Ozone layer depletion and how to avoid it has been the focus of a series of meetings held at the Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa in Seef, Bahrain this week.

Organised by the UN Environment Programme in collaboration with the Supreme Council for the Environment (SCE), the event has brought together representatives from 22 governments across the Middle East and North Africa to discuss a framework for phasing out ozone-depleting substances completely, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The best known ozone-depleting substances are chloroflurocarbons, or CFCs, which were commonly used in aerosols and air-conditioning units prior to the implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1989.

However, a number of other chemicals used in agriculture, refrigeration, foam-making and fire-fighting have been identified as harmful to the ozone layer '“ a region of the Earth's atmosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation by providing a shield.

Initiatives

SCE chief executive Dr Mohammed Mubarak Bin Daina told the GDN that Bahrain was actively joining the global fight to protect the ozone layer.

“We fully phased out CFCs by the end of 2010 and now we are phasing out chlorofluorocarbons and managed to reduce the use of those by 10 per cent this year.”

UN resident co-ordinator Peter Grohmann described the series of meetings being held in Bahrain as a 'success story'.

“These meetings help to provide an exchange for the best types of practices.”

The series, which began on Sunday with a two-day regional workshop on the development and operation of certification schemes for technicians working in the refrigeration and air-conditioning servicing sector, concludes tomorrow with a meeting of ozone officers from across West Asia. - TradeArabia News Service