The specialists of the Ozone Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection of Turkmenistan organized a training seminar for the Customs service employees.The training was held in the framework of the joint project implemented by the agro-ecological agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on the phased reduction of HCFC in Turkmenistan.
The seminars are held regularly with the aim to familiarize the Customs service employees with the important profile information.The main task of the Ozone Centre is to collect and process the information on ODS circulation within the country.
The specialists of the centre collaborate with the state organizations, including the Turkmenstandartlary Main State Service, the Turkmenhimiya State Concern, the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan as well as the international organizations to ensure the control over the use of freon in compliance with the Montreal Protocol.
Today, there are four generations of refrigerants, the latter with a low greenhouse effect: hydrocarbons, isobutane, propane, as well as ammonia that is known from the last century and safe for climate.
Manufacturers create new alternatives to existing gases.Turkmenistan implements the National Programme on Phaseout of Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) that is approved by the Commission on the fulfillment of the obligations under the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol.
Our country ratified these documents in 1993.Later on, Turkmenistan adopted four amendments to the Montreal Protocol - the London, Copenhagen, Montreal and Beijing, strictly following its obligations.At present, Turkmenistan has taken the preparatory measures to join the Kigali Amendment that was recently adopted by the international community.
The scientific documentary film on the problems of the preservation of the ozone layer, prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the overview of the international agreements and the national legislation on the ozone layer protection were presented during the seminar.
In this regard, the role of customs officers in securing control over the import and export of substances and mixtures containing prohibited or regulated ODS was emphasized.The seminar participants also focused on the import quotas, the licensing scheme, the aspects of registering imported equipment containing refrigerants, as well as the code system for ODS-free and ODS-containing mixtures.
In the final part of the seminar, customs officers attended a short practical course on the prevention of illegal trade in obsolete refrigerants, as well as testing procedures and received the necessary consultative assistance.