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Participants at the Workshop
Day 2
St. George’s, Grenada: November 28m 2013.
Day two of the workshop was equally impressive as day one with respect to the quality of the presentations and the lively interaction and participatory approach by the participants.
Day two focused primarily on: (1) ODS Classification presented by Mr. Gerard James, (2) Support Network and Mechanisms for Customs Officers presented by Dr. Ezra Clark, (3) Illegal Trade Prevention Network in the Caribbean, also by Mr. Gerard james. The last presentation on Identification of ODSs featured among other areas a practical demonstration in the use of refrigerant identifiers and leak detectors. This session was facilitated by Mr. Michael Mitchell of the Grenada Refrigeration, Ar-Condition and Ventilating Association (GRAVA).
The curtains came down on day 2 with an evaluation of the two days and the presentation of Certificates of Participation to the eight Customs Brokers who attended, since it was their final day at the workshop. Mr. Marco Pinzon of UNEP, ROLAC and Dr. Ezra Clark of UNEP OzonAction, Paris assisted with the presentation of the certificates.
Day one:
St. George’s Grenada: November 27, 2013.
Twenty three participants comprising of Customs Officers, Customs Brokers, National Ozone Officers and Bureau of Standards Officers attended Day One of the three day Regional Workshop on “Protecting Caribbean Borders from Illegal Trade in Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) held at the Flamboyant Hotel and Villas. Participants were drawn from ten countries of the English Speaking Caribbean and Haiti Ozone Network – Antigua and Barbuda (2), Belize (2), Dominica (2), Guyana (2), Jamaica (2), St. Lucia (1), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2), Suriname (1), Trinidad and Tobago (3) and host Country Grenada (6).
During the opening ceremony remarks were delivered by Mr. Marco Pinzon of UNEP’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), Dr. Ezra Clarke from UNEP OzonAction Branch in Paris and Mr. Valentino Sawney, President of the Association of Grenada Customs Brokers Inc.
Several presentations were made on Day one: National Ozone Officer for Grenada, Mr. Leslie Smith presented on the Science of the Ozone Layer, Mr. Marco Pinzon presented on the International Response and the Impact of the Montreal Protocol. Dr. Ezra Clarke introduced the subject of Illegal Trade while Mr. Gerard James presented on the Roles of Stakeholders. The final presentation of the day which provided spirited interaction was done by Mr. Rene Parkes on Licensing Systems, ASYCUDA World and its Functionalities – The Grenada Case Study.
A very successful day completed and another waits….
To view pictures of Day 1, visit: https://www.facebook.com/nou.grenada
NEWS RELEASE
MINISTRY OF FINANCE & ENERGY
Email: financegrenada@gmail.com
Website: www.gov.gd Phone: 1-473-435-0057 or 1-473-440-2731/4
Fax: 1- 473-440-4115
NO. 74/2013 DATE: November 22, 2013
GRENADA TO HOST REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON PROTECTING CARIBBEAN BORDERS FROM ILLEGAL TRADE IN OZONE DEPLETING SUBSTANCES (ODS)
ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, Friday, November 22, 2013: The National Ozone Unit (NOU) of the Ministry of Finance and Energy will host a regional workshop on Protecting Caribbean Borders from Illegal Trade in Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) from Wednesday November 27th – Friday 29th 2013, at the Flamboyant Hotel and Villas, Morne Rouge, St. George’s, Grenada.
The main objective of the Workshop is to present Risk Management as a tool that can be implemented through the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) to guard against illegal trade in ODS and ODS based products and to build capacity amongst National Ozone Officers (NOO), Customs Officers and Customs Brokers in applying the tools of risk management towards the coordinated and effective implementation of import/export licensing systems and quota systems and the phase out of hydro- chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
Participants will be made of up National Ozone Officers, Customs Officers, National Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) Officers and Customs Brokers of the English-Speaking Caribbean Sub-Region. The Workshop will be facilitated by Regional experts in AYSCUDA and Risk Management and Illegal Trade in ODS from the Caribbean in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Illegal trade in ODS continues to be a challenge for Caribbean Countries. Their peculiarities as Small Island Developing States with numerous beaches, coves and bays pose a special challenge. Their ability to identify and manage risks associated to illegal trade in ODS will increase spotting potential cases and minimizing actual illegal trade cases. This will ensure that Caribbean Countries are well placed to effectively and efficiently maintain zero consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and successfully phase out HCFCs through the effective and coordinated implementation of their import/export licensing systems and quota systems.
National Ozone Unit of Grenada 