Operation of the Secretariat. The Agreement’s Secretariat introduced the Report of the Secretariat (MoP3 Doc 8). In this paper it was stressed that the increased outputs of the Advisory Committee (AC) and its Working Groups (WG) necessitated an increased level of support from the Secretariat. Funding for the Scientific Officer to be increased from part to full-time was requested (point 4.1 in MoP3 final report). Parties welcomed the quarterly implementation reports from the Secretariat and AC Officials. It was agreed that these reports would be made more widely available by publishing them on the web site. MoP3 also requested that in future quarterly reports it would be helpful to identify tasks included in and undertaken by the various Secretariat positions. NGOs attending the meeting pointed that they would be able to improve their interaction with ACAP if they were better informed of progress regarding intersessional tasks (points 4.3.1 to 4.3.4). These Organisations will be included in the lists of recipients for future quarterly reports.
Operation of the Secretariat. The budget for the operation of the Secretariat has been developed with a view to containing salary costs, traditionally a major component of a Secretariat’s budget, in order that Parties’ contributions can be directed to addressing the objectives of the Agreement and in particular the implementation of the Action Plan. It is proposed that only one permanent position be established within the Secretariat at this stage, that of the Executive Secretary, with other staff being employed on a contract basis to address specific work outcomes. This will provide the Secretariat with greater flexibility with which to respond to changing work priorities, as well as providing the Parties with greater ongoing control over the size and composition of budget expenditure on salaries. To enable this low level of staffing to be maintained it is proposed that the current practice of seconding staff to the Secretariat be continued. This has been very effective to date with staff from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States providing valuable support. To facilitate this practice an amount of AUD 20,000 has been included in the budget for airfares and accommodation for staff seconded to the Secretariat. The Tasmanian State Government has indicated that it is prepared to provide accounting and financial services for the Secretariat, including receiving fees, making payments (including salary payments) and holding and managing the ACAP operating funds. The nominal cost of providing this service has been estimated at AUD 12,000 in the first year, with a subsequent annual cost of AUD 8,500. This service would however be provided free of charge to the Secretariat for a period of six years under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The current MoU, between Australian and Tasmanian Governments, concludes on 31 January 2007. It is proposed that the Secretariat enter into a new MoU with the Tasmanian Government for the provision of these services for a period of six years. This MoU would also include the provision of free office space and facilities, conservatively estimated at AUD 30,000 per annum. As detailed in the draft staffing regulations (MoP2 Doc14) permanent staff would be employed under the Tasmanian Government salary system, which will provide significant cost-savings in comparison to the United Nations salary and allowances system. Staff on-costs include superannuation, payroll and fringe benefit taxes, vehicle hire and an allowance for termination payments. Th...
Operation of the Secretariat
