7/4/2006
UN  Sponsored Partnership Aims to Phase Out Ozone Depleter

More than 5,000 farms and other organisations concerned with the food chain joined forces this week with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to accelerate the phase-out of methyl bromide - an agricultural pesticide that damages the ozone layer. Farmers use the pesticide to kill pests in the soil before planting crops like tomatoes, strawberries, melons and flowers.

But in 1992 it became officially controlled on the grounds of its ozone layer depleting properties and it is now scheduled to be phased-out completely under the Montreal Protocol, the
international treaty set up to protect the ozone layer.

The new International Partnership for Phasing-out Methyl Bromide brings together many farms and companies that have shown leadership in protecting the ozone layer.

These include farmers’ associations and supermarkets including Marks & Spencer and the Co-op – and international organisations. The Partnership aims to accelerate the world-wide switch from methyl bromide to ozone-friendly alternatives.

“However methyl bromide, one of the last on the list, is proving harder to remove with some farmers convinced that the alternatives are ineffective or too costly. By demonstrating the fact that thousands of farms and companies can grow, source and sell products without using this chemical, the Partnership sends a clear signal that a methyl bromide-free world is possible sooner rather than later,” he added.

A survey carried out for the Partnership has so far identified more than 5000 commercial farms that produce tomatoes, peppers, melons, strawberries, and flowers without using methyl bromide. The farms are located in more than 30 countries around the world.

Farms and companies that join the Partnership have already stopped using methyl bromide or will pledge to halt their use of methyl bromide by September 2007, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.