This Guidebook will be of invaluable assistance to government environment officers & customs officials in deciding how to design their own systems to monitor & control the import of ozone depleting substances (ODSs). It describes the monitoring systems in such countries as Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines & Sweden among others. Discussion is also focused on monitoring based on customs statistics, import permits systems & their role in monitoring imports; customs role in ensuring compliance with import restrictions; structure of the Harmonized System & efforts to adjust it to the needs of the Montreal Protocol & problems related to mixed chemicals.

As of March 2003 nearly every government in the world - 184 - has ratified the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer treaty and become party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that depletes the Ozone Layer. This handbook is a guide for decision makers in developing countries to design effective policies to enable them to meet their obligations under the Montreal Protocol. Experience has shown that a strong national policy framework is necessary for the sustained permaneent reduction and phase-out of ODSs for which this handbook provides the guidance for planning, desgning and implementing of such policy frameworks at the national level.