K. Madhava Sarma

K. Madhava Sarma (1938-2010) was the first Executive Secretary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Ozone Secretariat) from 1991 to 2000 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He is considered one of the founders and leading figures in the success of the Montreal Protocol that established legally binding controls on the production and consumption of chemicals that cause ozone depletion and damage the stratospheric ozone layer which protects the Earth against the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. These effects include skin cancer, sunburn, permanent blindness and cataracts as well as harm to plants and animals. The Montreal Protocol was recognized by Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations as being “perhaps the single most successful international environmental agreement to date" and went on to become the first treaty in the history of the United Nations to be universally ratified in 2008 by 197 countries.

Since the inception of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, 98% of Ozone Depleting Substances have been phased out. Most Ozone Depleting Substances are also potent greenhouse gases and hence the Protocol also contributes to reduced global warming. Provided by Wikipedia