Ramsar: Second Conference of contracting parties

E n v i r o n m e n t a l Policy a n d L a w , 12 (19&,.

H)2

Ramsar: Second Conference of Contracting Parties '~t~,~ : lheu 140 Repre>entative', of "2 .o mlrtc~ Ihncludipg observer • t,l{¢,~},u~d 30 hl; ~tcd organiTaoons, IH¢~ ~lotn %t2 May in Groninger~ ~'..clhcdand~t w ,,top th the aircady ~l~,~iiD,}~;ltE nllelqallt,lllt~ responEe ~,, a tmlqac con.,er~at-m ('onveah,m dc.~tgued tn protctl tile world's ~-e, lar~d~ .tnd tilt" , n a n y wild ,l¢,lq~fC', thai dcl×'nd ,ten them for [hc {. on,, ontiUll on ( onscrvation I,l Wetlands tit hllel,aatlonal lmj'~,rial'Cl" c~pccially a. Waterfowl Habttat a~naIiv caile,= tile Ramsar t ont, l.tnnffl alter tile l,Dwn ill [rail '~I~Crt' tt %%iD,utl~pl~.'d, Clllered into !,,ice tit 1975. I hc Slate,. I;ally .c, Ills CouvenHOI] aCCCDIthe pre!nts~ that the wis" a~c ot e.'cti.:tP, ds Io ~ervc human l~eeJ~ IlUlSI be cunlpa{' i~le w i t h c o n -

~l,'l~.dtlUa Of italu;e and natural lv~tlitc~ More ',pw 'lie,ally, each 113'~ u n d ¢ t i d l ~ t t l::l Iccll~llize at ]eliot oae pi tfnc ~ ctl:-ill~{ o n I '~ tel r i t o r y as Itting ~1 inleruali~alul ifllporlance, thC 35 (Olllraclil,~lt Parties to ~t,~IC ~o~er Inc~M Of !'uropc tholh ,~1 ~ttl(I ~rt'~[), (,':nl~,l{ta, Auslralia ,rod Nc~ /caldnd. in,J] Ihere i'~ hl~{CtI%Ull' llllOl~*ent{llt {ltnlr a n l o n g t~l{z tlrilpl~'#l~ Ct)LIUIII~ ~. Of Africa,

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. e.;,'~,,l~ .I] lnll:rnati~.~n,d legal m-{tttUlVIll~ dnned at conserving :}.~t~., .tnd I!ai t.; a] resource,,. { ~tbers mcl~a!,, the World Heritage ~'~r~t'i**dttl~, [{} ('on%cnlion Oil ]rl-',.,m,.,~, I~ade in l:ndullgeil2d ',~%', t¢'~, i t I~, ' J t L u D a l lind Flora I~ ! i t

P.amsar Convention is provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), working closely wi:h the International Waterfowl Research Bureau (IWRB). The Nedlerlands government, host of the May meeting, has been c,utstanding in i!., support to th ~ Convention. But as the Convention has grown, applying its provisions has meant growing administrative demands, while the research and training ski~ls needed to identify and follow up deserving new wetland conservation cases are in short supply in many countri.es. These long-fi~it needs came high on the agenda at Groningen. Four objectives of the Conference a.~. determined by the Preparatory Committee were: {hncussilnt o f national experiences under tile Convention, discussion and eventual adoption of a framework to guide the implementation of the Convention in fnture. the discusfion of proposed amendmeuts to the Convention and the opportanily to di.~cus; ideas and problems of common interest for wetland cr,ns~rvation. As ltle unty purely legal issne at tile meeting concerned the amendmeat of tile Convention our readers will tinder.rand that we are g!ving emphasis In th;s topic -- although, in Conference terms, it did not take tip the infl£irfnun Of linll Amendmc.,r,! Ill' the ('unveation

It noted that these amendments could not be adopted until such time as the Paris Protocol came into force and therefore urged Parties to speed the plocess of ratification. Each of the propc,ed amendments isle reference , oove~ was discussed in detail. Some delegatious teepee[ally Australia) questioned ~ e need to amend the Convention. The Australian oelcgation expressed its appreciation lof the efforts accomplishe< in preparing proposals to a,ncnd the Convention; but although not opposed to amendments, it fell boo, ever, that other means could be found to achieve the same res ,Its. It felt that there could be a risk 3f a two-U~'red Convention if certein Parties decin ed not to accept the tmendments~ Tile delegation ~'ah,cd four points it', particular:

fag dvlegation of the Nethella~,lds hi&de dill introductory statement, in v,hich it recal!ed that the &~gliari Conference (see Env~rontncntal Policy and Law (1981, Voi. 7. No. I. p. 6) l.ad recomnlenf,e~ th~ a ~et of amendments be prepart'~ with a view to improv-

