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PIC moves forward
The 6th International Negotiating Committee meeting (INC6)
of the Rotterdam Convention, which covers the Prior Informed Consent (PIC)
procedure, met in Rome from 12-16 July to discuss the trade in hazardous
pesticides.
At the first INC meeting since the text
of the Convention was finalised, the guidelines have been set for the
continuation of PIC during the interim period while the Convention is waiting to
be ratified. As at 17 June, 63 countries had signed the Rotterdam Convention.
The meeting, which attracted participation from 105 states,
considered adding six new pesticides to the PIC list, and agreed to include four
of these: binapacryl, toxaphene, ethylene dichloride and ethylene oxide.
Maleic hydrazide (recommended because of the hydrazine impurity) is to be
further reviewed before inclusion. Bromacil, a DuPont herbicide, is to be
reviewed for the basis of the reported control actions (persistence and leaching
from sandy soils to groundwater) and appropriateness for inclusion.
The Convention will establish a Chemical Review Committee to
recommend whether control actions qualify a pesticide for PIC, and in the
meantime an interim chemical review committee was established.
PIC offers a real breakthrough in sharing information
globally on concerns with the health and environmental problems of pesticides.
It also assists governments to stop unwanted imports of certain hazardous
pesticides. Six public interest groups attended this meeting – more than past
INCs – and they are looking to see how these actions can address such concerns
as:
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What support will be forthcoming to
identify pesticides causing problems under conditions of use in developing
countries? The paucity of rural infrastructure in many developing countries
will mean problems go unnoticed unless training and monitoring can be
improved.
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The Convention must address the
problems of hazardous classes of pesticides, such as organophosphates,
carbamates, or endocrine disrupting pesticides.
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Will PIC encourage development of
transparent statistics on levels of production, and on trade and use of
hazardous pesticides in developing countries?
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What will be the synergy between the
Rotterdam Convention, the POPs Convention, and other international
agreements on trade in hazardous chemicals?
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Could trade regimes managed under the
World Trade Organisation ensure that all countries participate in PIC to
give it the necessary global coverage? (BD)
The full Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] report of
INC6 is available on our website. Full meeting report is published on-line by
the Earth Negotiations Bulletin: www.iisd.ca/linkages.
Reports from the Joint Secretariat, including the latest PIC Circular on: www.fao.org/pic
or www.chem.unep.ch/pic
[This article first
appeared in Pesticides News No.45, September 2000, page 17]
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