The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and UNEP Environment Assessment Programme for Asia Pacific (EAP.AP) agree to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding for implementing the “Video-conferencing (VC) for the ASEAN Secretariat and the Subregional Firefighting Arrangement (SRFA) Member Countries” project.

Video-conferencing (VC) substitutes the need for actual physical presence of SRFA representatives in meetings, and therefore reduces a significant amount of travel costs and time. The objectives of this project are to:

1. Establish VC facilities in the ASEAN Secretariat and SRFA member countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore; and
   
   

2. Allow the ASEAN Secretariat and SRFA member countries to conduct more frequent, more effective, and less expensive SRFA working group meetings using the VC facilities.

1. VC facilities installed and ready for use by the ASEAN Secretariat and SRFA member countries; and
   
   

2. A number of official SRFA working group meetings conducted using the videoconference facilities.

Activities

Of Output 1:

UNEP will provide a set of basic VC facilities for the ASEAN Secretariat, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, the ASEAN Secretariat will be provided with a Multipoint Conferencing Unit (MCU) and a PC, which will allow a multi-site VC.

Upon receipt of the VC equipment, the ASEAN Secretariat and the SRFA member countries need to obtain Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) lines through their respective local telecommunication authority, and prepare installation of the VC facilities and network connections. The UNEP will cover the costs for installing the VC equipment and the ISDN lines at the ASEAN Secretariat, Indonesia’s Ministry of the Environment, Malaysia’s Department of Environment, and Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment.

UNEP will also cover the maintenance cost of VC equipment for two years and operational (i.e. monthly charge and usage charge) cost depending upon the budget. UNEP’s support will only be used to conduct official SRFA meetings, including meetings of the Working Group on SRFA for Borneo and meetings of the Working Group on SRFA for Sumatra. The network configuration will involve the ASEAN Secretariat as the mother hub, the UNEP EAP.AP’s office in Bangkok, Indonesia’s Ministry of the Environment, Malaysia’s Department of Environment, and Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment. Brunei Darussalam’s Ministry of Development would be invited to participate in the meetings using its own VC facilities.

1. A set of basic VC facilities provided by UNEP EAP.AP for the ASEAN Secretariat, Indonesia’s Ministry of the Environment, Malaysia’s Department of Environment, and Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment.
   
   

2. Installation, maintenance and operational (monthly charge and usage charge) costs to be covered by UNEP EAP.AP for two years depending upon the budget (please refer to ANNEX 1: Cost Estimate).

The ASEAN Secretariat will be the co-ordinating agency for the VC activities. The ASEAN Secretariat will be responsible for the following:

1. Upon receipt of the VC facilities from UNEP, obtain ISDN lines through the local telecom authority;
   
   

2. Install the VC facilities and network connections at the ASEAN Secretariat building;
   
   

3. Obtain details and schedule of payment for the installation, operational and maintenance costs;
   
   

4. Co-ordinate and initiate the conduct of SRFA working group meetings using the VC facilities; and
   
   

5. Handle payment of the installation, operational and maintenance costs of the videoconferencing at the ASEAN Secretariat, Indonesia’s Ministry of the Environment, Malaysia’s Department of Environment, and Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will be responsible for the following:

1. Upon receipt of the VC facilities from UNEP, obtain ISDN lines through the local telecom authority;
   
   

2. Install the VC facilities and network connections at the respective building;
   
   

3. Present respective details and schedule of payment for the installation, operational and maintenance costs to the ASEAN Secretariat; and
   
   

4. Conduct SRFA working group meetings using the VC facilities.

Signing of MoU            January 2000

Installation                    January 2000

Testing of facilities        February 2000

Launching                    February 2000

Implementation            February 2000 to January 2002

Upon signing of this MOU, a lump sum amount of US$58,000 will be made available by UNEP EAP.AP to ASEAN through the ASEAN Secretariat. The funds will be deposited to the following bank account:

Name :        UNEP Contributions for ASOEN-HTTF Projects
A/C No.:    253.36.150 (US$)
Bank:        ABN AMRO Bank Jakarta Branch
                JI. lr. H. Juanda No. 23-24
                Jakarta, Indonesia

