Steering Committee of the Friends of the Conservation Commons

According to the Charter of the Friends of the Conservation Commons :

a. A Steering Committee for the Friends of the Conservation Commons will be elected by the Organisational Members of the Charter.

b. The Steering Committee will be composed of up to 15 elected members with a maximum of three representatives from each of the five Organisational categories of Membership.

c. Elections:

i. Voting for membership of all the categories shall be open to all Organizational Members.

ii. Steering Committee members will serve a four-year term with possibility of re-election for one additional four-year term.

iii. Elections will be held at the same time as the IUCN World Conservation Congress (currently every quadrennium).

iv. Nominations to the Steering Committee will occur within a reasonable time prior to the election (time to be determined by the Coordinator and the Steering Committee).

v. The Coordinator will be responsible for conduct of the elections subject to the availability of funds and also to the advice and consent of the Steering Committee.

d. The Coordinator as well as the chief executive of the Host Institution, as described in Article 7 below, shall serve as ex-officio members of the Steering Committee.

e. The Steering Committee’s operational structure and Rules of Procedure shall be determined by vote of its members. The Responsibilities of the Steering Committee shall be as follows:

i. Elect its own Chair and other officers on an annual basis.

ii. Set its own Rules of Procedure, including specifically the rules for adopting Annexes on the issues specified in the Charter, and the rules governing amendments of the Charter.

iii. Designate the Host Institution, as described in Article 7.

iv. Undertake the following in conjunction with the Host Institution and Coordinator:

a) oversee and take direct action in promotion of the Principles including development of grants, fundraising and solicitation of donations, grants and contracts on behalf of the Friends of the Conservation Commons;

b) promote signature and adherence of the Principles;

c) monitor and report on developments and practices in implementation of the Principles;

d) maintain active current awareness of issues and developments affecting the Conservation Commons or the Principles;

e) develop mechanisms for maintaining contacts and coordination of the Conservation Commons-related activities among Signatories of the Principles;

f) offer advice to Signatories and non-signatories regarding matters relevant to the Conservation Commons;

g) oversee use of the Conservation Commons logo;

h) oversee use of a Conservation Commons licence;

i) review and approve the annual report of the Coordinator regarding the functional, substantive and institutional operations of the Friends of the Conservation Commons;

j) conduct regular reviews of operations and maintain oversight;

k) propose amendments to this Charter as needed from time to time;

l) conduct a biennial (once every two years) self-review.

v. Appoint such subcommittees and working groups as shall be required to meet its responsibilities. Membership of such working groups may include invited individuals or organizations that are not Members.

f. The Steering Committee shall hold meetings at least once a year. The Rules of Procedure shall state the mechanism by which the venue of meetings shall be set, including whether and when meetings must be face-to-face, and when they can be held by telephonic conference, electronic or mail communication, or any other option.

g. The Steering Committee will normally meet in open session but may meet in closed “executive session”, when confidentiality is determined to be required by Steering Committee decision.

h. Members of the Friends of the Conservation Commons, may attend and observe meetings (without vote) of the Steering Committee with prior notification to the Coordinator in good time in order to accommodate them logistically.

i. Non-member observers and/or expert advisors may attend and observe/participate (without vote) in the Steering Committee at the invitation of the Steering Committee.

for downloading the PDF version of the Charter of the Friends of the Conservation Commons, click here

Due to the limited number of the Members, the current ad-hoc Steering Committee of the Conservation Commons is made up of representatives from the following organizations:

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