Fifth Meeting of the Steering Committee
San José, Costa Rica
october 17, 2003

Introduction | Outcomes | List of Participants | Agenda

Introduction

The meeting was presided by Allan Flores Moya, Costa Rica's Vice-Minister of Environment and Energy, and Eduardo Marín, Nicaragua's Vice-Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Bommatanahalli Ramakrishna, PROCUENCA-San Juan's Bi-National Executive Secretary, acted as technical secretary for the meeting, thus supporting the Steering Committee.

Costa Rica's Vice-Minister of Environment and Energy started the meeting by welcoming the participants. Later the agenda was read and approved.

According to the approved agenda, the National Project Coordinators presented the following issues:

Reading and follow-up on the agreements made at the IV Meeting of the Steering Committee of February 13, 2003 in Nicaragua;

Reading and approval of the agreements made at the Bi-National Executive Council Meeting of 7-8 October, 2003; and

Review and approval of the Bi-National Executive Secretariat's functions specified by the Work Bases document.

Outcomes

The Fifth Meeting of the Steering Committee allowed advancing on the implementation of a new Project management structure agreed upon at the previous meeting. The specific results were the following:

1. Mr. Bommathanahali Ramakrishna is ratified as the project's Bi-National Executive Secretary and the functions of the Bi-National Executive Secretariat are approved.

2. Project extension until December 31, 2004 is approved, subject to presentation to the OAS/GS and UNEP of a Plan of Operations and its approval by UNEP.

3. Based on PROCUENCA-San Juan's coordination and management scheme restructuring and taking into account the agreements of the I Meeting of the Bi-National Executive Council that took place in October of 2003, the structures of the Steering Committee and Bi-National Executive Council are confirmed. The organigram of the Bi-National Executive Council is modified so that the bi-national authority is established as the negotiating body which comprises both governments, and guides, in a coordinated fashion, the sustainable development of the Basin. Issues relating to PROCUENCA-San Juan project will be handled by the highest body: the Steering Committee comprised of the governments, the donor agencies, the GEF implementing agency (UNEP) and the international executing agency (OSDE/OAS). The Bi-National Executive Council is to include representatives from the agricultural and tourism sectors.