PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

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PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

• Workshop on Development of Legal and
  Institutional Infrastructure Chemicals - (SAICM)
  Implementation, Bangkok, 23-25 May, 2007

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OUR VISION

• Our vision is a society that is truly
  democratic, equal, just, culturally diverse, and
  based on food sovereignty, gender justice and
  environmental sustainability.

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PAN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Regional Network

• Represented in
• 15 countries in Asia and the Pacific
• 110 network partners
• 300 participants

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Pesticide Action Network (PAN)

• Pesticide Action Network founded in 1982 with
  over 600 network participants working towards the
  reduction and elimination of hazardous pesticides
  and the promotion of ecological agriculture and
  alternatives to pesticides.
• PAN International network is coordinated through
  five regional coordinating centres
• PAN Africa in Dakar, Senegal
• PAN Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) in Penang,
  Malaysia
• PAN Europe in London, UK
• PAN Latin America (RAP-AL) in Palmira, Colombia
• PAN North America in San Francisco, U.S.A

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Pesticides are used in conditions of poverty

• Many susceptible workers pregnant women, very
  young / old workers, unhealthy workers, low
  literacy rates
• Importance of PPE Awareness? Availability?
  Affordability? Wearability?
• No washing facilities in field limited household
  washing facilities

Photo Catherina Wesseling, Costa Rica
Photo Francois Meienberg, Pakistan
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Typical conditions of use

• Poor (no) spray equipment nozzles cleared by
  blowing
• Many pesticide users know that pesticides are
  hazardous (product stewardship) but no major
  breakthrough in changing behavior and practices
• Registration of pesticides in developing
  countries shortage of regulators and
  inspectors check data rather than carry out risk
  evaluation
• Product quality, repackaging, adulteration, sales
  strategies
• Pesticides are valuable No lockable storage
  facilities storage in house
• Poor product information pesticides for one crop
  (e.g. cotton) used on others (e.g. cowpea)
• Self medication Clinics and hospitals remote
  first aid training limited

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Mixing and Spraying of Pesticides
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Picture from Sumatra, Indonesia
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Repackaged pesticides

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Improper Disposal of Pesticide Containers
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Community Monitoring

• PAN works to build stronger linkages with
  affected communities and peoples movements to
  strengthen their struggle
• CPAM - PANs community monitoring methodologies
  are pioneering a community documentation, action
  and organising. Tool for community support and
  action.
• Documenting and recording of poisoning incidents
  has increased

Victim of Pesticide Poisoning that caused Huge
Lump on the Throat
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Community monitoring
Barren Village of Kamukaan, Philippines

• Ban of paraquat in Malaysia
• Ban of endosulfan in Kerala, India
• Kamukaan pressure on banana plantation and
  alternative livelihoods
• Eloor community near a DDT plant in Kerala
• Ongoing documentation of pesticide problems in 8
  countries in Asia and more are being planned

Pesticide Sprayer With a Knapsack Equipment
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Case study Paraquat Threats to health

• Paraquat is highly acutely toxic enters the
  body mainly by swallowing, or through damaged
  skin, but may also be inhaled
• 1 teaspoon of concentrated paraquat can result in
  death
• Death is by respiratory failure may occur
  within a few days after poisoning or as long as a
  month later
• There is no antidote!
• Paraquat damages the lungs, heart, kidneys,
  adrenal glands, central nervous system, liver,
  muscles spleen, causing multi-organ failure
• Severe acute long-term health problems include
  severe dermatitis, second degree burns,
  nosebleeds, rapid heart rate, kidney failure,
  respiratory failure
• Some chronic effects identified include
  developmental reproductive effects links to
  skin cancer Parkinsons disease

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Problems in Malaysia
Mixing the Pesticides with the Bare Hands
Women Sprayers in the Estates

• Women are the major workforce on plantations in
  Malaysia - around 30,000 women workers
• They routinely mix, handle spray pesticides,
  are poisoned by pesticides (mostly herbicides)
  they spray daily
• Women have suffered a myriad of serious acute
  chronic health effects

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Community Based Pesticides Monitoring

• Involvement of the Malaysian National Poisons
  Centre in the report, activities by Tenaganita
  PAN AP
• Malaysian Pesticide Board also concerned about
  the pesticide
• Paraquat banned in Malaysia in August 2002

• 1999- 2001 - PAN AP Tenaganita (Womens
  Force) work with women plantation workers on
  community based pesticides monitoring to assess
  health impacts

• Poisoned and Silenced launched in 2001,
  identified paraquat as a main offender in palm
  oil plantations, recommendations made for it to
  be banned along with all WHO Class 1 pesticides

• But since ban, Syngenta and
• MPOA has undertaken various activities to
  overturn the ban
• Malaysian Pesticides Board stands firm to ban.
• The industry approaches appeals to the highest
  levels of political leadership

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Malaysian Ban Under Threat

• April 15, 2005 - Malaysian govt plan to
  reconsider paraquat ban
• Agriculture Agro-Based Industries Ministry
  decides on review after presentations made by
  small-holders key industry players
• April 20, 2005 - PAN AP, Tenaganita over 20
  women plantation workers go to Malaysian
  Parliament to lobby MPs Press Conference held
• "We will struggle and continue our fight to keep
  the ban on paraquat! states Nagamah, women
  plantation workers leader
• Minister responds, decision on lifting ban left
  to Pesticides board
• PAN AP launches world-wide appeal to Malaysian
  Government to keep paraquat ban
• A further extension of paraquats use till 2007
  is announced.