1. Is an autonc no.,.. Bureau necessary? 2. Is it the i.,ost et lc!e,~t tool? 3. Could g ,t th • re_pousib:!ity for these task :~e ~ested Mth IIJCR provided t: - by A," ;vie 8.1 o f the present text; :.f the: ~,.~ministrative capacity of !UCN vas strained,

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'~, ~ ~q¢'-~'i~.al~Ul tU M i g r a t o r y ~t~{,;1~1}, t*;aln'~itF bit;It ~. llC'~l :{it;l~J i~) tqddlhg In O,HLNef\~k' all c~,o~ c ~lM.*at l ". pc ~ ol Id-v~[de: XtlC.',:'~ tn Hll~ xtnttllc may ",pell new ~*¢u' ~Ol o t h e r lhteatcned habitats ~, ¢, a', d~c :loln~:al rain forests. ~s,!n~au~,l.%lH'~t." ~,llppoI~I for tilt'

ing the effectiveness of the ~.'nnvention. Recommendation 1.8 identified nine points to be included in such amendments; IUCN in the exercise of its Bureau functiors ui~Jer the Convention had undertaken i~ consultation with the Government of the Netherlands to prepare draft amendments !elating to these points. The Dutch delegation emphasized the particular importance it attached to those pertaining to the introduction of a financial mechanism and the establishment of a permanen secretariat, as well as regular meetings of Contracting Parties.

3dence Pub! ~ners B.V. (North-Holland)

E,~vironmentd Policy and Law, ~,2(1984) could not the matter be then reconsidered? 4. Will the existence of fir~ancial obligations deter States front acceding to tke Convention? In conclusion, the delegation felt that ir IUCN in co-operation with IWRB were not able to perform these services, there could be o~her bodies a, ailable to do so and that in view of the present shnrta~oe bf funds, financial transfers from conservation projects co,dd be de:rimentaf to the implemcmation o! the Convention and would deter States from acceding. Some other delegations appeared to have the same opinion. Following discussion on these concerns, the IUCN represerttative, Dr. Wolfgang Burhenne, the Honorary Chairman of 1UCN's Commission on Envi~ onrne~tal Ft;.:%, ~aw and Administration, gave a stat~, .nt on behalf of the Lln~on. He emphasized t'aat the amendments proposed by the Dutch Government were at this stage *~aly suggestions as to how t2a¢ ainc points decided upon by the Cagiiari Conference could be implemented, and that this was not a new creative effort, ~ut merely the reflection of the decisions tako~ by the Cagliad Conference ti~ree and an half years ago. The Swedish delegation had previously asked w!tether the Partics to the Convention could take decisions aboet the activities of IUCN. The IU~ N representaLive stated that Parties cotdd n~t decide what IUCN as an t,rg~alzation should do; neither couh~ the General Assembly of IUCN make any decision on the tasks to be performed by the Secretariat of the Ramsar Com,cntion: as "the funco tions, activities and spending of a convention secretariat were entirely ¢.he responsibl.qty of the States party to that convention. Neither of daese alierna;~ves, however, had bee~ proposed, The matter under consideration w~:, +tie placing at th.e ai~posal o f the Pard~s, by IU~N, c,f a i:nit to ser~t: t~en~t, ,"~r which ;he Parties would be respons!hle,

I03

financially or otherwise. ILCN woukl only provide the adlztinistrative infrastructure". With r,..gard to the points raised by the Australian delegation, Dr. Burhen,v: considered that an autonomous I:~urean was necessary as, undt r internar.ional law, a treaty could cot function with a secret~.riat thra it co a!d not control. " I U C N was rtady to acc'elit responsibility for the administration of a unit servicing the Parties, drawing upon the IUCN infrastructure and technical expertise, as well as ,ipon the advisory setvice.s of

that this was a question L)r~he Parties to ans~er. As to whether the resp~w,sibiti~, of these task~ could ',)e ~e~ttM x~lt~ IUCN as provided [o: in Article: tLI .>f th:e Convention II.ICN ¢~i',~ sidered that lhe pr¢~-'~', ar~a'-~t;*.'~ m.:nt ~',a~ only an irttedm a~.-ra~.mont. T h e division of ;es¢~w,. s:,bilitics bet~ccn II:CN and : ~ : Parties needed, ho~cxcl', ~o ,~ c~early spelled oot. Conce~ning ~he final p~>:-m, ~ e It3CN representative s t a t t ~ "'~ Parti~ were not ~itl)ng ~o bea~ 'O,~e costs of a ser~ icing ~alt. it aa~ aL~-

