The International Cooperative
Programmes
To organize the research and monitoring
activities, the International Cooperative Programmes
(ICPs) report to the Working Group on Effects:
Each programme is coordinated by a
Task Force, which meets annually and is responsible
for the detailed planning of the Programme activities.
Each programme also has a Programme Centre, which
is responsible for collating data and information
and for reporting results. A seventh Task Force was
established in collaboration with the World Health
Organisation (WHO) under the Executive Body:
The ICPs and the Task Force hold
their meetings annually. Convention workshops can
relate to specific or cross-cutting issues. The
list
of meetings includes circulars and web links
for some of the meetings.
Countries that are Parties to the
Convention are encouraged to participate in the
programmes. Increasing numbers of countries have
become involved in recent years (see Participation).
Participation is secured through national representatives
attending Task Force meetings and through the establishment
of national programme centres (often called national
focal centres or points), which are responsible
for national contributions to the science and monitoring
activities. The representatives and centres are
nominated by their Governments in the spirit of
their obligations under the Convention. Cooperation
between the Programmes, their Centres and the networks
of national programme centres has developed a broad
knowledge and information base on the effects of
long-range transboundary air pollution. This supports
the work under the Convention, for example, in the
development of Protocols
for emission control and the assessment of effects
at the international scale.