| Governments Celebrate POPs Treaty and Target New Chemicals
 by Kristin Schafer
More
than 800 participants met in Punta del Este, Uruguay in early May
for the first official meeting of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants (POPs) since the treaty came into effect in
May 2004. Delegates from the 98 countries that had ratified the
treaty were joined by government observers from countries that
had not yet ratified (including the United States), civil society
representatives from around the world as well as industry representatives.
Several countries have joined the list of those ratifying since
the May meeting, bringing the total to 103.
In addition to celebrating
the rapid ratification of the global treaty by so many countries,
delegates also set in motion the process for adding additional
chemicals for global elimination. Government officials from Mexico,
Norway and the European Union proposed the addition of four new
chemicals to the list: the insecticide lindane (hexachlorocyclohexane
-- nominated by Mexico), as well as the pesticide chlordecone
and two brominated flame retardants, pentabromodiphenyl ether
and hexabromobiphenyl.
Lindane, which has
both agricultural and pharmaceutical uses, is also currently
under review in North America by the NAFTA Commission on Environmental
Cooperation (see Ban Lindane
Now!). Under current drafts of a
North American Regional Action Plan for the chemical, Mexico
has agreed to phase out all uses; Canada continues to allow pharmaceutical
uses for lice and scabies control; and the U.S. allows both agricultural
and pharmaceutical uses. An estimated 52 countries have banned
all uses of lindane.
Chlordecone, nominated
for inclusion in the treaty by the European Union, is an organochlorine
insecticide that has been banned in at least 11 countries, and
is no longer registered for use in dozens more. It is considered
a probable carcinogen, reproductive toxin and endocrine disrupting
chemical. Both lindane and chlordecone have been on PAN International’s
Dirty Dozen pesticide list since 1985.
The Uruguay meeting
also established a new scientific body, the POPs Review Committee,
to evaluate submissions of new chemicals to be included under
the treaty. This Committee will determine whether nominated chemicals
meet the treaty’s criteria for
toxicity, bioaccumulation, persistence and transport, and will
then forward their recommendations to the government delegates
for consideration. The Committee will include government and scientific
representatives and meet every six months in Geneva, with the first
meeting scheduled for the fall of 2005. The Secretariat for the
UN Environmental Programme estimates that the process of adding
a chemical to the treaty could take two to four years.
Current country-specific exemptions for use of DDT for malaria
control were also reviewed by delegates, who agreed that this limited
DDT public health use continues to be justified. The treaty requires
periodic reviews of the DDT exemptions, and also requires that
countries using DDT demonstrate that they are moving forward with
research and promotion of alternatives. Due in part to pressure
from NGOs at the meeting, the Global Environment Facility received
guidance from the Uruguay meeting to focus DDT alternative spending
on integrated vector management and nonchemical controls, rather
than on insecticidal replacements in its funding to developing
countries for implementation of the treaty.
NGOs press for speedy implementation
In addition to tracking
the official negotiations at the meeting, the strong NGO contingent
organized an “egg tasting event” to
highlight the results of the International POPs Elimination Network
(IPEN) egg sampling study (see story on next page). Chicken eggs
were sampled in 17 countries for some of the POPs already included
under the convention (dioxins, furans, PCBs) as well as candidate
POPs (HCH/lindane and PBDEs). To bring the abstract policy work
home to the government officials, NGOs served egg snacks on napkins
printed with the message “Keep the Promise -- Eliminate
POPs!” and distributed information about the egg study’s
findings.
In an official luncheon event at the session, IPEN groups also
reported on NGO work around the world pressing for rapid ratification,
and in assisting and monitoring government officials in the implementation
of the Stockholm Convention. Effective NGO involvement in the Convention
process is widely recognized as contributing to both the effectiveness
of the treaty and its rapid adoption by governments around the
world. The next official meeting of the Stockholm Convention is
scheduled for May 2006.
Kristin Schafer is Program Coordinator at PANNA.
Sources: PANNA’s Ban Lindane Now! Campaign page, http://www.panna.org/campaigns/lindane.html;
PANNA’s International Treaties page, including link to DDT
and malaria resource center, http://www.panna.org/campaigns/treaties.html;
International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN), http://www.ipen.org;
IPEN’s International POPs Elimination Project, including
egg sampling study information, http://www.oztoxics.org/ipepweb;
Information on U.S. ratification efforts, http://www.uspopswatch.org,
Stockholm convention website, http://www.pops.int; International
Institute for Sustainable Development daily meeting coverage, http://www.iisd.ca/chemical/pops/cop1.
Contact: PANNA.
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