UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD GOES TO OZONE PROTECTION EXPERT IN UNITED NATIONS AGENCY
Press Release
HE/938
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD GOES TO OZONE PROTECTION EXPERT IN UNITED NATIONS AGENCY
19961023 NAIROBI, 23 October (UNEP) -- K. Madhava Sarma, Executive Secretary of the Ozone Secretariat, based at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, has been chosen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to receive one of its 1996 Ozone Protection Awards."Since its birth in 1972, UNEP has been a leading force in ozone protection", said Mr. Sarma. "This award is a great personal honour and also a recognition of the good work of the professionals and general service staff of the Ozone Secretariat."
The UNEP catalysed the international effort to protect the stratospheric ozone layer -- the fragile shield of gas, 20-40 kilometres above the Earth -- which protects the planet from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun. Weakening of this protective shield can lead to increased rates of skin cancer and eye cataracts, to stunted agricultural production, and to the possible disappearance of phytoplankton -- organisms which form the base of the marine food chain.
The 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer focused on cooperative research, information exchange and global commitment to protect the ozone layer that is being damaged by the man-made chemicals known as ozone depleting substances. These commitments were translated into action through the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, amended in 1990 and 1992. The Montreal Protocol has now been ratified by 157 countries, including about 110 from the developing world.
The Montreal Protocol is a dynamic instrument and can be strengthened by parties if new scientific, technical and economic assessments indicate that a faster phase-out schedule for certain listed ozone-depleting substances is needed. In 1991 a Multilateral Fund was established to assist developing countries phase out such substances and, to date, about $500 million has been disbursed. The eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol will take place in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 18 to 29 November next.
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Mr. Sarma worked for the Government of India for 30 years in various capacities as a member of the Indian Administrative Service. He has experience in high positions in the fields of water supply, irrigation, power and environment. Before joining UNEP in 1991 he served for five years in the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
He received his award at a ceremony at the Washington Hilton Hotel last night, during the International Conference on Ozone Protection Technologies. The three-day meeting ends today.
For more information, please contact: Jim Sniffen, Information Officer, UNEP New York, tel: 212-963-8094, fax: 212-963-7341, e-mail: sniffenj@un.org
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