WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

1.     OPENING OF THE MEETING, ELECTION OF CO-CHAIRMEN AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

1.1       The Third Meeting of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was opened at 10:00 on Tuesday, 19 March 1996 in the premises of the WMO Headquarters by statements on behalf of the Secretary-General of WMO, Professor G.O.P. Obasi, and on behalf of the Executive Director of UNEP, Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, delivered by Dr. A.S. Zaitsev and Mr. K.M. Sarma respectively. A list of participants is reproduced in Annex A.

1.2       In welcoming the participants to the WMO Headquarters, Dr. Zaitsev underlined that since the aim of this meeting is to review the past and current national activities concerning the state of the ozone research and monitoring, to identify shortcomings and make recommendations it is of direct interest to related WMO activities and WMO is glad to collaborate with the Secretariat of the Vienna Convention in UNEP in jointly calling and hosting the meeting. He stated that in order to meet the "responsibility of WMO for the international coordination of atmospheric science and systematic observations in support of the Vienna Convention", as requested by the Parties to the Convention, WMO continues with vigour to support ozone research and related monitoring activities which the Organization initiated together with the International Ozone Commission nearly 40 years ago.

1.3       During the past three years since the Second Meeting of the Ozone Research Managers, the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion-1994 has been published (WMO Ozone Report No. 37). This report updates the current state of knowledge and was a product of the concentrated efforts of hundreds of scientists and support by NASA and other national and international organizations including UNEP. Unfortunately, statistically significant total ozone reduction continues everywhere except in the equatorial belt and the intensity and size of the Antarctic ozone hole has reached record levels in the last 3 years.

1.4       Furthermore, in order to respond to the requests by the Helsinki meeting of the Parties to the Convention, WMO has continued to give particular emphasis to improvements of the Global Ozone Observing System (GOODS) which has provided the essential data in the study and detection of the depletion of the ozone layer. Now the GOADS is part of a much broader system for environmental monitoring and research - the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW). The Global Atmosphere Watch is also assuring availability of auxiliary data of meteorological parameters and ozone precursor gases needed for better understanding of the ozone changes both in the stratosphere and in the troposphere.

1.5       As the authoritative scientific voice on atmospheric issues within the United Nations family of Agencies, WMO in addition to the scientific assessments during the past three years started issuing near-real-time information on the state of the ozone layer during the Antarctic spring and Northern Hemisphere winter-spring seasons as operational activity. The WMO Northern Hemisphere Ozone Mapping Centre was established in collaboration with the University of Thessaloniki and the ozone analyses and atlases produced provide an enormous wealth of information for studying ozone changes in general and the extremely low ozone values observed during the winter-spring seasons of 1993, 1995 and most recently of 1996. The address on behalf of the Secretary-General concluded by declaring that WMO Secretariat is glad to assist this meeting and will strive for implementation of the relevant recommendations.

1.6.       On behalf of the Executive Director of UNEP Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the Co-ordinator of the Ozone Convention Secretariat in UNEP, Mr. Madhava Sarma welcomed the participants to the meeting. He mentioned the extremely crucial role of ozone research managers in the past in giving sound policy advice to Governments. He detailed how such policy advice has led to fruitful action by the Governments to protect the ozone layer and implementation of the Copenhagen Adjustment and Amendments and most recently the Vienna (December 1995) decisions. He emphasized that the Governments would need research based policy advice for many years to come until the ozone layer is restored to its pre-1970 status. He hoped the meeting would lay down guidelines for future ozone research and monitoring which are also essential for verification of the implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

1.7       He continued "It is appropriate to recall that the 10th Anniversary of the Convention was celebrated in December 1995 in Vienna - with great pride. Many in the world consider the Vienna Convention and its Montreal Protocol as outstanding successes and model for solving other global environmental problems. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the governments listened to the scientists and took the steps recommended to protect the ozone layer. There is no doubt that the atmospheric scientists have started a new trend. They have demonstrated that science can be, and ought to be, the basis for policy. It is this demonstration that won the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry to three ozone scientists, Drs P. Crutzen, M. Molina and Sh. Rowland. It also won the prestigious UNEP Global Ozone Award to four other atmospheric scientists: Dr Dan Albritton, Dr Rumen Bojkov, Dr Joe Farman and Dr Bob Watson. The Global Ozone Award for outstanding contribution for the protection of the ozone layer was awarded for the first time on occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Vienna Convention on 4 December 1996".

1.8       Mr Sarma concluded by saying "As scientists, you know that our job is not over. There is no room for complacency. Even with a full implementation of the Montreal Protocol, it will take a long time for the ozone layer to recover fully. There are more dangers on the way. New factors or substances may endanger the layer in future. Thus there is no full stop to scientific and monitoring study. You had recommended training and technical assistance for developing countries, continued guidance by WMO for the expansion, maintenance and calibration of the GOADS stations, exchange of information and increased public awareness programmed We are happy that the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 1 6th September as the International Day for the preservation of the ozone layer. UNEP hope that you will make use of it to gain public and policy makers support for your important programmes".

1.9       The meeting unanimously elected Mr David A. Warrilow and Prof. Christos Zerefos as cochairmen.

1.10     The Agenda as reproduced in Annex B was adopted.