industry and environment - DTIE

Chemicals management
The role of customs administrations in environmental
matters is to implement government
policy so as to ensure compliance with
the national and international regulations in
force. It is therefore important that customs,
as a law enforcement service, has appropriate
and sufficient means to effectively combat this
type of fraud.
The World Customs Organization (WCO),
the only independent intergovernmental body
with responsibility for customs matters, was
established in 1952. 1 Its purpose is to enhance
the effectiveness and efficiency of customs
administrations and assist them in contributing
to national development goals, particularly
in the areas of trade facilitation, revenue collection,
protection of society and the security of
the international trade supply chain.
The WCO’s 162 member customs administrations
worldwide are collectively responsible
for processing 98% of world trade.
In terms of environmental protection, the
WCO wishes to take broad-based action insofar
as its Secretariat Directorates are directly
involved :
◆ the Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate
deals with the Harmonized System aspect;
◆ the Compliance and Facilitation Directorate
deals with enforcement and customs
modernization.
The World Customs Organization
Dichlorodifluoro-methane
(CFC-12) discovered in sea
freight concealed inside 72 metal
cans containing antifreeze
(Japan, Port of Tokyo).
Source: Asia/Pacific Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (WCO RILO)
Implementation of international regulations
such as those relating to the environment
requires awareness raising and the training of
customs staff and other law enforcement services.
One of the WCO’s key missions is training
and technical assistance, which are the cornerstone
of any modernization and capacity
building process.
The WCO secretariat currently has five
regional training centres (Azerbaijan, Hungary,
Lebanon, Russian Federation and South
Africa). Other training centres will shortly be
available to the WCO for organizing training
activities for customs officers at national or
regional level. These centres are also available
to the WCO’s partners when training is to be
given to customs services or for awareness
raising of customs partners about WCO missions
and activities.
The WCO e-learning programme has
two inseparable components: an on-line
training management platform, and
interactive multimedia training modules.
There is individual monitoring of training
using tutorship tools and a network
of experts. The system was launched in
June 2003 with a course on customs controls,
intended for customs administrations
only. A module on determining the
customs value of goods will be launched at the
end of June 2004. In 2005 there will be a
course on the Harmonized System (GHS) and
another on customs and CITES.
1. In 1994 the Customs Co-operation Council
adopted the working name World Customs Organization.
The Convention establishing a Customs
Co-operation Council was signed in Brussels
in 1950. The CCC’s inaugural session was held
on 26 January 1953 in the presence of 17 founding
Members. The WCO’s Headquarters are
located at 30 Rue du Marché, Brussels B-1210,
Belgium.
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Training tools
For videos, manuals and other materials that can assist customs officers in
identifying and preventing illegal ODS shipments, see www.uneptie.org/
ozonaction/library/training.
Integrated training workshops
Pilot workshops for customs trainers and national stakeholders were conducted
in New Delhi, India, in November 2001 and in Manila, the Philippines,
in February 2003. Other workshops organized by all the partners have
introduced (and to a certain extent trailed) the Green Customs concept. The
Secretariat of the Basel Convention, CITES, OzonAction, Interpol and the
WCO have organized three regional training seminars for port enforcement
officers (customs, police, coast guards, prosecutors, environmental officers).
Green Customs can serve integrated chemical management
As a result of these preliminary actions, the Green Customs concept has been
introduced to many stakeholders in different international environmental
forums, where it has generated very strong interest and support. The wellreceived
pilot training activities demonstrate that this approach is effective.
The next step will be to secure funding for full-scale integrated training.
To formalize the agreement to cooperate in this area, institutional arrangements
need to be finalized between some of the partners. Other international
organizations and secretariats have also shown an interest in becoming
partners. This approach will be particularly relevant to “chemical cluster”
Conventions that have recently come into force. It is anticipated that training
of customs officers will be an important element of national implementation
of other MEAs, including the Rotterdam and Stockholm
Conventions.
For more information, visit the Green Customs (www.uneptie.org/ozonaction/customs)
and WCO (www.wcoomd.org) web sites.
UNEP encourages public-private
partnership to respond to illegal
ODS trade in ODS
Illegal trade in ODS, principally CFCs, has emerged as a significant
global problem in the past few years, especially in Asia. While much
equipment that is reliant on CFCs still exists in the region, countries
have committed to reduce consumption and production of
these chemicals in line with the Montreal Protocol’s phase-out
schedule. An increase in CFCs smuggling has hampered the takeup
of alternative chemicals.
In February of this year, OzonAction’s Compliance Assistance
Programme (CAP) in the Regional Office for Asia and Pacific organized
a Workshop on “Preventing Illegal Trade: Public Private Partnership”
in Hua Hin, Thailand. It brought together, for the first time
to combat illegal ODS trade, representatives of industry and government
from China, India, the European Union and Russia (which
now no longer produces CFCs), as well as representatives of the
World Bank and two NGOs, the Environmental Investigation
Agency and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
The two-day meeting considered problems caused in Asia by the
burgeoning illegal trade in ODS. Participants, representing 85% of
total global CFC production, committed themselves to greater
cooperation and transparency in sharing information and intelligence
to combat this problem.
The meeting (part of UNEP’s activities to implement the Montreal
Protocol under the Multilateral Fund) recommended a system
of informal information exchange between countries, specific
actions on tackling illegal trade, and follow-up bilateral and regional
initiatives.
60 ◆ UNEP Industry and Environment April – September 2004