United Nations Environment Programme
   Ozone Secretariat

At the conclusion of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1985, the Parties to the Convention were determined to protect human health and the environment against adverse effects resulting from modifications of the ozone layer. They were aware that measures to protect the ozone layer from modifications due to human activities require international cooperation and action, and should be based on relevant scientific and technical considerations.

The Parties were aware also of the need for further research and systematic observations to further develop scientific knowledge of the ozone layer and possible adverse effects resulting from its modification. They have since been carrying out research and scientific assessments on, among other things, the physical and chemical processes that may affect the ozone layer and the human health and other biological effects deriving from any modifications of the ozone layer, particularly those resulting from changes in ultra-violet solar radiation having biological effects (UV-B). In addition, in 1987 the Parties adopted the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer with the objective of phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

We are now beginning to see the results of these efforts. The atmospheric abundances of ozone-depleting substances, which peaked in the 1992-1994 time period, are now showing a downward trend in the atmosphere. As a result, the stratospheric ozone layer that protects life on earth from excessive solar radiation will recover over the Antarctic by 2065 due to the greater age of air in that region. The latest scientific findings also state that the decline in stratospheric ozone outside the Polar Regions seen in the 1990s has not continued.

This Handbook which updates the 2003 edition incorporates the text of the Vienna Convention and all decisions taken by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention up to the end of 2005.

Ozone Secretariat
United Nations Environment Programme

P. O. Box 30552, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya
Tel: (254 20) 762 3851
Fax: (254 20) 762 4691 / 4692 / 4693
http://ozone.unep.org or
http://www.unep.ch/ozone or
http://www.unep.org/ozone
Email: ozoneinfo@unep.org

978-92-807-2771-5
OZO/0888/NA