Technical Committee 1. The Technical Committee shall comprise:
(a) nine experts representing different regions of the Agreement Area, in accordance with a balanced geographical distribution;
(b) one representative from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), one from the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau (IWRB) and one from the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC); and
(c) one expert from each of the following fields: rural economics, game management, and environmental law. The procedure for the appointment of the experts, the term of their appointment and the procedure for designation of the Chairman of the Technical Committee shall be determined by the Meeting of the Parties. The Chairman may admit a maximum of four observers from specialized international inter- governmental and non-governmental organizations.
2. Unless the Meeting of the Parties decides otherwise, meetings of the Technical Committee shall be convened by the Agreement secretariat in conjunction with each ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties and at least once between ordinary sessions of the Meeting of the Parties.
3. The Technical Committee shall:
(a) provide scientific and technical advice and information to the Meeting of the Parties and, through the Agreement secretariat, to Parties;
(b) make recommendations to the Meeting of the Parties concerning the Action Plan, implementation of the Agreement and further research to be carried out;
(c) prepare for each ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties a report on its activities, which shall be submitted to the Agreement secretariat not less than one hundred and twenty days before the session of the Meeting of the Parties, and copies shall be circulated forthwith by the Agreement secretariat to the Parties; and
(d) carry out any other tasks referred to it by the Meeting of the Parties.
4. Where in the opinion of the Technical Committee there has arisen an emergency which requires the adoption of immediate measures to avoid deterioration of the conservation status of one or more migratory waterbird species, the Technical Committee may request the Agreement secretariat to convene urgently a meeting of the Parties concerned. These Parties shall meet as soon as possible thereafter to establish rapidly a mechanism to give protection to the species identified as being subject to particularly adverse threat. Where a recommendation has been adopted at such a meeting, the Parties concerned shall inform each other and the Agreement secretariat of measures they have taken to implement it, or of the reasons why the recommendation could not be implemented.
5. The Technical Committee may establish such working groups as may be necessary to deal with specific tasks.
Steering Committee A. CIFNAL/ICBFN shall be managed by a Steering Committee comprised of elected representatives from the membership.
B. The Steering Committee is empowered to conduct the business of CIFNAL/ICBFN in accordance with the recommendations of the membership; approve and enact project activities; discuss and recommend future policy or changes in policy to be adopted by the membership; make budgetary decisions for CIFNAL/ICBFN; approach funding agencies; conduct periodic membership drives; and maintain communication with scholarly and professional associations as well as with other, similar cooperative projects.
C. The Steering Committee shall consist of at least five representatives of CIFNAL/ICBFN.
1. Four representatives shall be elected to at-large positions on the Steering Committee in accordance with the procedures in Section VIII. At least one representative shall be from a French or francophone institution.
2. The Chair of CIFNAL/ICBFN shall chair the Steering Committee.
3. Elected Coordinators of standing Working Groups shall serve on the Steering Committee for the period of their elected terms.
4. A representative of CRL shall serve as an ex officio member of the Steering Committee.
D. An advisory group of scholars and end-users, including representatives from academic organizations concerned with library and scholarly issues in francophone studies as well as non-academic information users and providers, shall be appointed by the Steering Committee as appropriate. The makeup of the advisory group shall be formulated to provide a balance of opinion and diversity of expertise. Members of the advisory group need not be from institutions that are a member of CIFNAL/ICBFN, and shall serve as ex officio members of the Steering Committee.
E. All elected representatives on the Steering Committee, including the Chair, shall have equal votes on matters requiring a formal approval by the Committee. Each member shall be accorded one vote. Ex officio members shall be non-voting members.
F. Steering Committee Members shall serve three-year terms, with staggered elections; re- election is permitted for one additional term. Elected members begin their term of office immediately following the annual membership meeting.
G. In the event a member is unable to serve a full term, the Chair shall appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the term. Following this period, the replacement shall be eligible to stand for election according to the terms of Section V.
