Information

Programme budget for the distinct costs of the Secretariat services for and the Biosafety work programme of the Cartagena Protocol for the biennium 2005-2006

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

1. Welcomes the annual contribution of US $1,000,000 from the host country, Canada and the province of Quebec, of which US $165,000 per annum has been allocated to offset contribution from the Parties to the Protocol for the biennium 2005-2006;

2. Decides to establish the following trust funds for the Biosafety Protocol for a period of three years, beginning 1 January 2005 and ending 31 December 2007:

(a) Trust Fund for the core programme budget for the Biosafety Protocol (BYP Trust Fund)*6;

(b) Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BEP Trust Fund) for Additional Voluntary Contributions in Support of Approved Activities; 7/ and

(c) Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BZP Trust Fund) for Facilitating Participation of Developing Country Parties, in particular the Least Developed and the Small Island Developing States amongst them, and Parties with Economies in Transition.

On an exceptional basis and subject to available resources, funding for participation may be made available to countries from the groups identified in subparagraph (c) above, who provide a clear political commitment towards becoming Parties to the Protocol. Evidence of such political commitment shall take the form of a written assurance to the Executive Secretary that the country intends to become a Party to the Protocol;

3. Approves a core (BYP Trust Fund) programme budget for the Biosafety Protocol of US $2,166,500 for the year 2005 and of US $1,878,700 for the year 2006, for the purposes set out in table 1 below;

4. Approves a secretariat staffing table for the programme budget for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, contained in table 2 below, and requests that all staff positions be filled expeditiously;

5. Welcomes with appreciation decision VII/34 of the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, whereby Parties to the Convention have decided to bear the shared costs of US $3,267,100 for the year 2005 and US$3,326,600 for the year 2006, that are not distinct to the Protocol;

6. Decides to provisionally adopt the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the distinct costs among the Parties to the Biosafety Protocol for 2005 and 2006, as contained in table 5 below, and authorizes the Executive Secretary, in keeping with the financial rules, to adjust the list of Parties on receipt of notification from the depositary that a State has deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession;

7. Decides also to establish a working capital reserve of five (5) per cent for the core budget (BYP Trust Fund) expenditure, including programme support costs;

8. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to transfer resources among the programmes between each of the main appropriation lines set out in the table 1 below up to an aggregate of 15 per cent of the total programme budget, provided that a further limitation of up to a maximum of 25 per cent of each such appropriation line shall apply;

9. Takes note of the funding estimates for activities under the Biosafety Protocol to be financed from:

(a) The Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BEP) for Additional Voluntary Contributions in Support of Approved Activities, included in table 3 below; and

(b) The Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BZP) for Facilitating Participation of Developing Country Parties, in particular the Least Developed and the Small Island Developing States amongst them, and Parties with Economies in Transition, included in table 4 below;

and urges Parties to make contributions to these funds;

10. Invites all Parties to the Protocol to note that contributions to the core budget (BYP Trust Fund) are due on 1 January of the year in which these contributions have been budgeted for, and to pay them promptly, and urges Parties in a position to do so, to pay by 15 November of the year 2004 for the calendar year 2005 and by 15 November 2005 for the calendar year 2006 the contributions required to finance the expenditures approved under paragraph 3 above, as offset by the amount in paragraph 1 above, and in this regard requests that Parties be notified of the amount of their contributions by 15 October of the year preceding the year in which the contributions are due;

11. Urges all Parties and States not Parties to the Protocol, as well as governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other sources, to contribute to the trust funds of the Cartagena Protocol;

12. Decides that the Executive Secretary has the authority, with the concurrence of the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, to adjust the servicing of the programme of work, including postponement of meetings, if sufficient resources are not available to the Secretariat in a timely fashion;

13. Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare and submit a budget for the distinct costs of the secretariat services for and the biosafety work programme of the Protocol for the biennium 2007-2008 to the third meeting the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and to report on income and budget performance as well as any adjustments made to the Protocol budget for the biennium 2005-2006;

14. Notes the need to facilitate priority-setting by providing Parties with timely information on the financial consequences of different options, taking into account paragraph 17 below and views provided by Parties in this regard. To this end, requests the Executive Secretary to include in the proposed budget for the biennium 2007-2008 two alternatives based on:

(a) Maintaining the core budget at the 2005-2006 level (e.g. with zero per cent nominal growth and with zero per cent real growth); and

(b) Increasing the core budget to five per cent nominal growth above the 2005-2006 level;

15. Requests the Executive Secretary to report to the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on income and budget performance, and to propose any adjustments that might be needed in the programme budget for the biennium 2005-2006;

16. Decides that the financial rules and regulations and the decisions related to the administration of the budget, adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, be adopted mutatis mutandis for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;

17. Requests the Executive Secretary, in accordance with rule 14 of the rules of procedure, to provide Parties with an indication of the administrative and financial implications of recommendations to be referred by any committee, liaison group, advisory group, open-ended working group, ad hoc working group or technical expert group for consideration of and subsequent adoption by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which may have administrative and budgetary implication that cannot be met from existing resources within the core budget (BYP Trust Fund);

18. Invites the Executive Secretary to extend the fellowship programme of the Convention to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, as a means of enabling developing country Parties to send their nationals to the secretariat for the purposes of enhancing their understanding of the Protocol and other processes, and for increasing awareness of biosafety and related issues;

19. Instructs the Executive Secretary, in an effort to improve the efficiency of the Secretariat and to attract highly qualified staff to the Secretariat, to enter into direct administrative and contractual arrangements with Parties, Governments and organizations - in response to offers of human resources and other support to the Secretariat - as may be necessary for the effective discharge of the functions of the Secretariat, while ensuring the efficient use of available competencies, resources and services, and taking into account United Nations rules and regulations. Special attention should be given to possibilities of creating synergies with relevant, existing work programmes or activities that are being implemented within the framework of other international organizations.

Table. 1 Biennium budget of the Trust Fund for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 2005-2006

Priorities identified in the core budget (US$2,511,821 including 13 % programme support costs and 5% working capital reserve)

- Meetings of the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties

- Biosafety Clearing House Advisory Group meetings

- Second meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties

- Third meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties

- Capacity-Building Biosafety Liaison Group meetings

- Compliance Committee meetings

- First meeting of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Liability and Redress

- Open-ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Article 18

Table 2. Secretariat staffing requirements for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety from the core budget

* The Executive Secretary will review the classification and report thereon to COP/MOP-2

Table 3. Special Voluntary Trust Fund for additional voluntary contributions in support of approved activities of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Table.4 Special Voluntary Trust Fund for facilitating participation of Parties in the Biosafety Protocol process for the biennium 2005-2006

Table 5. Contributions to the Trust Fund for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for the biennium 2005-2006

Notes:

6/ These States confirmed that they will be Parties on 31 December 2004

* "BYP" and the other Trust Fund designations used in the present document are subject to change by the Trustee and are used here purely for the convenience of delegations attending the meeting.

7/ The BEP Trust Fund shall include the activity previously supported by the General Trust Fund, which was established in paragraph 27 of decision VI/29. The General Trust Fund shall be closed on 1 January 2005 and the funds contained therein shall be transferred to the BEP trust fund.