IWRD, vrovided that thh, unit was adcq'mtel~r f~mded by the Part,t-,. There was a n e t ~ however, to find ~. formula whereby £', ~vts:ttdbe clear tha~ the decision-,.nak~t~q body for ~his secretariat was the Ctmference of ;he Parttr;~. IUCN was also willIDt~ tO cnatinac -- in ClOSe c~)oO,'radon v.;th IWRB -- its pre~ent coml,~tment, i.e. to perform Btlre~u ¢lutie:~ ~t~r{ilg an ill|t.:~{l~, period, ~t h,,~Fed ti~z' an ef~k~rt would be :~ade by :Ke t'~rt!e~ to continue ~,r.,d incre,z~-, voluciary ~ntributions during tt'e int~rn; perit, d". Regmding the second {~h,' tats. cO, the 1UCN represe~.tati'~,." teplied

unja:,tifiablc to u ~ for *.~ .r~IrI~>~ funck; ~hi¢t~ IUCN ~n,d V~RB pfoj~t5 the- c~,,ts el" ttt¢ p r ~ t:~:half t,f the Palt~¢:, by ~,,';.'N -!'~,~ voluntary o.~,i~tril:.nrl,>ns; ~,,g'*¢

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104 '~y.'qem of v o l u n l a D cont-iht~,':).~ v.as inlacceptable tO celtain ~'tates,

In addition, such a system would in the long term be u n h e a l t h y " . ,~:c conch, dell his remarks by express. lug Ibe belief that if Parties we a,i:tinF ~l~ely ill ttll~ de"eh~nment a f .I b':d~¢t and a ~,'ale of . t i , ' i b h 1~o11% othe( Stale.', ,,ouh: IiOt b ~ d~?tt .ed litim acceding to the Co: cent, n. O n 9(e ,:ont+'ary, ,,,~ t}iol,~h, that tile)' inlghi ~C dei-., t.tl llOtll tooling the (~OltVention if ttic { ,nit .,nnon -- I'0l lai2k tit" 11 d)O¢ll!ilc ~er~tcu/g tuul =- [,.1St it:, |'tl CStill In(pet ti~, I h r Le) i~stle ~ilh ¢leltlr'}i the ~l(li¢li~w alld loli~ el a pertly, anent ~12crt:lariilt, l'he(e ~,~aS It:~lglii.~ disca~sttin ol national g~sili~ms on tll(~ point; r h e delegate o f Senegal ]~ere ntv ill it Foslt*on to CtblalrihllW ell a lkjlilnl.(fy ba~.i~, t~(ltl (etFttql tO the diflictlllies lti dt >;dopi(tl~t t'l~tlitlri¢~ ,t lle,sil~ie f0rlntlla Qmuld b~l found, titt~:tt W~ttltt allm~ lhetl: li' t((gdu" l~Itt" ~Otltlflhntll~n!- acco~dalll tO lhe ct~tlttd',atl~.e calla~:lly Of llaities. I lit Nore, clliai~ deleg,i~lte re. ~tuc~mt It *( "N to d c el~)p a I~lallqtUiii t~l~ta~ - n Ill( Ctl~ttc,t. v acqlili(o;[ i,, Shg ~'~ t N ~)deln ,~{Ik 7j ~i"~ I0 -Alliitt~latnig ~latc~ l',~ ~ike~" l0 )l:t: Rdln%n t'Olllcntton, %t,.'tpl!~- .g tlO~'l' ek~ll(eftt%; tlL':~.datOi ") L'OE" {ltbLtti.lil~ ['toni S~[a *£ ~Fdch ha%c" tlt{, l(hdllTlal ~'a~tell', t0 10 St +, 51~ bohc ct>atribttti~)n+ "U~t ". l'~i ;ilail:~, .nell {ill ell-tll,l~tl. Jl',*l ~tlttt!~lile tl~¢l ii(Id !t',.t%e ti t: l,~ -l;tt~q, ~onlti[nlltll,I ~t'+ ~'. 9%

- ": y , : h e n oy the lack o r bnan,:/ w~ as. Its G o v e r n m e n t "~.is in ~a'c. , 3( he establishmen~ >f ~'..,,, "e b ' ~ in ~espec; o f acre. it;-~ ;, reed u f :'s position as ~3113w, --

