Ramsar COP9 -- Draft Agenda and Programme

Provisional Agenda and Programme

I	Opening of the Meeting
II	General statements
III	Adoption of the Agenda
IV	Adoption of the Rules of Procedure
V	Election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons and remarks by the Chairperson
VI	Appointment of the Credentials Committee and any other committees
VII	Admission of Observers
VIII	Report of the Chairperson of the Standing Committee
IX	Report of the Chairperson of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP)
X	Report of the Secretary General and overview of the implementation of the Convention at the global level
XI	Issues arising from Resolutions and Recommendations of previous meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
XII	The Convention Strategic Plan 2003-2008: a review of progress
XIII	The Convention's Work Plan 2006-2008
XIV	Financial report and proposed budget for the triennium 2006-2008
XV	Consideration of the draft Resolutions and Recommendations submitted by Contracting Parties and the Standing Committee
	Technical Session: The role of wisely managing wetlands in alleviating poverty and promoting human well-being
XVI	Report of the Credentials Committee
XVII	Report on the conclusions and recommendations of the Administration / Implementation sessions
XVIII	Reports and recommendations arising from the Technical Session
XIX	Adoption of Resolutions and Recommendations
XX	Election of Contracting Parties that will serve on the Standing Committee
XXI	Date and venue of the next Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
XXII	Any other business
XXIII	Adoption of the report of the 9th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties
XXIV	Close of the meeting

III Adoption of the Agenda
The Conference will consider document Ramsar COP9 DOC. 1: Provisional Agenda and Programme and adopt the Agenda and Programme for this meeting.

IV Adoption of the Rules of Procedure
The Conference will consider document Ramsar COP9 DOC. 2: Rules of Procedure and will adopt the Rules for the 9th Meeting. Note: The Rules have been adopted by Ramsar COP8 and any changes proposed by Standing Committee 31 would need to be proposed here, as Article 6.4 of the Convention texts stipulates that the COP "shall adopt rules of procedure for each of its meetings".

V Election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons
Pursuant to the Rules of Procedure, the Conference will elect the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons for the meeting on the basis of proposals made by the Conference Committee.

VI Appointment of the Credentials Committee and any other committees
Pursuant to the Rules of Procedure, the Conference will appoint a Credentials Committee on the basis of proposals made by the Conference Committee, and may establish any other committees necessary to enable the Conference to carry out its functions. The COP may wish to establish a Committee on the Work Plan 2006-2008; a Committee on finances and budget; and a Committee on content and duration of future Ordinary Meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties.

VII Admission of Observers
Provisions have always been made for the participation in the Meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of international agencies or bodies, and national governmental and non-governmental agencies or bodies, provided the Parties present do not decide otherwise (a COP document with the list of registered observers will be tabled at the meeting).

VIII/IX Report of the Chairpersons of the STRP and Standing Committee
For Standing Committee, this will be a summary of the previously circulated document setting out the key challenges for the future. For STRP, this will briefly review operations of the STRP and then introduce the draft "Technical Resolution" on additional guidance for wise use, for immediate adoption by the COP. This assumes that this draft Resolution has been through thorough preparatory and consultative processes.

XI Issues arising from Resolutions and Recommendations of previous meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties: This item will clarify the programme for the following days in terms of which items should be addressed through the Administration and Implementation sessions and which through the Technical session.

XV Consideration of the draft Resolutions and Recommendations submitted by Contracting Parties and the Standing Committee
A COP document will contain the proposals approved by the Standing Committee at its 31st Meeting (June 2005) for consideration by Ramsar COP9, as well as the proposals submitted by Contracting Parties at least 60 days before the opening of Ramsar COP9 (i.e., by 7 September 2005). In this Plenary Session there will be a first discussion of the proposals, to allow the search for consensus to begin before the final drafts of the decisions are submitted for approval on the last day of the Conference. (Note: Contracting Parties will be able to submit new proposals during the meeting to the Conference Committee, provided that those new proposals deal with: a) urgent issues resulting from the debates during the meeting; and/or b) new developments that it was not possible to foresee in advance.)

XVI Report of the Credentials Committee
A Ramsar COP9 document will be tabled at the meeting. As on past occasions, the Credentials Committee will require that the credentials of the delegates of Contracting Parties be presented in English, French or Spanish, on the appropriate letterhead, and be signed by the Head of State or Government and/or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or by an official legally empowered by the State concerned to accredit representatives at international meetings.

XX Election of the Contracting Parties that will serve on the Standing Committee
On the basis of the proposals presented by the six Ramsar regions, the Conference will elect the countries that will serve on the Standing Committee from the close of the 9h Meeting of the COP until the close of the 10th Meeting. (The new Standing Committee will meet immediately after the close of Ramsar COP9 and, on the basis of the Rules of Procedure, will designate the countries that will act as Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee, as well as the countries that will serve on its Subgroup on Finance and any other subgroup that may have been established.)

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail

). Posted 17 February 2005, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.