Recognizing that methyl bromide use for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes is an important remaining use of an ozone-depleting substance that is not controlled pursuant to paragraph 6 of Article 2H of the Montreal Protocol and that the 2006 assessment report of the Scientific Assessment Panel indicated that “emissions associated with continued or expanded exemptions, QPS … may also delay recovery [of the ozone layer]”,

Recalling that Article 7 of the Montreal Protocol requires Parties to report on the annual amount of methyl bromide used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications and that decision XI/13 urges Parties to implement procedures to monitor the uses of methyl bromide by commodity and quantity for quarantine and pre-shipment,

Recalling also decision VII/5 urging Parties to refrain from using methyl bromide and to use non-ozone depleting technologies wherever possible and decision XI/13 encouraging Parties to use recovery and recycling technologies where technically and economically feasible until alternatives are available,

Reaffirming the importance of managing and, when economically and technically feasible, replacing quarantine and pre-shipment applications of methyl bromide, as stated in the preamble to decision XVII/15,

Stressing that methyl bromide is a potent ozone-depleting substance and that it and many of its alternatives are hazardous substances that have caused serious human health impacts, notably on workers in ports and warehouses in some Parties,

Recognizing that many Parties have relied on methyl bromide for trade and the conservation of biodiversity and will continue to do so until alternatives become available and accepted for all quarantine and pre-shipment uses,

Acknowledging the efforts made by Parties to phase out or reduce the use and emissions of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes whether through adoption of alternatives or the use of recapture technologies,

Acknowledging with appreciation the joint efforts of the Ozone Secretariat and the International Plant Protection Conventionin reviewing alternatives to methyl bromide for phytosanitary purposes, particularly under ISPM-15, and the Convention’s recommendation encouraging Parties to develop and implement strategies to replace and/or reduce methyl bromide use for phytosanitary applications,

Mindful that the use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes is still increasing in some regions of the world,

Recognizing current data gaps and the need for better information to monitor and analyse trends in quarantine and pre-shipment use and further to identify opportunities for reducing global amounts of methyl bromide required for quarantine and pre-shipment applications under the Montreal Protocol,

1. To urge those Parties that have not yet done so to report data on the use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment applications, as required under paragraph 3 of Article 7, by April 2009 and to report such data in accordance with existing Protocol requirements and decisions annually thereafter;
2. To request the Ozone Secretariat:
   1. To update the definition of pre-shipment in paragraph 5.6 of the Instructions/Guidelines for data reporting to reflect decision XI/12;
   2. To post on its website, production and consumption data reported by the Parties under paragraph 3 of Article 7 for methyl bromide used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications;
3. To request the Implementation Committee to consider the reporting of methyl bromide used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications under paragraph 3 of Article 7, in accordance with the Non-Compliance Procedure of the Montreal Protocol;
4. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, in consultation with the International Plant Protection Convention secretariat, to review all relevant, currently available information on the use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment applications and related emissions, to assess trends in the major uses, available alternatives and other mitigation options, and barriers to the adoption of alternatives or determine what additional information or action may be required to meet those objectives; the assessment should consider:
   1. A description of the majority of the volumes of methyl bromide used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications, by the major uses and target pests;
   2. The technical and economic availability of alternative substances and technologies for the main methyl bromide uses, by volume, and of technologies for methyl bromide recovery, containment and recycling;
   3. Quarantine and pre-shipment applications for which no alternatives are available to date and an assessment of why alternatives are not technically or economically feasible or cannot be adopted;
   4. Illustrative examples of regulations or other relevant measures that directly affect the use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment treatment (including information requested in decision X/11);
   5. Other barriers preventing the adoption of alternatives to methyl bromide;
   6. Projects demonstrating technically and economically feasible alternatives, including technologies for recapture and destruction of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment applications;
5. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to present a draft report based on the analysis of the available information to the Open‑ended Working Group at its twenty-ninth meeting, indicating areas where the information is not sufficient, explaining, where appropriate, why the data were inadequate and presenting a practical proposal for how best to gather the information required for a satisfactory analysis;
6. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel to present a final report highlighting areas where sufficient information indicates opportunities for reductions in methyl bromide use or emissions for quarantine and pre-shipment purposes, including a list of available methyl bromide recapture technologies for consideration by the Parties and, where there is insufficient information, a final proposal for further data gathering for the consideration of the Twenty-First Meeting of the Parties;
7. To request the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, in accordance with its terms of reference, to list categories of use it has identified that have been classified as quarantine and pre-shipment use by some Parties but not by others by the twenty-ninth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group and that those Parties are requested to provide the information on the rationale for doing so to the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel in time for inclusion in its final report to the Twenty-First Meeting of the Parties
8. To request the Ozone Secretariat, in cooperation with the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, the International Plant Protection Convention secretariat and other relevant bodies, to organize in the margins of the Twenty‑First Meeting of the Parties a workshop to discuss the report referred to in paragraph 4 of the present decision and other relevant inputs with a view to determining possible further actions;
9. To request the Ozone Secretariat to strengthen cooperation and coordination with the International Plant Protection Convention secretariat in accordance with decisions XVII/15 and XVIII/14;
10. To encourage Parties in accordance with the recommendations of the third meeting of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures under the International Plant Protection Convention to put in place a national strategy that describes actions that will help them to reduce the use of methyl bromide for phytosanitary measures and/or reduce emissions of methyl bromide and make such strategies available to other Parties through the Ozone Secretariat, where possible before the Twenty-First Meeting of the Parties; the strategy may include the following areas for action:
    1. Replacing methyl bromide use;
    2. Reducing methyl bromide use;
    3. Physically reducing methyl bromide emissions;
    4. Accurately recording methyl bromide use for phytosanitary measures.