Decision 48/16

The Executive Committee decided:

1. In regard to the methyl bromide projects for which guidance on specific issues was sought:
   1. To request UNIDO to work closely with the Government of Guatemala to identify measures that could accelerate the phase-out of methyl bromide in the country; to continue implementing the methyl bromide phase-out project; and to submit a request for a further revision of the phase-out schedule in the project following a decision by the Meeting of the Parties on the request by Guatemala for a revision of the time-specific benchmarks contained in decision XV/34 of the Fifteenth Meeting of the Parties;
   2. To approve the request by the Government of Honduras to revise the methyl bromide phase-out schedule in the approved project to be consistent with the schedule in decision XVII/34 of the Seventeenth Meeting of the Parties as indicated in the table below, and to note that UNIDO could submit an action plan and funding requirements to achieve the complete phase-out of methyl bromide in Honduras to the 50^th Meeting of the Executive Committee;

3. To take note of the progress report on the implementation of the methyl bromide technical assistance programme in Africa; to request the Secretariat to send a letter urging the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to sign the contract with UNDP and submit the work programme to UNDP no later than the end of May 2006; to request the Secretariat to send a letter to the Government of Swaziland requesting the submission of a report by the end of May 2006 delineating current methyl bromide consumption in the country; and to request UNDP to submit a completion report to the 51^st Meeting;
4. In regard to the special requests for projects under current implementation:
   1. To approve the request by the Government of Chile for cancellation of the project for the phase-out of all remaining uses of methyl bromide in soil application pest control; to request the World Bank to return to the Multilateral Fund at the 49^th Meeting of the Executive Committee US $691,703 plus agency support costs of US $51,878 associated with the tranche of the project already funded; to approve the revisions to the agreement between the Government of Chile and the Executive Committee attached as Annex VI to the present report; and to request UNDP to continue implementing the project for the phase-out of methyl bromide in the fruit tree nursery and replant sector and to submit a progress report to the 51^st Meeting;
   2. To approve the request by the Government of Costa Rica to revise the methyl bromide phase-out schedule in the agreement between the Government of Costa Rica and the Executive Committee attached as Annex VII to the present report; and to request the Government of Costa Rica and UNDP to include in all future work programmes procedures for accelerating the introduction of full-scale alternative technologies in the melon sector; and
   3. To approve the request by the Government of Cuba to transfer US $550,645, including agency support costs to UNDP, as the new lead implementing agency selected by the Government of Cuba for the implementation of its national CFC phase-out plan; and to approve the revised agreement between the Government of Cuba and the Executive Committee attached as Annex VIII to the present report;
5. In regard to methyl bromide projects with no outstanding issues to take note of the progress reports:
6. On the terminal methyl bromide phase-out plan, excluding quarantine and pre-shipment (QPS) applications in Bolivia, on the understanding that UNDP would submit the project completion report prior to the 49^th Meeting of the Executive Committee;
7. On the phase-out of the use of methyl bromide for commodities and storage fumigation in Côte d’Ivoire;
8. On the phase-out of methyl bromide in melon, flower and tobacco production in the Dominican Republic;
9. Submitted by the World Bank on the implementation of the technical assistance programme for testing methyl bromide alternatives in soil treatment for the flower-growing industry, and the project for the technology change for the phase-out of methyl bromide in the rose plant nursery sector in Ecuador, on the understanding that the World Bank would submit project completion reports prior to the 51^st Meeting of the Executive Committee;
10. On the implementation of the project for national phase-out of methyl bromide in horticulture and commodities fumigation in Egypt, on the understanding that UNIDO would submit a progress report to the 51^st Meeting of the Executive Committee;
11. On the implementation of the complete phase-out of the use of methyl bromide in Jordan;
12. On terminal methyl bromide phase-out, excluding QPS applications, in Kyrgyzstan, on the understanding that UNDP would submit a progress report on the implementation of the project to the 50^th Meeting of the Executive Committee;
13. On the implementation of the project for the phase-out of methyl bromide in the dried fig sector in Turkey, on the understanding that the World Bank would submit the project completion report prior to the 51^st Meeting of the Executive Committee; and
14. On the technical assistance programme for the phase-out of methyl bromide in agriculture in Yemen.