Objective of the Stockholm ConventionArticle 1:

1
Objective of the Stockholm Convention(Article 1)

• To protect human health and the environment
  from persistent organic pollutants.

2
Precaution Embodied in the Stockholm Convention

• Preamble Acknowledging that precaution
  underlies the concerns of of the parties and is
  embedded within this Convention
• Objective Mindful of the precautionary
  approach
• Listing of chemicals(Art. 8) shall decide, in
  a precautionary manner,
• Art. 5 In determining best available
  techniquesbearing in mindconsideration of
  precaution and prevention

3
Characteristics of POPs

• Persistence
• Bioaccumulation
• Long-range transport
• Toxic to humans and wildlife

4
Article 5 (For DDT)

• Parties shall
• - eliminate production and use except for
  disease vector control programs according to WHO
  guidelines
• special public DDT register
• reporting and other obligations
• - promote research/development for alternatives
  to DDT
• COP shall
• review at its first meeting and every 3 years
  thereafter to see when DDT is no longer needed
  for disease vector control use (i.e., technically
  and economically feasible alternative products,
  practices or processes are available)

5
Adverse Effects of DDT on Humans

• a higher incidence of undescended testes
• poor sperm quality
• premature delivery and reduced infant birth
  weight
• miscarriage
• reduced breast milk production
• neurological effects, including developmental
  delays, among babies and toddlers exposed to DDT
  in the womb

6
Adverse Effects of DDT on Humans

• evidence of a link between DDT exposure and
  breast cancer
• the International Agency for Research on Cancer
  lists DDT as a possible human carcinogen
• nervous system impacts due to occupational
  exposure to DDT
• liver impacts due to occupational exposure to DDT

7
Trade limits on intentionally produced POPs

• Imports of chemicals in Annex A and Annex B are
  only allowed for the purpose of environmentally
  sound disposal or for an exempted use
• Exports are only allowed of chemicals in Annex A
  or B for which specific exemptions are still in
  effect, and only (1) for the purpose of
  environmentally sound disposal, or (2) to Party
  which has an exempted use of the chemical, or (3)
  to a non-Party that certifies that it will comply
  with the stockpile and wastes provisions of the
  Stockholm Convention and will take necessary
  measures to prevent or minimize releases

8
WHO statement on DDT

• September, 2006 - WHO statement promoting the
  widespread use of DDT in global efforts to
  eradicate malaria, claiming that "Extensive
  research and testing has since demonstrated that
  well-managed indoor residual spraying programmes
  using DDT pose no harm to wildlife or to humans."

9
WHO statement on DDT

• reverses a 30-year policy by the WHO and
  contradicts the Stockholm Convention on
  Persistent Organic Pollutants, which was aimed at
  gradually eliminating DDT.
• misrepresented scientific evidence and grossly
  downplayed serious toxic effects of DDT
• Distorted facts on the failure of previous DDT
  spraying program
• Misrepresented position of Environmental Defense

10
Whos promoting DDT?

• Congress on Racial Equality (CORE)
• founded as an advocacy group for
  African-Americans,
• honored Karl Rove, George W. Bushs election
  strategist, recently under criminal investigation
  for his role in eliminating a CIA agent whose
  husband disagreed with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
  Hugh Grant, Chairman and CEO of Monsanto, the
  first producer of DDT in the U.S. and one of
  COREs corporate partners, chaired the reception.
  
• In 2005 CORE produced a Monsanto-funded video
  called Voice from Africa promoting the use of
  genetically modifi ed crops in Africa.

11
Whos promoting DDT?

• Africa Fighting Malaria (AFM)
• Established in 2000, based in Washington, D.C.
  and South Africa,
• Its staff members have current or former links
  with a range of right-wing or free-market think
  tanks (Competitive Enterprise Institute, American
  Enterprise Institute, Institute of Economic
  Affairs and Tech Central Station) that are
  critical of the environmental movement,

12
Whos promoting DDT?

• Paul Driessen Senior Policy Advisor for CORE and
  for the Center for the Defense of Free
  Enterprise, that includes Ron Arnolda man who
  has called publicly for the killing of
  environmentalists
• has been a spokesman for Dow and Union Carbide.
  He authored Black Death, a 2003 book asserting
  that environmentalists are responsible for
  poverty in developing countries.
• received funding from ExxonMobil to manipulate
  information as a climate change skeptic.

13
DDT does not solve the Malaria Problem

• DDT is a short-sighted response with long term
  consequences.
• it may be effective over a short-term in lowering
  malaria incidence in some cases where mosquitoes
  havent yet developed resistance, but it wont
  solve the malaria problem.
• Technical expertise and better malaria control
  methods already exist, what is lacking is mainly
  political will.

14
More effective and safer approaches to malaria
control

• The strategy combines three main elements
• a) primary health care to eliminate parasites in
  people with a new single dose treatment regimen
  of prophylaxis drugs administered only to the
  detected positive malaria cases
• b) improvement of personal and household hygiene
• c) use of environmental management practices to
  eliminate mosquito breeding sites

15
More effective and safer approaches to malaria
control

• reduced costs, and in some areas negated the need
  for indoor application of pyrethroid
  insecticides.
• Community participation is a key element
• health workers and trained volunteers diagnose
  cases of malaria and administer curative
  treatment
• local organisation eliminate mosquito larvae
  through the cleanup of algae and trash from
  rivers and streams
• education has improved hygienic conditions in the
  home

16
Malaria Control in Hainan w/o DDT

• health education in risk villages,
• giving mass drug administrations in risk
  population,
• following up malaria cases for implementing
  radical cure,
• no indoor residual spraying of DDT
• no insecticide impregnated bednets

17
RESULTS

• rate of bednet-using in the population was
  increased from 26.8 to 72.6.
• annual parasite incidence (API) of malaria
  declined from 3.5 in1994 to 1.1 in 1996 and
  0.8 in 1997,
• parasite rate(PR) of malaria declined from 7.2
  in May, 1995 to 2.1 in November, 1996 and 1.2
  in October, 1997
• Villages without malaria cases increased from
  18.6 in 1994 to 54.2 in1997

18
RECOMMENDATIONS

• strong support for effective solutions that
  invest in health, education and appropriate
  technologies,
• improve community resources to participate and
  manage malaria.
• Address the underlying structural causes of
  malaria (e.g., poverty, social inequity)
• mobilization of national and international
  resources for prevention activities
• focus on solutions that do not pose new risks