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I vol(nttary c,.-:t:'{b~." r~s COrM I~Ot comhlEe. The se" ,,',~ consequee,:e which t h . cesb*:' .~," o f ,~rUCh ,~ntribution.~ from the qetherlands ;',, -qd have, ,~'as era, ~h.,~lzed, -- T h e .amount ,~l fm~.d~ needed ,~ " 'qy a relafis '~ srn-~ll a m o u n t . - - All Contractl,. Pl.rtk.s were responsihle for the :andin~ o f the ~cretariat. - - The sttuatio! ol . l e v e l . > l a g ~ u n t r i e s Could ~ :i Oe tak¢~ into a~-,:ount, and c" y symbolic ,:Onb-tbutions requ': ,' ,-~ el'ore ih-.~m. l'he L%an:a;t~'s d e i c e s ' i o n eon.,,0~red the folF'wing points to be the e~;sec "¢ c:', it~ ~,:~)nlry'~ l ~ i t l o a : - - A .e,':o'-".r7 ', unit was needed iol the ( a . ~ , ; : . t ! e ~ .i(icl'. ~ l o u l d have s . ¢ a r ir, del;,¢adence, 1t should have h:; O,Vn budget, F.mVltied by con'~dbudous o f all Parties ~.',d the re~onsibititi~rs o t this seer~tarmt wolild tat* 'aflh (he Parties, under whose lust L'.;C.,'ions it should nile.care, It should oe organized by I U C N t by the Director G e n e c a l o f IL:CN. It was felt by :everai d, cons that IIJCN, or the Dir~.:.,~l ~ ¢ n e r a l o f I U C N had the duty to ,:.ms,.,lt Ihe t . o n f e r e n c e o f the Parties with r e g a r d t,'~ all q'~,t~O~, o f i(uportaUCe ,':hlc;~ w~l. "-',~,irl;. to the t , t g ,~izat,'m ~ : d , .~ ,wtloaiitg o f

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su. rces,: :e tt:~ . ": ..sb & l e g a t i o n COrlSider'v " ha :~" ' ; .4, :or o f ~mch c: :~t, ibuiRn¢ s .~,. , c-.taire ~t" pr,,~t conselv of the : . ~ a f ; ,:are o f ~h¢ Parties, T h e delegation o f -J~:nmark t~.d riot ~avot:r the u w v ~ ~ a t y rule ~ore~een ~,y this py.,.~-.'-'z"J a~tlcl¢ and considered tha~ : m.lority c f tv.'o ~hirds woul'i be s',,.i~cieat, cons~,2~ri~ ~ that the ~mertd :.-.rlts ,z,otqd o ~y ~nd Go~.ernments has, il,g ac~ ¢ t e O there. >Ihe obs~:rver f r o m the Untrod States o f Amc, ~ca also recom,nez,2 z v o i d i n g u n a n i m o u s consent for the a d o p t i o n of the .:udget, T h e dele~-,'~tion ~ f ~ , m g a r y ex.'-e~sed disagreement voth : h : pro• _.,':.xl art'.'7~-.. I n a d d i t i o n , its a p ! ','~alion could result in the creation o;" " .~w inteennt~.ion~l o r g a a i z a i i o m *h,h .¢as not considered necesT h e N o r w e g ; a n d~iegation st2~ed ,hal {t was pccp~ring, in ceoDeration with the Danish d~legalion, a r e c o m m e n d a t i o n : eiterating the plea for v o t u m a r y ,'on!rlbttliofis l ~ , ; a t Part;ca.

Res~Its o f Diseu~ions

1"he Con~ezcnc¢ ieaeh~-d a :o(npromise ~oiution to the a d m h .sin> l i o n p r o b l e m by appoint" :g a " T a s k F o r c e " t c , - , m ~ s e d o f . epn.~ sentatives of Canada, The Netber)and.~, Tuni:;ia, Po'.and, ~.m~gM, ~nmark of .~weden) ar~ chaired by T h e Netherlands, .c, work further on the a m e n d m e n t s . T h e terms o f re~'erens'- o f tke " T a s k F-~rcC' are a~ foit~ ,vs: " i , to ¢,~ea~ine the cliff:rent options for the establlsament of~ permaaem stru,;t~tre for ad(ifini,~.rative, ~¢iel,9;fie a n d {eehaical supporl trader the Co~ve(~fion, includ!nt~ the financial ~ , x ' v t s o f ,hese o p l i o n s ~shh a view to costeft'~tl~'ene.~; 2. to elab~ra.te further :~ p r o po,~d a m e r d m ~ t ~ to the Convent; at% in ..=he liii: t o f t'.,i'~ ois:ussions

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