ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: A worldwide ban on the import of ozone depleting substances and phasing out of the chemicals that damage the protective layer is need of the hour.

This was the conclusion of a regional workshop on 'ozone layer protection' here on Wednesday. The workshop was jointly organized by the ozone cell of the ministry of environment, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP).

Participants of the workshop stressed that ozone depletion, being a world level environmental concern, needed sincere efforts on the part of each and every country.

The ministry of environment secretary, Javed Zafar, said: "The Montreal Protocol, which serves to protect the ozone layer, is the most successful of international environmental protocols as it has given the international community the capacity to collectively deal with the problem of ozone damage."

The Montreal Protocol enables national governments to have access to credible and accurate information and provides technical assistance through a multilateral fund, he maintained.

Parliamentary secretary for environment Bushra Anwar Sipra said ozone damage had serious consequences for the life on earth and the entire international community must work together to solve the problem.

"It is the job of both rich and poor countries to ensure the ban on imports of ozone depleting substances and formulate effective licensing and regulatory policy on ozone protection," she added.

The United Nations Development Programme deputy resident representative, Lena Lindberg, said greater mass awareness was required to educate both consumers and producers on the alternatives to ozone depleting goods. This will bring a behavioural change within the production process and in spending patterns, she added.

The workshop brought together experts and government officials from environment ministries of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Korea, India, Thailand and Pakistan.

The issues of licensing, capacity building of customs authorities and enforcement of regulations were discussed and each country shared its experience of reducing the presence of ozone depleting substances and agreed on strategies to phase out these substances in accordance with the Montreal Protocol.