Constraints to implementing international agreements: the case of the Montreal Protocol in Botswana

This study addresses the difficulties surrounding effective implementation of the Montreal Protocol in Botswana and provides a general understanding of how best we might advise policy makers when implementing international agreements in the developing world. A questionnaire survey administered to both the formal and informal users of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) revealed that disseminated information on ODSs has little effect on choices that users make about refrigerant gases and this information is skewed in favor of the conventional users of ODSs. As a result, annual statistics of ODS use are probably underestimated. Difficulties exist in changing from old to new technologies in the short term due to high costs associated with the change over. The infrastructure to recover gases and to dispose of unusable hardware is absent or inadequate. Solutions to these difficulties include a comprehensive policy that caters for all users of ODSs and the integration of economic and environmental aspirations.