Bangkok--Sep 17--UNISBKK
News Comes as Countries Air Cartoon 'Ozzy Ozone' to Raise Awareness of
Threats to the Earth?s Protective Shield
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
Countries are today being urged to re-double efforts to assess the quantities of an ozone damaging chemical being used to kill pests on shipments of rice, maize, nuts and other big commodity export crops.
Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), said "significant knowledge gaps" existed on the true levels of methyl bromide being used around the world.
He said this could have implications for the global effort to repair the 20 mile high ozone layer which filters out harmful levels of the sun's
ultraviolet rays.
Methyl bromide, a pesticide and one of the major ozone depleting substances in use, is being phased out for some key agricultural purposes under an international agreement called the Montreal Protocol. The phase-out covers
such uses as fumigation of soils and pest control on farms.
However other pest-control purposes, involving exports of commodity crops, animal fodder, cut flowers, hides and consignments in wooden pallets, are
exempted from the international phase out.
Some experts estimate that close to a fifth of methyl bromide use
world-wide could be excluded from control measures under these Quarantine
and Pre-shipment exemptions with the amounts growing in some regions.
Klaus Toepfer, whose comments are being made to mark the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, said: "Efforts to repair the ozone
layer have been one of the great environmental success stories. Scientists
estimate that, by the middle of the century and as a result of the phasing out on numerous ozone damaging chemicals, the ozone layer will be repaired. But this is far from guaranteed".
Under the Montreal Protocol, developed countries are required to end their use of methyl bromide on farms by the end of this year.
However some developed world farmers in Australia, Europe and North
America, have expressed concern that the alternatives to methyl bromide may, in some cases, be less effective and more expensive.
Their governments are seeking so-called Critical Use Exemptions beyond the 2005 deadline which will be discussed again when countries gather in Prague, Czech Republic, in November.
"The quantities used on farms is very well understood and following an
extraordinary meeting of the parties to Montreal Protocol in March this year, I hope we are now on a trajectory where its controlled uses are set to diminish. However the precise levels of methyl bromide being used for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes, where the chemical is used to kill insects like long horned and bark beetles, wood boring wasps, moths and other pests, remains uncertain," said Mr Toepfer.
He urged countries to back a global survey, being carried out for UNEP's Ozone Secretariat, so that governments can be better informed on the
precise quantities of the chemical being used globally.
This year's observance of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, a commemorative day designated by the General Assembly, has
the theme "Save our Sky: Ozone Friendly Planet, Our Target".
Countries worldwide will be undertaking public awareness activities to
celebrate achievements in complying with this treaty and to highlight remaining challenges before the job is done.
UNEP is helping countries by providing guidance and materials to support the 16 September celebrations. Principal among these is a new animated
awareness video, Ozzy Ozone, in which the main character, an ozone molecule, takes viewers on a voyage of discovery to find out exactly what is attacking the Earth's protective ozone layer. It explains how children can protect themselves from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation caused by ozone depletion.
More than 56 governments will broadcast this video on their national
television channels today, reaching millions of viewers worldwide. The film
is available from UNEP in English, French and Spanish and has been subsequently translated into 15 national languages by the governments themselves.
This video uses key messages and concepts identified in the Communication Strategy for Global Compliance with the Montreal Protocol, a UNEP-developed information strategy linking awareness to national compliance obligations under this international treaty.
The global launch of the video is taking place in Barbados as the Ozzy
Ozone character was originally created by the Government of Barbados for use in its national awareness programme, and then shared with the world through UNEP.
Today, UNEP is also announcing that the United Nations headquarters in
Gigiri, Nairobi, is ozone-friendly with equipment such as fridges on the premises free of any ozone-depleting substances. It is hoped that the initiative can be extended to all UN complexes across the globe using guidelines developed earlier by UNEP's OzonAction Programme.
Meanwhile, an Asia Pacific region-wide celebration of Ozone day is being held for the first time today in Kathmandu, Nepal, where awareness raising
activities include the launch of the booklet "Shield: South Asia's compliance with the Montreal Protocol".
The key issues in Asia and the Pacific - the region with the largest
producing and consuming countries of ozone depleting substances - are to ensure governments meet their phase out commitments for use of CFCs, halons
and methyl bromide, and to prevent illegal trade.
Activities in other parts of the region include Mongolia, where ozone day messages are being emailed to key decision makers in, a screen saver is
being distributed, and lectures given at tertiary institutes; Fiji, where ozone officials have planned newspapers, radio and television publicity and a ceremony to present certificates to customs officers who have completed training in detecting illegal ozone depleting substances; Malaysia, where radio listeners, school children and consumers are being targeted with publicity material; and the Republic of Korea, where posters produced through a nationwide competition among primary, middle and high schools are being distributed.
For More Information Please Contact Eric Falt, Spokesperson/Director of
UNEP's Division of Communications and Public Information, on Tel: 254 2 623292, Mobile: 254 (0) 733 682656, E-mail: [email protected] or Nick Nuttall, UNEP Head of Media, on Tel: 254 2 623084, Mobile: 0733 632755; E-mail: [email protected], or Robert Bisset, Spokesperson for Europe, on Tel: 33 1 4437 7613, Mobile: 33 6 2272 5842, E-mail: [email protected] or Tim Higham, Regional Information Officer, UNEP, Bangkok, on Tel +66 2 288 2127, Mobile +66 9 1283803, E-mail [email protected].
OzonAction Web site, including Ozzy Ozone in streaming video, is available at http://www.uneptie.org/ozonaction/library/video/ozzy.html
UNEP's Ozone Secretariat can be accessed at http://www.unep.org/ozone/ End.
--InfoQuest (NM)--