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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking the support of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to rid the country of ozone depleting substances (ODS).

The move will enable the customs division to effectively monitor and prevent ODS from entering the country through its borders.

Some of the ODSs include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), halons, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, hydrobromofluorocarbons, chlorobromomethane, and methyl chloroform.

Sensitisation workshop

A sensitisation workshop was organised at the Peduase Valley Resort for customs officers to help them to be conversant with the use of a refrigerant identifier to improve the ODS qualitative monitoring and control capabilities.

Attended by senior customs officers at the various entry points in the country, the workshop also created a platform for interaction between officials from the EPA and the customs officers.

They were taken through topics such as the “Ozone depletion phenomenon,” “International and national response, “ “Licensing and permission procedures”, “climate change, causes and effects and linkages to ozone depletion”, and the “role of customs officers and other key stakeholders.”
Conventions and protocols


Addressing the participants to officially open the workshop, the Executive Director of the EPA, Mr Peter Abum Sarkodie, recalled that Ghana became a party to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1988.

He said apart from that, Ghana was party to the 1989 Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, “and subsequently signed all other related amendments namely; the London, Copenhagen, Montreal and Beijing amendments.”


Mr Sarkodie explained that the signing of those protocol and amendments signified that Ghana had committed itself to the process as well as the efforts of 197 countries globally to restore the depleted ozone layer.

He said under the provisions of the protocol, the country had an obligation to control the consumption of all ozone depleting substances at the national level, “and to achieve this, the monitoring and control role of customs is key.”

The UNDP Deputy Country Director for Operations, Mr Mulugeta Abebe, explained that the Montreal Protocol was designed to reduce the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances to reduce their abundance in the atmosphere.

He said this year marked the 30th anniversary of the protocol and since its ratification in 1989, “Ghana has been and continues to be a model implementer, a country that other African countries learn from in terms of implementation and innovative programmes.”

He acknowledged the crucial role of the customs officers in the implementation, monitoring and control of ODSs in the country and pledged the continuous support in the implementation of trade controls of ODSs.

Donation of refrigerant identifiers

In a related development, the EPA with support from the UNDP, presented six refrigerant identifiers to the customs division for distribution and use at selected active customs border posts to enable customs officers to isolate bad refrigerants from good ones.

The refrigerants, valued at $30,000, would be used by the customs officers to effectively monitor the various entrances into the country to prevent entry of ODSs.

the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the GRA, Mr Bob Senyalah, received the items and reaffirmed the commitment of the customs officers to play their roles effectively in ensuring that Ghana met the international standards and all her international obligations.

He said the refrigerants identifiers would help the Customs to be more effective in the monitoring and control of the kind of refrigerants that entered the country.

Mr Senyalah thanked the EPA and the UNDP for the items and added that his division appreciated the donation. He also gave an assurance that with the sensitisation and the equipment, Ghana would live up to expectation.