ANNOTATED PROVISIONAL AGENDA

Transcription

1 United Nations UNEP/GEF South China Sea Global Environment Environment Programme Project Facility Seventh Meeting of the Regional Scientific and Technical Committee for the UNEP/GEF Project: Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand Siem Reap, Cambodia, 14 th 17 th November 2006 UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/2 Date: 3 rd October 2006 Original: English ANNOTATED PROVISIONAL AGENDA 1 OPENING OF THE MEETING 1.1 Welcome on behalf of UNEP Dr. John Pernetta, Project Director will open the meeting, at 0830 on 14 th November 2006, and welcome participants on behalf of the Executive Director of UNEP, Dr. Achim Steiner; and the Officerin-Charge of the UNEP Division of Global Environment Facility Co-ordination, Mr. Olivier Deleuze. 1.2 Welcome Address on behalf of the Cambodian Government Mr. Koch Savath, National Technical Focal Point for the Project in Cambodia will deliver a welcome address on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia. 1.3 Introduction of Members Members will be invited to introduce themselves to the meeting. A provisional list of participants is contained in document (UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/Inf.1) 2. ORGANISATION OF THE MEETING 2.1 Election of Officers Members will recall that Dr. Vo Si Tuan, Mr. Koch Savath, and Professor Huang Zhengguang, were elected and served as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur during 2002 and At the fourth meeting of the Regional Scientific and Technical Committee held in Pattaya, Thailand in January 2004, members agreed that the officers originally elected in 2003 would continue to serve for the duration of the meeting and would be replaced immediately thereafter by newly elected officers. At the end of the fourth meeting Dr. Gil Jacinto, National Technical Focal Point from the Philippines, was elected as Chairperson of the Committee; Mr. Heru Waluyo, National Technical Focal Point from Indonesia, was elected as Vice-Chairperson and Dr. Vo Si Tuan was elected as Rapporteur. These officers continued to serve during the fifth meeting of the committee convened in Fanchenggang, China in December 2004.

2 Page 2 At the sixth meeting of the Committee convened in Batam in December 2005, Mr. Koch Savath, Professor Huang Zhengguang and Mrs. Wahyu Indraningsih were elected as Chairperson, Vice- Chairperson and Rapporteur respectively. The Rules of Procedure state that, Members are eligible for re-election to the same position no more than once. All three officers are therefore eligible for reelection having served for only one term. Members will be invited to nominate individuals as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur. 2.1 Documentation Available to the Meeting The Secretary of the Committee, Dr. Vo Si Tuan, will introduce the discussion and information documents available to the meeting. The list of documents is contained in document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/Inf Programme of Work and Administrative Arrangements for the Conduct of the Meeting The Secretary will brief participants on the administrative arrangements for the conduct of the meeting, and the proposed organisation of work (UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/Inf.3). Formal sessions of the meeting will be conducted in English, and in plenary as far as possible. Sessional working groups may be formed at the discretion of the committee, to review in detail substantive matters such as the draft of the revised regional Strategic Action Programme prior to its consideration in plenary. 3. ADOPTION OF THE MEETING AGENDA The Chairperson will introduce the provisional agenda prepared by the Project Co-ordinating Unit (PCU) as document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/1 and the annotated provisional agenda, document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/2 (this document) and invite members of the RSTC to propose any amendments or additional items for consideration, prior to the adoption of the agenda. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL MATTERS The Chairperson will invite the Project Director to introduce document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/4 Current Status of the Administrative Reports from the Focal Points of the Participating Countries and co-financing of the operational phase activities and to highlight any matters requiring attention or decision by the committee. National Technical Focal Points are requested to consider the problems resulting from continued delays in submission of routine administrative reports and to advise the PCU of concrete steps they propose to take to address this problem. The Project Director will review the situation with regard to cash and in-kind co-financing received to date, details of which are summarised in document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/4. Members are invited: to note the situation with regard to co-financing received by the project to date; advise the committee of any sums received which are not included in the totals presented; and to note that the total greatly exceeds the amounts originally anticipated at the time of project document clearance by the Chief Executive Officer of the GEF. The Regional Scientific and Technical Committee is requested to consider the problem of unaccounted cash advances and to advise the Project Steering Committee on actions to be taken in respect of defaulting Specialised Executing Agencies, bearing in mind the need to ensure timely closure of the project accounts. 5. REPORTS FROM THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL FOCAL POINTS REGARDING NATIONAL CO-ORDINATION AND OTHER PROJECT RELATED ACTIVITIES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL INCLUDING THE STATUS OF THE NATIONAL ACTION PLANS Under the following agenda sub-items the National Technical Focal Points from each country will be invited to brief the committee on activities conducted at the national level during the period December

