The Ramsar Convention Manual.pdf

the basis of the scale approved by the UN General Assembly, but with a minimum contribution of 1,000 Swiss francs for those
Parties whose calculated shares would be less than that amount.
The core budget for the triennium 2003-2005 is Swiss francs 3,678,564 (ca. US$ 2.8 million or €2.4 million at June 2003
exchange rates), 3,825,707, and 3,978,735 for each of the three years.
In addition to the annual dues paid by member countries to cover the core budget, the Ramsar Secretariat receives voluntary
contributions from Contracting Parties, NGOs, and other donors to implement special projects or carry out contractual
agreements. Examples include contributions to defray the costs of Ramsar Advisory Missions (§4.1.6); to support projects
through the Ramsar Small Grants Fund, Wetlands for the Future initiative (§4.4.6), and the Swiss Grant for Africa; to carry out
additional communications activities; and to organize regional and other meetings and training workshops.
3.7 The Ramsar regions
The Convention's system of regionalization came into effect with the adoption of Resolution 3.3 (1987) on the establishment of
a Standing Committee to oversee the implementation of the Convention between triennial meetings of the Conference of the
Parties. Regionalization is a significant factor in the operation of the Convention, in terms of the structure of the Standing
Committee, the organization of Secretariat staff and duties, and the ways in which Contracting Parties cooperate through
regional representation and meetings.
This system was reviewed at COP7 (1999), so that now, for technical and administrative purposes, the Ramsar Convention has
established six regions:
□ Africa
□ Asia
□ Europe
□ Neotropics (South and Central America and the Caribbean
area) □ North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United
States)
□ Oceania
The full list of countries under each region (both those that are Parties and countries which have not yet joined) has been
determined by Resolution VII. 1 (1999).
At the Ramsar Secretariat, there are four "Regional Advisory Teams", each consisting of a Senior Advisor and an
Intern/Assistant Advisor, for the following regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas (Neotropics and North
America).
Regional meetings
Since 1991, the Ramsar Secretariat has organized regional and subregional meetings, usually in preparation for meetings of the
Conference of the Parties. These meetings give Parties from the regions and subregions an opportunity to network and discuss
common problems and solutions and to prepare common region-specific responses, when appropriate, to the issues and
documents to be considered at the COP. Funding to cover the meeting costs, especially for travel and subsistence expenses, is
sought by the Secretariat on a case-by-case basis from voluntary contributions by the Parties, development assistance agencies,
and interested NGOs.
Reports of these meetings can be found on the Ramsar Web site, http://ramsar.org/cop8_regionalmeetings_schedule.htm.