The GEF Council meeting convened from 14-16 May 2003 in Washington, DC, US.

The Council elected Imeh Okopido, representing Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guines, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo, as its Co-Chair. The Council considered relations with other conventions, and reviewed and approved: an operational programme for the prevention and control of desertification and deforestation through sustainable land management; the introduction of standardized executive summaries of the project proposals in the work programme; the GEF’s Business Pan for the fiscal years 2004-2006; the 2004 corporate budget; and a paper clarifying classification and terminology concerning cofinancing. The Council also reviewed the fee-based system, expressing concern regarding the rising trend in the fees, and revised the terms of reference for the monitoring and evaluation unit and its director. The meeting also considered: the Action Plan to respond to recommendations of the Second GEF Assembly; the policy recommendations of the third replenishment; the Second Overall Performance Study of the GEF and the WSSD; expanded opportunities for Executing Agencies; engaging the private sector; and results of the CSD. The meeting’s documents and the Chairs’ joint summary of this meeting are available at: http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Council_Documents/council_documents.html