Distr.
GENERAL

UNEP/OzL.Conv.5/Bur.1/2
14 December 2000

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

BUREAU OF THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE
OF THE PARTIES TO THE VIENNA CONVENTION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF THE OZONE LAYER

Extraordinary meeting
Ouagadougou, 12 December 2000

REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE VIENNA CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE OZONE LAYER
ON THE WORK OF ITS EXTRAORDINARY MEETING

1. The extraordinary meeting of the Bureau of the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was held at the International Conference Centre, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 12 December 2000.

I. OPENING OF THE MEETING

2. The meeting was opened at 1.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 12 December 2000 by Mr. Fabio Fajardo Moros (Cuba), President of the Bureau of the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties, who welcomed the participants.
3. It was attended by the following members of the Bureau, who had been elected to their respective posts by the Fifth Meeting of the Parties, held in Beijing from 29 November to 3 December 1999:

President: Mr. Fabio Fajardo-Moros (Cuba)

Vice-Presidents: Ms. Toure Idiatou Camara (Guinea)

Mr. Choi Jai-Chul (Republic of Korea)

Mr. Blaise Horisberger (Switzerland)

Rapporteur: Ms. Marija Teriosina (Lithuania)

4. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Michael Graber (Deputy Secretary and Officer in Charge, Ozone Secretariat), Mr. Nelson Sabogal (Senior Scientific Affairs Officer, Ozone Secretariat), Mr. Michael Proffitt, (Senior Scientific Officer, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Mr. Pieter Aucamp (Co-Chair of the Scientific Assessment Panel), Mr. Ted Kapiga (Chief, Trust Funds Section, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)), Mr. Frank Pinto (Chief, Montreal Protocol Unit, UNDP), Mr. Alejandro Ramirez (Programme Officer, UNEP/DTIE).
5. A list of participants is annexed to the present report.

II. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

6. The Bureau adopted the following agenda, contained in document UNEP/OzL.Conv.5/Bur.1/1:

1. Opening of the meeting.
2. Adoption of the agenda.
3. Review of the implementation of Decision V/3. Recommendations of the fourth meeting of the Ozone Research Managers, of the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention, held in Beijing from 29 November to 3 December 1999.
4. Other matters.
5. Adoption of the report.
6. Closure of the meeting.

III. REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISION V/3, "RECOMMENDATIONS

7. Mr. Nelson Sabogal (Senior Scientific Affairs Officer, Ozone Secretariat), after welcoming all participants on behalf of Mr. Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of UNEP, recalled that the Conference of the Parties, had adopted decision V/3, on recommendations of the Fourth Meeting of the Ozone Research Managers. In subparagraph (g) of decision V/3, the Parties requested WMO and UNEP to pursue ways of enhancing the training and baseline monitoring of ozone and UV-B radiation, and related research in developing countries, bearing in mind that these goals can only be accomplished with assistance from international funding organizations such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and with the direct support of the Parties to the Convention to such programmes through the appropriate mechanisms.
8. He said that the representatives of UNEP/Ozone Secretariat and WMO had met just after the twentieth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, held in Geneva in July 2000, and had agreed that WMO would prepare an appropriate draft project proposal. Accordingly, WMO had formulated a draft project proposal for a multifaceted, five-year programme to build capacity for the detection of stratospheric ozone recovery in developing countries.
9. The proposal had subsequently been submitted to the UNEP-GEF Office, which had explained that the GEF criteria for project approval had evolved. Since the activity proposed was not closely tied to short-term abatement of ODS itself, and to the capacity of national agencies to manage ODS directly, the project appeared difficult to support in the context of the GEF operational programme.
10. In light of the fact that UNEP and WMO had been given a clear mandate by the Parties in their decision V/3, and considering the difficulties in obtaining funding from GEF for the project proposal that had been prepared in conformity with the decision, the Ozone Secretariat was seeking guidance from the Bureau on how to proceed in finding funding for the project.
11. Mr. Michael Proffitt, (Senior Scientific Officer, WMO), gave a brief presentation on the project proposal, and drew the Members' attention to a non-paper on the subject entitled "Capacity-building for detection of stratospheric ozone recovery in developing countries". The US $2 million project was justified by the need for continuous monitoring to show that the ozone layer was recovering and that the controls under the Vienna Convention and its Montreal Protocol were having an effect. Under the project, five new ground-based ozone sonde stations would be set up and two new Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) regional centres would be established in developing countries in the southern hemisphere. In addition, more advanced training would be provided to the host countries with the goal of increasing their capacities to participate in international scientific activities and to use the data they produced locally. Maintaining the present ground-based measurement programmes for ozone independent of the satellite measurements was necessary in order to track the expected return of the ozone layer with the same confidence with which its depletion had been documented.
12. In answer to a question from one Member of the Bureau, Mr. Proffitt explained that the southern regions of Latin America and Africa had been recently identified through statistical studies as being the ideal locations for well-calibrated ground-based ozone measurements. Moreover, while satellites gave the advantage of global coverage, data from ground-based stations were more accurate. In addition, the capacities of the developing countries in the field of ground-based monitoring needed to be strengthened.
13. Mr. Proffitt presented a number of data on the past and current status of the ozone, stressing that the measured decrease in ozone levels was continuing, but that some unusual developments in the extent and duration of the ozone hole had been manifested in the current year. People in some developing countries were already being exposed to unacceptably high UV levels. It was clear that the required knowledge and understanding of the processes taking place in the ozone layer could only be attained by an increase in reliable measurement activities.
14. In concluding, he pointed out that WMO, with its 30-year experience in the field of atmospheric data, was well suited to make the proposed project really work in practice. Moreover, the two additional ground stations would also contribute valuable data on greenhouse gases and climate change constituents.
15. The observer from UNDP expressed strong support for the implementation of the project and recalled with pride UNDP's work with WMO in the first phase of the programme. He observed that the project proposal met two of the goals of the Turner Foundation, by which funding was disbursed through the United Nations Foundation, namely: an environmental aim, and safeguarding the health of women and children in the developing countries. He proposed that, if the proposal were not eligible for consideration by GEF, the United Nations Foundation should be approached by WMO for possible funding. A further advantage lay in the fact that the procedures for submitting project proposals to that body were less complicated than was the case with GEF.
16. Mr. Pieter Aucamp, Co-Chair of the Scientific Assessment Panel, expressing strong support for the project, stressed that the current and future work of the Panel depended on the availability of data from measurements, particularly those calibrated by ground stations. More such stations were also needed in order to provide more data on the short-lived components of the troposphere.
17. Mr. Sabogal, pointing out that the Trust Fund of the Vienna Convention had accumulated a surplus of around US $1 million, wondered whether the Bureau could recommend that some of that surplus could be drawn upon.
18. The Treasurer explained that the 1999 accounts of the Trust Fund contained around US $300,000 in pledges for the year, but also revealed unpaid pledges of around US $700,000, and the Parties had shown that they were reluctant to write off the outstanding pledges. The Conference of the Parties had decided to plough the surplus back into the Trust Fund, in order not to increase the burden of contributions on the Parties. He also expressed support for the suggestion that the United Nations Foundation be approached.
19. One Member noted that, when the Trust Fund showed a surplus, Parties were not motivated to pay their contributions merely in order to increase that surplus, without a sense that the money was being used constructively. He wondered whether those Parties with outstanding pledges could be approached to provide funding for the project on bilateral basis, possibly credited against their outstanding contributions to the Trust Fund. At the same time, he sought information on whether the Bureau had the competence to make recommendations with budgetary implications, without bringing them to the attention of the next Conference of the Parties in 2002.
20. The Observer from UNDP noted that the United Nations Foundation preferred to consider projects that had already generated some counterpart funding. He believed that limited funding, perhaps ten per cent, could possibly be provided from the surplus in the Trust Fund of the Vienna Convention, and that could be used to leverage the remainder of the funding required from the United Nations Foundation. That would also demonstrate the commitment of the Parties to the implementation of the project.
21. The Bureau recommended that:

1. The World Meteorological Organization project proposal, entitled "Capacity building for detection of stratospheric ozone recovery in developing countries", be funded;
2. The project proposal be submitted by WMO for funding to the United Nations Foundation;
3. The Secretariat should investigate the possibility of potential co-financing for this activity.

4. OTHER MATTERS

22. No other matters were raised for discussion at the meeting.

5. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT

23. The meeting entrusted the Ozone Secretariat and the Rapporteur with the finalization of the report of the meeting.

6. CLOSURE OF THE MEETING

24. The President declared the meeting closed at 3 p.m. on Tuesday,12 December 2000.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE BUREAU OF THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE VIENNA CONVENTION

OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO, 12 DECEMBER 2000