The ASEAN Secretariat will directly handle the payment of the installation, operational (monthly and usage charges) and maintenance costs (up to two years of operation) to the respective local telecom authority in the SRFA member countries. Upon signing of the MOU, the SRFA member countries will need to present the following to the ASEAN Secretariat, copied to the UNEP EAP.AP:

1. Bank details (of local telecom authority) where the payments of installation costs and monthly bills (operational and maintenance costs) will be made; and
   
   

2. Schedule of payment (when the payments should be made to the local telecom authority).

Upon receipt of these letters, the ASEAN Secretariat will disburse the funds according to the requested schedule of payment. Attached is the “Additional Reporting Requirements for Projects Funded Under the Funds Held in Trust at the ASEAN Secretariat”, which should be followed as disbursement and reporting procedures (ANNEX 2).

The UNEP’s contribution will only be used to cover the costs for convening official SRFA working group meetings initiated by the ASEAN Secretariat. The costs for convening meetings other than specified above shall be borne by the respective country that initiates the calls. The same principle also applies to the ASEAN Secretariat.

The co-ordinating agency, namely the ASEAN Secretariat, will be responsible for the submission of a final report on the implementation of activities to the ASOEN-Haze Technical Task Force and UNEP EAP.AP one month after project implementation ends. The final report should describe the achievement of project objectives and attach all relevant documents produced during the implementation period. A financial report, which will detail all project expenditures and report the unexpended balance, should be certified before it is submitted to the UNEP EAP.AP.

ANNEX 1

COST ESTIMATE
  

ASEAN SECRETARIAT

• One time installation

        -     1 E1/PRI (Primary Rate Interface, 30B+D)                    Rp.       7,000,000
               ISDN line for MCU - 4 users, 384 kbps
        -     3 BRI (Basic Rate Interface, 2B+D) ISDN                    Rp.       1,100,000
        -       Installation of additional cable                                       Rp.       880,000

• Monthly subscription

        -     1 El/PRI ISDN line for MCU - 4 users, 384 kbps          Rp.       800,000
        -     3 BRI ISDN                                                                  Rp.       80,000

• ISDN modem/ NT1 box (4 @ US$180)                            US$       720
  

• Usage charge (unit)

-      1 El/PRI ISDN line for MCU- 4 users, 384 kbps

       Local
       Voice :                                      Rp l67/ unit/ channel
       Data :                                        Rp 227/ unit/ channel

       Long Distance
       Voice :                                      Rp l34/ unit/ channel
       Data :                                        Rp l82/ unit/ channel

       International
       Voice :                     Based on zone and usage period x 1.2
       Data :                       Unit voice x 1.36

-      3 BRI ISDN : same as PRI ISDN

-      ppn 10%

MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT (BAPEDAL), INDONESIA

• One time installation    

        -     3 BRI (Basic Rate Interface, 2B+D) ISDN    Rp.       1,100,000

• Monthly subscription

        -     3 BRI ISDN                                                  Rp.       80,000

• ISDN modem/ NT1 box                

        -     3 @ US$180                                                 US$       540

• Usage charge (unit)

 -     1 El/PRI ISDN line for MCU- 4 users, 384 kbps

      Local
Voice :                      Rp. 167 / unit / channel
 Data :                       Rp. 227 / unit / channel

      Long Distance
Voice :                      Rp. l34 / unit / channel
Data :                        Rp. l82 / unit / channel

      International
Voice :                     Based on zone and usage period x 1.2
Data :                       Unit voice x 1.36

-      3 BRI ISDN: same as PRI ISDN

-      ppn 10%

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, MALAYSIA

•  One time installation

     -     3 ISDN lines @ RM150                                               RM      450.00

• Monthly subscription

          -     3 ISDN lines @ RM77 (incl. rental of modem*)             RM      231.00

• ISDN modem/ NT1 box

          -     As above*

• Usage charge

        Local data traffic:
                    First three minutes: RM0.09 per channel
                    After three minutes: RM0.03 per channel

        Overseas data traffic:
                    Prevailing international dialing rates dependent
                    on countries the calls are made

MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT, SINGAPORE

• Onetime installation

          -     3 ISDN lines @ S$l00 :            S$       300

• Monthly subscription

          -     3 ISDN lines @ S$15 :            S$       45

• ISDN modem/ NT1 box

          - 3 @ S$400 :                                S$       1,200

• Usage charge

          Rate x minutes used x 6 channels (3 ISDN lines @ 2 channels each)
          Local data traffic:
                    Standard hours 1.4 cents per min per channel
                    Economy hours 0.7 cents per min per channel

          Overseas data traffic:
                    Prevailing international dialing rates dependent
                    on countries the calls are made.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECTS
FUNDED UNDER THE FUNDS HELD IN TRUST
AT THE ASEAN SECRETARIAT

Guiding Principle

1. The ASEAN Secretariat shall be held fully accountable for the development cooperation funds held in its trust. To uphold its accountability, the ASEAN Secretariat shall in turn be given the authority to require all project implementing agencies to submit duly certified or audited statement of utilisation of all project funds.
   
   

2. The certifying officer or auditor should at all times be independent from the project’s implementing unit. For purposes of these guidelines, independence shall connote that the certifying officer or auditor may belong to the same organisation as the implementing unit, provided that the certifying officer or auditor reports to another unit of a higher hierarchy than the implementing unit.

3. The disbursements for projects which require more than US$200,000 shall be done on a staggered basis, with subsequent submissions contingent upon the satisfaction of reporting requirements as discussed under the section on Requirements After Project Completion/ Termination. The ASEAN Secretariat shall be authorised to withhold further remittances to the same project pending the satisfactory submission of certified statement of utilisation of funds.

4. Prior to project implementation, an implementing unit, which would be heldfully accountable for the project funds’ utilisation, shall be identified and communicated by the project proponent to the ASEAN Secretariat. The implementing unit so identified shall bear the responsibility for the piecemeal remittances for the projects (i.e., per diems, airfares, etc.), in accordance with the approved project of the budget.
   
   

5. Upon notification of the identification of the implementing unit, the ASEAN Secretariat shall provide the implementing unit a copy of these guidelines and, where necessary, a copy of the dialogue partner’s guidelines.
   
   

6. The implementing unit shall designate an official bank account for the project. The bank account shall have at least 2 signatories. Request for disbursements shall be accompanied by the following: bank account name, bank account number, bank name, bank address and a certification regarding the authorised signatories for the bank account. All project related disbursements by the ASEAN Secretariat shall be made only to this account. At no time and under no circumstances shall the ASEAN Secretariat remit project funds to an individual person(s) account(s).
   
   

7. The name, designation and specimen signature of the designate auditor or certifying officer for the statement of funds utilisation shall be submitted by the implementing unit through the ASEAN National Secretariat for endorsement to the ASEAN Secretariat using the attached form.

8. Duly certified or audited statements of funds utilisation shall be submitted by the implementing unit to the ASEAN Secretariat within one month of project completion / termination.
   
   

9. The implementing unit shall fully remit all unexpended balances to the ASEAN Secretariat within one month of the submission of the audited or certified statement.
   
   

10. Unremitted unexpended balances shall be reported by the ASEAN Secretariat to the ASEAN Standing Committee for its appropriate action.

11. Official receipts for all remittances received from the ASEAN Secretariat shall be issued by the implementing unit, duly signed by the authorised bank signatories, in favor of the ASEAN Secretariat.
    
    

12. Official receipts for all receipts of unexpended balances shall be issued by the ASEAN Secretariat, in favor of the concerned implementing unit, with copy furnished to the certifying officer or auditor for the project.

13. These guidelines shall be applicable to all projects implemented with development cooperation funds held in trust at the ASEAN Secretariat.
    
    

14. In case of conflict between the reporting requirements of individual dialogue partners or donor agencies, the ASEAN Secretariat shall ensure that the reporting requirements of the individual dialogue partners or donor agencies are fully complied with. Therefore, the ASEAN Secretariat shall have the authority to require the submission of audited financial statements if so required by the dialogue partners or donor agencies, notwithstanding the general provision that member countries have the option to submit audited or certified financial statements.
    
    

15. These guidelines shall take effect upon approval by the ASEAN Standing Committee.