Ozone is a gas that is naturally present in Earth's atmosphere.  Each ozone molecule contains three atoms of oxygen and is denoted chemically as O₃.  Ozone in stratospheric , eher 90 percent of ozone exist, is vital to human wellbeing and ecosystem health. It plays important roles in the atmosphere beyond absorbing UV radiation. For instance, ozone initiates the chemical removal of many pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), as well as some greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH₄) (UNDP, 2010).

 

Ozone Depletion

The initial step in ozone depletion is the emission of gases containing chlorine and bromine. Although some of these gases occur in natural process, but human activities have been ?sky rocketing? the amount of the gases. Certain industrial processes and consumer products result in the emission of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) to the atmosphere.  Important examples are the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) and methyl chloroform (CH₃CCl₃). They have been widely used in many applications, such as refrigeration, air conditioning, foam blowing, aerosol propellants, and etc. The other examples are halons and methyl bromide (CH3Br). The halons are originally developed as fire extinguisher. All of these gases bring chlorine and bromine atoms to the stratosphere, where they destroy ozone in chemical reactions.

 

Ozone depletion has been a major issue in the world since the 1980s, when scientists found the steady depletion of ozone layer over the Arctic caused by emissions of man-made compounds, particularly CFCs. The depletion means more harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation is reaching the earth's surface. Increasing UV-B radiation lead to more skin cancers, eye cataracts, weakened immune systems, reduced plant yields, damage to ocean ecosystems and reduced fishing yields. We can see them are happening around the world.

 

Indonesia is Also Affected by Ozone Depletion

Some might said that equatorial countries are safe from ozone depletion but is not true. It is just that the level of ozone depletion is lower than other, non-equatorial countries. Eventually, the effect would be the same ozone depletion posed a threat to food crops and fisheries, with harmful UV-B radiation threatening harvests and killing sea plankton, which would disrupt the ecosystem of the oceans. The impact of this would threaten over 30 million poor Indonesians who earn a living as farmers and fishermen. This means Indonesia are also in danger.

 

Indonesia's Effort to Preserve the Ozone 

Indonesian government has ratified the 1985 Vienna Convention and the 1987 Montreal Protocol, both of which aim to monitor and reduce the production and consumption of ODSs. It faced big challenges nevertheless, Indonesia has achieved following success:

1. Relevant government agencies (Ministries of Environment, Health, Trade, Industry, Agriculture, etc) released various regulations in compliance with the Environmental Law 23/1997 and the Montreal Protocol to control and prohibit the import/use of certain ODS in cosmetics, agriculture, households, shipping, etc.

2. As of 2008, Indonesia has already banned the import of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

3. As of 2010, Indonesia is successfully in compliance with the Montreal Protocol control schedule for CFCs, Carbon Tetrachloride (CTC) and Halons.

4. As of 2012 until today, Indonesia has been implementing various activities to phase-out the consumption of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in coordination with Multilateral Fund (MLF) Secretariat, Implementing Agencies (UNDP, World Bank, UNIDO and UNEP), the Government of Australia, private sector and experts.

 

To help Indonesia ensure its air-conditioning industry is environmentally sustainable and select climate-friendly alternatives to HCFCs, UNDP provided technical advice for the government to make informed policy choices.  Moreover, Indonesia has also pledged to voluntarily reduce CO2 emissions by 26 % by 2020 from the 2005 level.

 

Source:

www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2012/03/26/indonesia-partnership-helps-preserve-climate-and-build-green-economy/

www.ozone.unep.org/Assessment_Panels/SAP/Scientific_Assessment_2010/SAP-2010-FAQs-update.pdf

 www.id.undp.org/content/dam/indonesia/Project%20Docs/hpmp/HPMP%20-IDN%20MP%20OLP%20v%2002.pdf