5. The establishment of close ties between the ad hoc secretariat and the two units was fundamental, since the contributions of each of the three centres must be immediately made available to the two other bodies concerned. To do that, the Conference secretariat must be given a certain amount of leeway in organizing its work and be provided with the necessary electronic communications facilities. 6. In response to a comment by the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and other questions relating to staffing and the ratio of General Service to Professional staff, he said that the Conference was concerned with a highly specialized field and that the secretariat ought to include highly qualified personnel who could work with specialists from the various agencies who would participate in the Conference. Contributions from those agencies would have to be received, studied and adapted to Conference objectives; that would require the services not only of environmental specialists, but of specialists in development and experts on each agenda item, who would be better equipped to conduct negotiations at the international level. All that called for highly specialized skills, which explained why the number of senior staff was high in comparison with the number of Professionals. Moreover, teams of senior officials from the various organizations concerned would have to meet with the Conference secretariat staff; consequently, there must be enough General Service staff to service those meetings. It should be recalled, however, that those expenditures were for an ad hoc nature and limited to the preparations for and holding of the Conference. 7. As to whether it would be possible to rely more heavily on staff members than on consultants, he said it was difficult, in view of the need not to disrupt 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the establishment of a secretariat for a conference, the need for specialized staff to work with experts from various agencies, and the requirement for electronic communications facilities. The context suggests that the conference is related to international cooperation, likely in a field that involves multiple agencies and experts. The focus on specialized staff and facilities implies a technical or scientific nature, which is consistent with categories related to natural resources, environment, or science and technology.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, Science and technology