3 Page to November 2006, including inter alia: the outcomes of meetings of the National Technical Working Groups and Inter-Ministry Committees; the status of project and demonstration site implementation; the status of the agreed co-financing support to national co-ordination costs; and the situation with regard to the adoption and approval of the National Action Plans (NAPs). With respect to the costs of national coordination activities members will recall that the Project Steering Committee during its third meeting in Manila in February 2004 the committee had agreed to a phased reduction in GEF grant support to national co-ordination activities (meeting costs for the national component committees, the National Technical Working Group, and the Inter-Ministry Committees). The agreed proportion of costs coming from the GEF were detailed in paragraph (ii) as follows: (ii) The overall level of support from the GEF grant should be 100% in : 50% in ; and 25% in " (UNEP/GEF/SCS/PSC.3/3) The situation with regard to the approval and adoption of the NAPs is of considerable importance given the recommendations of the Regional Task Force on Legal Matters that one of the four legs of strengthened regional co-operation should be the National Action Plans. Where written reports are provided these have been duplicated and distributed as UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Cam, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Chi UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Ind UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Mal, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Phil UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Thai UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/5-Vn. 5.1 Cambodia - Mr. Koch Savath, NTFP Cambodia 5.2 China - Prof. Huang Zhengguang, NTFP China 5.3 Indonesia - Mrs. Wahyu Indraningsih, NTFP Indonesia 5.4 Malaysia - Ms. Hajah Rosnani Ibarahim, NTFP Malaysia 5.5 Philippines - Dr. Gil Jacinto, Director, NTFP Philippines 5.6 Thailand - Dr. Sirikul Bunpapong, NTFP Thailand 5.7 Viet Nam - Dr. Mai Trong Nhuan, NTFP Viet Nam 6. REPORTS FROM THE REGIONAL WORKING GROUPS AND REGIONAL TASK FORCES ON PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE Under the following agenda sub-items the Chairpersons, or their alternates from each Regional Working Group and Task Force will be invited to brief the committee on activities at the regional level conducted or co-ordinated by their respective regional working group or task force over the last year including inter alia: the outcomes of discussions during meeting(s) convened subsequent to the last RSTC meeting; the status of project and demonstration site implementation; and the situation with regard to the development of inputs to the Strategic Action Programme. Where written reports are provided these have been duplicated and distributed as UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/6-RWG-M, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/6-RWG-SG, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7 /6-RWG-CR, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/6-RWG-W, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/6-RWG-F, UNEP/GEF /SCS/RSTC.7/6-RWG-LbP, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/6-RTF-L, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/6-RTF-E. 6.1 Regional Working Group on Mangroves - Dr. Fan, Chairperson RWG-M 6.2 Regional Working Group on Coral Reefs - Dr. Suharsono, Chairperson RWG-CR 6.3 Regional Working Group on Seagrass - Dr. Montaño, Chairperson RWG-SG 6.4 Regional Working Group on Wetlands - Mr. Veeravaitaya, Chairperson RWG-W 6.5 Regional Working Group on Fisheries - Ir. Tambunan, Chairperson RWG-F 6.6 Regional Working Group on Land-based Pollution - Dr. Wattayakorn, Chairperson RWG-LbP 6.7 Regional Task Force on Legal Matters - Mr. Basiron, Chairperson RTF-L 6.8 Regional Task Force on Economic Valuation - Dr. Padilla, Chairperson RTF-E