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Case study Endosulfan in Kerala

• In 1979, a farmer in Kasargod realised that
  endosulfan could have caused the deformed limbs
  and stunted growth of his 3 calves and alerted
  the village.
• The Plantation Corporation of Kerala (PCK) in the
  1970s had started aerial spraying of pesticides
  particularly endosulfan to control tea mosquito
  bugs.
• In 1994 KSSP undertook a study that showed that
  disability rate of people in the area was 73
  higher than overall disability rates for the
  entire state
• In 1997, a local medical doctor found large
  number of unusual diseases among his patients and
  wrote to the Indian Medical Association.
• As the health complaints mounted, a local
  agricultural assistant found her son was
  depressed and her daughter was suffering hormonal
  problems and together with others appealed before
  the local court for a stay on aerial spray. The
  court issued a stay order.
• Thanal and SEEK separately undertook two fact
  finding mission reported incidence of similar
  diseases in the villages. This was followed by a
  long-term monitoring of the area in 1999.

Mentally and Physically Challenged Children of
Kasargod
Shruti was Born with Three Deformed Limbs
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Kasargod a long struggle for justice

• In 2000, the Government school also recorded in
  its internal report that most students coming
  from the areas around the plantation were
  observed to be mentally and physically deficient
  compared to students coming from other areas.
• In October 2000, a local court ordered the
  permanent prohibition of use of any insecticide
  by air in the Periya plantation area.
• CSE from New Delhi undertook laboratory analysis
  of blood, water and other samples and the
  analysis showed the presence of endosulfan.
• Studies and counter studies PCK had a private
  lab to analyze samples but they did not find any
  elevated endosulfan levels
• The Kerala Agriculture University asked an expert
  committee to investigate and found that even
  though there were problems related to nervous
  system in some families that there is no evidence
  to show endosulfan as the cause
• Kerala than lifted the ban in 2002
• A large-scale epidemiology study in the area
  started in 2001 by the National Institute of
  Medical Research found high prevalence of
  nuero-behavioural disorders, congenital
  malformation in female children and abnormalities
  related to the male reproductive system had no
  other cause but the continuous aerial spraying of
  endosulfan.
• 2003, endosulfan spraying was permanently stopped
  following the directions of the Kerala High
  Court, based on the precautionary principle.
• The Chief Minister of the state decided to uphold
  the ban on endosulfan in 2004 and in 2006 the
  Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr V S Achutanandan
  provided compensation to the survivors.

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PANs Policy Work in the UN

• Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent
  (PIC) on Certain Hazardous Chemicals in
  International Trade
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
  Pollutants (POPs)
• International Code of Conduct on the distribution
  and Use of pesticides
• Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety
• The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals
  Management (SAICM)

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Alternatives

• Advancing Agroecological strategies of
  agricultural production, their success in
  reducing health and environmental harm while
  maintaining yields, and related economic benefits
• PAN focuses on
• Rice and ecological agriculture
• Implementation of Farmer Field Schools IPM
• Agroecological promotion in other crops
• Commodity supply chains eg. Palm oil (RSPO)
• Alternatives to pesticide in homes

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Sustainable (Ecological) Agriculture successful
and ensures food security

• Gita Pertiwi and Field outreach to 10,000
  families in Indonesia
• 20,000 farmers practising LIESA and 50,000
  farmers involved in Save our Rice Campaign with
  Thanal in India
• Alternative Agriculture network in Thailand (AAN)
• SIBAT and SEARICE in the Philippines
• SHISUKs rice-fish cultivation a model for
  poverty alleviation

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Save Our Rice Campaign

• Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom
• - Food sovereignty
• Safe Food
• Culture
• Biodiversity based Ecological Agriculture
• Community Wisdom

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Role of civil society

• Creating awareness
• Supporting local struggles
• Building capacity to participate and asserting
  rights of people through
• Strengthen local communities technical capacities
• Providing technical support
• Assisting documentation and highlighting the
  problems
• Alerting public and relevant agencies and
  organisations
• Providing recommendations
• Watchdog role
• Providing alternatives where possible

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BARRIERS to CSO participation

• THE LACK OF
• Democratic spaces -- mechanisms to ensure
  participation and consultation
• Political will to ensure participation
• Freedom of information
• Press Freedom
• Complex relationships with the industry including
  political support to chemical industry
• Accountability and
• Transparency (right to know)

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• Confrontation
• Criminalisation
• In April, 1993, Hoechst slapped a law suit on
  Dr. Romy Quijano, a toxicologist and a pesticides
  and human rights activist, for criticising a
  Hoechst product, Thiodan (endosulfan).
• Legal suits
• Madhumita Dutta ,an environmental activist -
  received legal summons to appear before a court
  in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh for publishing an
  investigation on acute pesticide poisoning in the
  district. The case filed by the pesticide
  industry association, Crop Care Federation.

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Systematic synergies/collaboration with other
regional and international networks

• IPEN (International POPs Elimination Network)
• GAIA
• PCFS Peoples Coalition on Food Sovereignty
• APC Asian Peasants Coalition
• CAWI Coalition of Agricultural Workers
• Committee of Women Workers (CAW)

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• THANK YOU
• www.panap.net