One of the central features of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is that it regulates the international trade of certain chemicals that do harm to our Earth's protective shield, the stratospheric ozone layer, and also contribute to climate change. The treaty relies on compliance and enforcement of national customs regulations, import-export licensing systems, and other laws that restrict or prohibit those substances from entering a country's borders. It is therefore important for countries that export such chemicals to know what a specific destination country allows or does not allow to be imported into its territory, and vice versa for importing countries. If strategic information about such shipments is exchanged before a shipment leaves the dock, unwanted or illegal trade could be avoided. UNEP OzonAction has long recognised this need and developed a private platform for the focal points – National Ozone Units – to communicate confidentially between themselves: the online Informal Prior Informed Consent (iPIC).
iPIC is a voluntary and informal mechanism of information exchange on intended trade between countries in ozone depleting substances (ODS) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), mixtures containing these as well as products and equipment. It enables countries to share details of eligible importers and exporters and designated iPIC focal points can carry out simple consultations with their trading partner countries prior to intended shipments of controlled substances.
After OzonAction released the revised and improved platform a few months ago, there has been an impressive revived interest in the platform and a steep uptake in its usage. To provide countries with more information on the revamped iPIC platform and demonstrate its functionality, OzonAction recently organised a series of regional webinars on the issue.
The webinars were held under the theme: “iPIC - Streamlined and Updated – how can your Country benefit?” They provided an introduction and overview as a quick refresher and outlined the improvements of the iPIC platform and its usefulness to countries in monitoring and controlling trade in controlled substances. This was followed by a live demonstration of the platform. The webinars concluded with ample time for questions and discussion.
The first of these webinars for the Caribbean region was held on Wednesday, 8 July at 9:00 Caribbean time, and attended by 17 participants from the region and further afield, including Argentina, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The second webinar held for the Anglophone Africa region was opened by James Curlin, the Acting Head of OzonAction. It was held on Wednesday, 19 August at 3:00 pm Nairobi time (EAT) and was attended by 40 participants including those from 20 Anglophone Africa countries: Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The events were very well received, and there were several questions and good discussions. As a result of the webinars and ensuing follow up, many new members signed up and others updated their details and information in iPIC. Some countries that could not participate accepted the offer of subsequent individual presentations or requested follow up for assistance with access and use of the platform. OzonAction looks forward to hosting similar webinars in other regions as required.
Click on links to see the flyer on the new iPIC platform and visit the iPIC Online platform.