Distr.

GENERAL

FCCC/SB/1996/2

12 February 1996

Original: ENGLISH

SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE

Second session

Geneva, 27 February - 4 March 1996

Item 5 (a) (i) of the provisional agenda

SUBSIDIARY BODY FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Second session

Geneva, 27 February - 4 March 1996

Item 3 (a) (i) of the provisional agenda

1. The Conference of the Parties at its first session (COP 1), by its decision 2/CP.1 (see FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1), provided guidance on the review of first communications from Parties included in Annex I to the Convention, including provisions for the in-depth review of first national communications from such Parties. The present note documents the progress achieved on work on the in-depth reviews, updating information contained in the previous progress report (see FCCC/SB/1995/1).

2. Table 1 provides an update on the dates of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession of Parties included in Annex I to the Convention and the dates on which the national communications were received following the entry into force of the Convention.

GE.96-

Table 2 summarizes the schedule of in-depth reviews undertaken so far and the dates of the country visits. So far, 17 in-depth reviews of national communications (out of 31 communications submitted by 5 February 1996) have taken place. Three in-depth review reports and their summaries have been issued, and up to four reports are expected to be ready for submission to the subsidiary bodies at their second sessions. It is intended to complete as many in-depth review reports as possible by the COP 2.

3. According to decision 2/CP.1, paragraph 2 (a), national communications "should be subject to an in-depth review as soon as possible, but within one year of receipt by the secretariat". Owing to a shortage of resources and/or scheduling difficulties, however, it was not possible to fulfil this obligation. The secretariat intends to coordinate as many reviews as practicable before COP 2, subject to the availability of resources. Nevertheless, some in-depth reviews may take place in the period following COP 2.

4. In accordance with decision 2/CP.1, paragraph 2 (d), executive summaries of the reports of the in-depth reviews are distributed to all Parties and accredited observers. These summaries are one to two pages in length and are available in the six official languages of the United Nations. The full texts of the reports are available in their original language. These reports are also accessible on-line via World Wide Web (http://www.unep.ch/iucc.html). In-depth review reports, together with supplementary information provided by Parties during the in-depth reviews and that contained in national communications will serve as a basis for the second compilation and synthesis report to be submitted to COP 2 (see FCCC/SB/1996/1).

5. Under the guidance of the Chairmen of the subsidiary bodies, the secretariat has selected experts for participation in the in-depth reviews from among the names provided by Parties and intergovernmental organizations. In so doing, its aim has been to involve as many Parties as possible and to take due account of the need for various professional skills and language abilities. The composition of the teams which participated in the in-depth reviews is summarized in table 2. In selecting experts for participation in the reviews the secretariat sought to ensure the balance of skills and expertise, and of environmental and developmental perspectives and the necessary geographical balance among team members as well as linguistic requirements. In a few cases selected experts whose participation was confirmed originally were unable to take part in a country visit for personal or professional reasons. In such cases other Parties were helpful in providing experts on short notice or the secretariat involved nominated experts for participation in "paper" reviews.

6. To date, 45 Parties (22 developing, 16 developed, 7 economies in transition) and three countries not yet Parties to the Convention have nominated 177 national experts to participate in the in-depth reviews. Several of these nominations have been received only recently, so that fewer experts were available at the time of the reviews than at present. This also explains the fact that experts from some Parties were invited to participate in the in-depth reviews more than once.

7. The secretariat recalls that, according to decision 2/CP.1 of the Conference of the Parties (FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add. 1), the review teams are to be composed of experts selected from those nominated by Parties. Consequently, experts nominated by countries not Parties to the Convention are not eligible for participation in the in-depth reviews. Nevertheless, the secretariat has included those nominees in its roster of national experts with the intention of involving them in the in-depth reviews when the countries that nominated them become Parties to the Convention.

8. In its decision 2/CP.1, the COP invited intergovernmental organizations to make contributions of experts and/or resources, where possible, to assist the secretariat in undertaking the review of national communications. So far only the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have provided experts in response to this invitation. To involve a broader range of intergovernmental organizations, contacts with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were established by the secretariat.

* Countries that have not yet ratified the Convention.

** Belgium becomes a Party on 15 April 1996.

* Countries that have not yet ratified the Convention.

As stipulated in Article 4.2(g) of the Convention, any Party not included in Annex I may, in its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at any time thereafter, notify the Depositary that it intends to be bound by subparagraphs (a) and (b) of Article 4.2. Monaco notified the Depositary of its intention to be bound by these subparagraphs on 24 November 1992. Liechtenstein has not notified the Depositary of its intention to be bound by these subparagraphs.

Country visit

Origin of experts nominated by Governments

Experts from

	Developing countries	Economies in transition	Annex II Parties	IGOs*
Sweden (13-17 March 1995)	Brazil	Bulgaria	United States of America	-
Czech Republic (2-5 May 1995)	Kenya	Poland	-	-
United States of America (22-26 May 1995)	Philippines	Russian Federation	Sweden	IEA
Canada (29 May-2 June 1995)	Mexico	Czech Republic	Japan	OECD
Australia (26 June-30 June 1995)	Egypt	Slovak Republic	United Kingdom	IEA
New Zealand (3-7 July 1995)	Sri Lanka	Slovak Republic	United Kingdom	-
Japan (3-7 July 1995)	Bangladesh Republic of Korea	-	United States of America	IEA
Denmark (14-18 August 1995)	China	Hungary	Italy	OECD
Switzerland (11-14 September 1995)	Mexico	-	France	-

Country visit

Origin of experts nominated by Governments

Experts from

	Developing countries	Economies in transition	Annex II Parties	IGOs*
Spain (25-29 September 1995)	Cuba Mexico	-	Portugal	-
United Kingdom (9-13 October 1995)	Brazil	Slovak Republic	Switzerland	OECD
Norway (23-27 October 1995)	Ecuador	Bulgaria	Australia	OECD
Germany (20-24 November 1995)	China	Latvia	Japan	OECD
Netherlands (20-24 November 1995)	India	Russian Federation	Canada	IEA
Austria (4-7 December 1995)	Ghana	-	Netherlands	IEA
Ireland (29 Jan. - 2 February 1996)	Kenya	Bulgaria	Norway	-
Finland (29 Jan. - 2 February 1996)	Thailand	Russian Federation	United Kingdom	-

The teams include a coordinator from the secretariat, who may be assisted by a colleague or a consultant.

* IGO: Intergovernmental organization.

OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

IEA: International Energy Agency.

Paper review