4 Page 4 7. CONSIDERATION OF THE REGIONAL TASK FORCE ON ECONOMIC VALUATION (RTF-E) DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONALLY APPLICABLE TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUES FOR COASTAL ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES The Chairperson will invite Dr. Padilla, Chairperson of the Regional Task Force on Economic Valuation (RTF-E) to introduce document, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/7 Determination of Regionally Applicable Total Economic Values for Coastal Habitats in the South China Sea and brief the committee on the agreed procedures for determining such values for use in determining the costs and benefits of action compared with non-action. The attention of members is drawn to paragraphs to of the report of the fifth meeting of the Regional Task Force on Economic Valuation (UNEP/GEF/SCS/RTF-E.5/3) for a full account of the discussions leading to the proposed methods. Members of the RSTC are invited to: Consider, review and comment upon the proposed methodology for deriving Regional Total Economic Values including inter alia the principle of using weighted means; Provide concrete suggestions or proposals regarding any changes or amendments to the procedures as appropriate; Discuss and provide guidance regarding the potential aggregation of uses in determining Regional Value of Resources [R V A 1 -Kg ]; Discuss and formulate guidance regarding appropriate scenarios for use in the costbenefit analysis of the SAP. 8 REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVE REGIONAL INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISMS FOR MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA The Chairperson will invite Mr. Basiron, Chairperson of the Regional Task Force on Legal Matters to introduce the documents: UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/8, Review of Instruments and Mechanisms for Strengthening Marine Environmental Co-Operation in the South China Sea and UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/9 Review of Legal Matters Pertaining to the Marine and Coastal Environment of the South China Sea. The attention of members is drawn to items 5, 6 and 7 and Annex 5 of the report of the fifth meeting of the RTF-L and in particular paragraph 7.5 which states: 7.5 The meeting decided to define the characteristics of an optimum agreement, and to identify some other components to be included as inputs to the regional SAP. Members drafted inputs for inclusion in the regional SAP overnight, and considered the drafts during the following morning s session. The meeting agreed to recommend to the Project Steering Committee the development of a framework for co-operation in the management of the marine environment of the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand, based on the following four components: 1) Principles and Policies 2) Regional Strategic Action Programme 3) Sub-regional and bi-lateral Agreements 4) Existing National Action Plans Members of the RSTC are invited to: Discuss the contents of these documents; Consider the recommendations of the Regional Task Force on Legal Matters; and, Formulate appropriate recommendations for the consideration of the Project Steering Committee. 9. REVIEW OF THE REVISED DRAFT STRATEGIC ACTION PROGRAMME AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE REGARDING ITS FURTHER ELABORATION AND APPROVAL The Chairperson will invite Dr. Pernetta to introduce document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/10, Revised draft Strategic Action Programme and to provide the committee with a background to the origin of the elements contained therein.

5 Page 5 The Committee is invited to: Review, analyse and consider in detail, the contents of the revised draft Strategic Action Programme and draft inputs as appropriate; Make recommendations to the Regional Working Groups and Task Forces regarding areas that require expansion and or strengthening; and Make recommendations to the Project Steering Committee regarding the timetable and process for adoption of the SAP at the national and regional levels. 10. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE DEMONSTRATION SITE AND PILOT ACTIVITIES The Chairperson will invite the Senior Expert to introduce document UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/11, Progress in Implementing the Demonstration Site and Pilot Activities and report on the current status of these activities including plans for the mid-term evaluations of progress. The RSTC is invited to: Review the contents of this report; Provide guidance to the national executing agencies regarding substantive matters including corrective actions if required; Consider, amend and recommend for approval of the Project Steering Committee the draft monitoring and evaluation plan 11. OPERATION OF THE PROJECT WEBSITE AND REGIONAL GIS AND META DATABASES The Chairperson will invite Dr. Pernetta to introduce document, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/12 Evaluation of the Utility and Functionality of the Project Website and report on the current status of the project website and developments with regard to the regional GIS and meta-databases, in particular their accessibility with respect to remote up-dating of content. The RSTC is invited to: Review the contents of this report; Provide guidance to the PCU regarding substantive matters including corrective actions if required; Consider, steps to enhance the use and value of the project website and make appropriate recommendations to the PCU. 12. STATUS OF THE REGIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME The Chairperson will invite Dr. Pernetta to introduce document, UNEP/GEF/SCS/RSTC.7/13 The South China Sea Training Programme and highlight the planned activities for The report of the Sub-committee of the RSTC that, prepared the programme is provided for the information of participants. The RSTC is invited to: Note that this programme has been approved by the committee on a no objections basis; Review the contents of this document; Provide guidance to the PCU regarding implementation of the programme as appropriate. 13. WORK PLAN AND TIMETABLE FOR THE REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEE The Chairperson will invite the Secretary of the Committee to introduce document UNEP/GEF/SCS/ RSTC.6/14 Proposed Work Plan and Timetable for the Regional Scientific and Technical Committee and any amendments thereto resulting from the discussions and agreements reached under preceding agenda items.

6 Page 6 The Regional Scientific and Technical Committee is invited to consider and approve the proposed work plan and timetable and make appropriate recommendations to the Project Steering Committee regarding changes to the duration of the project if required. 14. ANY OTHER BUSINESS The Chairperson will invite members to raise any other items of business under this agenda item. 15. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE MEETING The Rapporteur will present the draft report of the meeting for consideration, amendment and adoption of the meeting. 16. CLOSURE OF THE MEETING The Chairperson will call for a motion of closure.