Letter from CGIAR Chairman W. David Hopper to the Heads of CGIAR Delegations, February 13, 1989

Abstract

Letter dated February 13, 1989 from CGIAR Chairman W. David Hopper to heads of delegations to the CGIAR, also distributed to the Group more broadly. The letter discussed the deliberations and decisions of 'Bellagio II'- the Second Bellagio Meeting on Tropical Forestry - held two months earlier in the United Kingdom, chaired by Mr. Hopper, and the proposed expansion of the CGIAR's mandate to include forestry and agroforestry.A second major topic was the process by which the centers and the CGIAR Secretariat had adjusted to a 5% shortfall in contributions compared with requirements for 1989. This involved voluntary reductions by centers, and support from the Stabilization Mechanism. Hopper reported in World Bank disbursements to centers, and described a project to transcribe and distribute CGIAR publications on CD-ROM.He also reported on decisions by the WARDA Council of Ministers to write off back debts to WARDA from the member countries, make fresh annual assessments, and reaffirm the constitution that had been negotiated as a framework for continued CGIAR support.Hopper outlined the agenda for an ad hoc consultation of donors scheduled for March 1989. It would consider how to ensure continued growth of center programs when funds were short, the relations between IARCs and other research institutions, and the proposal to add forestry to the CGIAR mandate.Annexes: I. Statement of the Second Bellagio Meeting on Tropical Forestry and list of participants; and II, Financial Update, including CGIAR required and estimated funding for 1989., World Bank allocations to centers, and contributions and expenditures of a project to preserve and disseminate CGIAR publications on compact disks.