The UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (ROAP) is coordinating a series of workshops to train enforcement officials in the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu in enforcing import controls on hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in 2013 under the Montreal Protocol.
21 December 2012: The Compliance Assistance Programme of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (ROAP) is completing a series of Montreal Protocol Enforcement Training Workshops to help customs and enforcement officers in 12 Pacific small island developing States (SIDS) prepare for their Protocol commitments involving hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The national workshops, launched in July 2012, are due to be completed in January 2013.
The workshops are managed by National Ozone Officers with technical support from the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) Compliance Assistance Programme and the Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) Secretariat, and financial support from the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund (MLF). They are linked to the regional HCFC Phaseout Management Plan (HPMP) covering the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Under the Protocol, starting in 2013 developing countries must freeze their HCFC imports at the levels matching the average of their 2009-2010 consumption. According to the Ozone Secretariat, HCFCs are the ODS category most imported by Pacific islands. The regional HPMP calls for building the capacity of enforcement officers. The workshops usually train customs, environment and other enforcement officials in approaches and best practice in control, monitoring and enforcement of trade in ODS and the Protocol’s requirements, while promoting cooperation among enforcement agencies in region. Customs brokers, shipping agents and other key stakeholders also are invited to attend the workshops.
The series began with a 10-12 July 2012 workshop in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, folowed by: Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 6-10 August; Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 3-5 October; Majuro, Marshall Islands, from 7-9 November; Koror, Palau, from 1-2 November; and Apia, Samoa, from 4-7 December. Similar workshops are scheduled for Tuvalu from 16-18 January 2013, and Kiribati from 23-25 January 2013. [UNEP Press Release]