in setting the agenda of regional meetings. □ To assume additional responsibilities by serving as members of the subgroups established by the Standing Committee. □ To provide advice as requested by the Chairperson and/or the chairs of subgroups and/or the Secretariat of the Convention. □ In the regions concerned, to make deliberate efforts to encourage other countries to join the Convention." The Standing Committee normally meets once each year, traditionally at the offices of the Secretariat in Switzerland - in addition, it meets just prior to each meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties, at which time it transforms itself into the Conference Committee for the duration of the COP; and then again on the last day of the COP, when the newly elected members choose their chair and vice chair and set the date for their first full business meeting. There are presently 14 regional and two ex officio members of the Standing Committee, chosen on a proportional basis from the Ramsar regions: a) one representative for regional groups with 1 to 12 Contracting Parties, b) two representatives for regional groups with 13 to 24 Contracting Parties, c) three representatives for regional groups with 25 to 36 Contracting Parties, d) four representatives for regional groups with 37 to 48 Contracting Parties, e) five representatives for regional groups with 49 to 60 Contracting Parties. In addition to the Regional Representatives, the host countries of the most recent and the upcoming meetings of the COP are full members, and the host countries of the Ramsar Secretariat and Wetlands International, as well as the four International Partner Organizations themselves, serve as permanent observers. All other Contracting Parties are always welcome to participate in Standing Committee meetings and working groups as observers, and other countries and nongovernmental organizations may participate as observers in the absence of objections. The composition of the Standing Committee for 2003-2005 is: Africa: Asia: Europe: Neotropics: North America: Oceania: COP8 host: COP9 host: Permanent observers: Botswana, Ghana, Morocco Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan Armenia, Austria, Romania, Slovenia Argentina, Nicaragua. (Bahamas will join as soon as the Convention comes into force for the 25 lh Party from this region.) Canada Papua New Guinea Spain Uganda Netherlands, Switzerland, BirdLife International, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Wetlands International, WWF International. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Standing Committee for 2003-2005 are Dr Gordana Beltram (Slovenia) and Mr javad Amin Mansour (Islamic Republic of Iran). The core budget of the Convention includes provisions for assisting Regional Representatives from developing countries and countries with economies in transition to attend the meetings of the Standing Committee. 25
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