Montreal Protocol: Thematic Workshop for African States on Survey of Alternatives to Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)
 In 2015 the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund Secretariat to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer approved the Project on Survey of ODS alternatives at the national level in 42 African countries. UN Environment agreed to co-operate with the National Ozone Units in the respective countries at the national level to undertake the survey on the current consumption of  alternatives to ODS and provide future projections of growth patterns by substance and (to the extent feasible) by sector. The Secretariat prepared a guide to be used as a reference in the preparation and finalization of the surveys of the ODS alternatives in Article 5 countries (UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/75/77/Rev.1).
The results of the surveys are intended to enable the respective countries to have comprehensive information regarding current consumption and future trends of consumption of alternatives to ODS in various sectors and subsectors, supply chain and availability in the market, regulatory measures regarding alternatives to ODS and barriers to the adoption of alternative to ODSs that minimizes environmental impact taking into account energy efficiency.
UN Environment (Regional Office for Africa) partnered with ECI to organize a thematic workshop on the ODS alternatives surveys. The meeting was held at Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge in Naivasha, Kenya from 30th November 2016 – 2nd December 2016. By the time of the workshop some countries had already drafted their reports and submitted the same for review while other countries were still struggling to draft their reports.
The meeting brought together 29 Ozone officers and national experts of 26 countries conducting the ODS alternatives survey. Facilitators and resource persons included National Ozone Unit representatives; consultants from various African countries, representatives of UN Environment and the Ozone Secretariat.
The main objective of the thematic workshop was to assist the African countries which were implementing the ODS alternatives surveys to finalize their reports on time so that submission to the Multilateral Fund Secretariat is done on time.
The workshop provided an opportunity for UN Environment and representatives of the respective National Ozone Units (NOUs) in Africa were to:
- Review the status of ODS Alternatives Surveys preparation including achievements and challenges.
- Reflect on the results of the ODS alternatives surveys including projections of growth patterns by substance and by sector.
- Share approaches and experiences from the ODS Alternatives Surveys preparation.
The workshop report may be accessed here.
Following the workshop, all the countries represented were able to prepare and finalize their ODS Alternatives Survey Reports and the same have since been submitted to the Multilateral Fund Secretariat for further action.