Greenlines Newsletter

Meeting Peru/Visa

In the previous issue of the Green Lines we have already announced Mr. Victor Enrique Caso Lay’s invitation to the INTOSAI Working Group on environmental auditing to held its fifth meeting in Peru. The meeting will take place from November the 1through 5, 1998. The tentative schedule for these days is as follows:

31 October Arrivals

1-2 November Preparations Course and social program, including working-dinner with the OLACEFS Course in the evening of 2 November and a visit to Cusco and the Macchu Pichu.

3 November OLACEFs Course on Environmental Auditing

4-5 November Fifth meeting INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing

5-6 November Departures for the XVIth INCOSAI in Uruguay, for whom it concerns

We advise you to check the procedures for obtaining a visa. These might take a few weeks during which you may have to submit your passport.

Comments on booklet "How Sais may co-operate..."

Fourty SAIs have commented on the booklet "How SAIs may co-operate ...". In general these comments were very positive. Most SAIs fully agreed with the text, while 8 SAIs gave some suggestions for improvement. One SAI felt unable to comment, because it didn’t have any experience in auditing international environmental accords. The SAIs which reacted are the SAIs of Austria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei Darrussalam, Cameroon, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Jordan, Japan, (South) Korea, the Kyrgyz Republic, Malta, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slowakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The SAI of Togo has responded in its capacity of Secretary-General of AFROSAI.

We would like to thank these SAIs for the trouble they have taken to comment and the interest they have shown in the booklet.

The SAIs of Norway and Canada will make use of the suggestions that have been received.

New Members: the SAIs of Brazil and the Russian Federation

The chair welcomes to the Working Group Mr. Sergio Freitas de Almeida and Mr. S.P. Openisgew as representatives of respectively the SAI of Brazil and the SAI of the Russian Federation. These SAIs have applied for membership of the Working Group on their own initiative. By now the Working Group has 25 Members of 6 regions of INTOSAI. At the meeting in Peru we will evaluate the membership of the Working Group in the light of the workplan for the membership for the new period of three years.

Guidance on Conducting Audits of Activities with an Environmental Perspective

In the beginning of June the draft version of the booklet "Guidance on conducting audits of activities with an environmental perspective", has been send to the Working Group representatives for comments. This booklet has been prepared by the SAIs of Estonia, South Africa, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the European Union and New Zealand. The SAI of New Zealand will incorporate the suggestions in the booklet.

New representative of the SAI of the United States of America

The Chair welcomes Mr. Brian Crowley as representative of the SAI of the United States of America. Mr. Crowley, has replaced Mr. Dexter Peach as Assistant Comptroller General. The Chair thanks Mr. Peach for his contribution to the Working Group.

Video Environmental Auditing

The production of a video on the ideas of the Working Group, to be launched at the XVIth INCOSAI in Uruguay, has started. The Working Group agreed to produce such a video at the fourth meeting in Tallinn (Estonia). The video will have the draft title "the Miracle of Water" and will support the importance of environmental auditing in general as well as the co-operation of SAIs and INTOSAI regions in this matter. There will be a preview at the meeting of the Working Group in Peru.

Welcome Ocefs, welcome Ocefs committee on environmental auditing

SAIS in Central America have set up a new regional organisation: the Central American Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (OCEFS). Members of this region are the SAIs of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The first congres of OCEFS was held in Managua, Nicaragua from November 19-21, 1997. Four major issues were discussed, among which environmental auditing. The Congress recognised the responsibilities of SAIs in environmental auditing and agreed to create multi-disciplinary auditing units within their own institutions, and to use external consulting firms specialised in this field as needed. In addition , they agreed to set up a permanent OCEFS’ environmental auditing committee, made up of the relevant audit directors from each SAI in the region.

Meeting Latin American Ambassadors

In June ambassadors of several OLACEFS countries gathered in The Hague in the new office building of the Netherlands SAI for an informal meeting and lunch . We have informed them on SAIs in general, the INTOSAI organisation, the coming INCOSAI in Uruguay and on the fifth meeting of the Working Group in Peru. An animated discussion took place and the ambassadors showed much appreciation for the initiatives of the Working Group.

It might be a good idea to organise similar meetings for their colleague ambassadors in any country in the world. With 25 members, the Working Group shares the World. Please feel free to take the initiative!

Sustainable development of Delta’s

In connection with the Working Group theme "Fresh Water" and "sustainable development", we want to draw your attention to an International Conference on the Sustainable Development of Delta’s, which will be held from November 23 - 27, 1998. This conference will focus on the sustainable development of densely populated deltas, which is one of the greatest challenges facing governments world-wide. Economic growth, deteriorating ecosystems, population pressure, increasing demand for transport and infrastructure and the problems of providing clean water and preventing flooding: all these present a challenge to governments to find enduring solutions for the 21st century. The conference is organised by the Netherlands Ministry for Traffic, Public Works and Water Management and will be held in Amsterdam.

Interesting Reports

SAI of Argentina

The Supreme Audit Institution of Argentina produced a booklet: "informes y estudios sobre la problemática del agua", auditoria de gestion ambiental, 1997, with reports and studies on water issues.

An overview is given of environmental audits conducted in 1994, 1995 and 1996. The current environmental audits (1997) are also mentioned.

An extensive report is given on several audits related to water-issues in the area around the "la plata" river. The report is written in Spanish.

SAI of Colombia

The SAI of Colombia has developed a model for environmental auditing in which it distinguishes environment management and valuation of environmental costs (including Natural Resource Accounting). More information can be obtained from Mr. Rodolfo José González Cáceres at the SAI of Colombia.

SAI of the European Union

The European Court of Auditors published its Special report No 3/98 concerning the implementation by the Commission of EU policy and action as regards water pollution accompanied by the replies of the Commission in the Official Journal of the European Communities No C 191 from June 1998. More information can be obtained at the ECA, mr. Klaus Werner e-mail < klaus.werner@eca.eu.int>

SAI of Norway

The SAI of Norway has produced a report on environmental impact assessments. The objective of the audit was to illuminate the extent to which the system of environmental impact assessments functions in accordance with the rules and intentions underlying the introduction of the arrangement. An English translation of the report will soon be available at the homepage of our working group <http//www.rekenkamer.nl/ea/ > under environmental audits.

Year of the Oceans

Initiated by the Unesco, the United Nations have proclaimed 1998 as the year of the Oceans. One of the aims is to make people aware of the importance of the oceans for life on earth. Oceans hold a huge and largely unknown quantity of natural resources and influence the climate. You can find more information on the website:
<www.ocean98.org >.

Justification

In the previous issue of Green Lines, we accidentally have confused the name of Mr. Hindrek Meri, former Auditor General of the Estonian SAI, with that of Mr. Lennart Meri. We apologize for this mistake.

E-mail addresses representatives

The new or corrected e-mail addresses are marked with an *.

continuation e-mail list

Please let us know if the list is incorrect or incomplete.
September 3, 1998