The UN Environment OzonAction’s Compliance Assistance Programme, Asia and the Pacific Office, organized a thematic meeting on "Risk Profiling for Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Trade" for Customs and Border Control Officers and National Ozone Officers of India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The meeting took place from 20-22 June 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. As noted by Dechen Tsering Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific Office for UN Environment in her opening remarks, “It is important for officials to have a better understanding of how to prevent the illegal trade of ozone-depleting substances, and this workshop will help countries develop strategies for their own local circumstances“.
The growth of the refrigerant market due to demand, changing international trade patterns, and evolving smuggling methods makes control and monitoring of illegal ODS trade more challenging and complex. Globally, risk management is considered the efficient and effective instrument used by customs during cargo clearance to detect and combat illegal trade of controlled commodities. In that process, all data gathered during the documentation check are screened based on risk profiles built upon pre-identified risk indicators, to select high-risk consignments for appropriate enforcement action. In view of that, the countries of South Asia Network prioritized this approach in their policy enforcement components of their HPMPs (HCFC Phase-out Management Plans) and requested UN Environment to assist with more systematic introduction of risk profiling for ODS trade.
The meeting participants reviewed trade control provisions under the Montreal Protocol and the tools developed by UN Environment for the monitoring of trade in ODS. Participants also explored basic risk profiling methodology introduced by a Regional Customs Expert by conducting hands-on exercises on how to identify risk areas, risk indicators, selectivity criteria, and development of risk profiles. Also discussed were the specific risk indicators for ODS trade, the data needs to develop risk profiles for ODS trade, and how the risk management in general can be applied for ODS trade control and facilitation. It was agreed that the risk profiling technique was an effective way to bring additional cost-effective benefits for better prevention of illegal trade in ODS and for control of HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) in light of the Kigali Amendment on HFC phase down to come into effect in 2019.
t the end of the workshop, each country team identified a set of risk indicators for developing risk profiles to deter ODS smuggling tailor made for their own country, depending on the trade patterns and internal management systems. They also made recommendations to strengthen the current ODS trade control systems. It is expected that those profiles would be built into the national risk management system of customs, and specific modules on ODS risk management would also be more prominently integrated into the ongoing capacity building activities for customs by National Ozone Units (NOUs).
One of the participants, Pawan Kumar, Joint Commissioner of India Customs Preventive, noted after the workshop, "Customs-to-customs and customs-to-NOUs network is essential to develop a sustainable fight against illegal trade in ODS, and a dynamic risk profiling integrated into risk management of each country's system is imperative to control illegal trade without impacting trade facilitation at large. Continuous capacity building of frontline officers is also essential."
Experts from World Customs Organization Regional Office for Capacity Building, and Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific, Dutch Environmental Inspectorate, United Nations Organization for Drugs and Crime, and UN Environment Law Division attended the meeting and shared their experiences with participants.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ms Liazzat Rabbiosi
Programme Officer
UN Environment OzonAction
Asia & Pacific Office
Email: liazzat.rabbiosi[at]un.org
