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The Thirteenth Meeting of Parties of the Montreal Protocol will be held in Colombo in October this year. The Protocol requires all Parties to ban exports and imports of controlled substances from and to non-Parties. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone layer came into force in 1987. To date, 175 countries have signed the Montreal Protocol. The Protocol was designed so that the phase out schedules could be revised on the periodic scientific and technological assessments. Sri Lanka ratified the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer in 1989. The Government proposes to phase-out consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) by the year 2005. The action plan includes, inter alia, development of procedures for importation of ODS, system to monitor consumption of ODS, institutional strengthening, enhancement of public awareness and development of investment projects in the foam and refrigeration sectors. In 1974, two scientists identified the cause for the depletion of the Ozone layer as the excessive emission of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The Intergovernmental negotiation for an agreement to prevent further depletion of the Ozone Layer began in 1981. In 1985, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone layer was adopted. The Vienna Convention encourages intergovernmental cooperation on research, systematic observation of the ozone layer, monitoring of CFC production and the exchange of information. The Convention commits its parties to take general measurements to protect human health and the environment, against human activities that modify the ozone layer. The Vienna Convention is a framework agreement and does not contain legally binding controls or targets.
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