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Africa News afrol News
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Africa News afrol News
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afrol News / Africa Recovery, 1 August - New studies have found that stocks of deadly, obsolete pesticides are five times larger than previous estimates and constitute a toxic "ticking time bomb" in Africa and other developing regions. A new study by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) discovered the alarming new figures. They set the amount of prohibited and outdated pesticides at 100,000 tonnes in Africa and the Middle East, 200,000 tonnes in Asia and 200,000 tonnes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union - often stored in deteriorating and leaky containers without adequate safeguards for people and the environment. According to FAO estimates, stocks of more than 48,000 tonnes of such pesticides have been identified so far in Africa, although the total is likely to climb as more survey data becomes available (see table). The stocks include some of the most poisonous compounds ever made, including dieldrin, DDT and chlordane. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 1 million people are affected by exposure to pesticides worldwide, causing 20,000 deaths annually. - The lethal legacy of obsolete pesticides is alarming, and urgent action is needed to clean up waste dumps, noted Mr. Alemayehu Wodageneh, an FAO specialist. "These 'forgotten stocks' are not only a hazard to people's health, they also contaminate water and soil. Leaking pesticides can poison a very large area, making it unfit for crop production." The problem is particularly severe in sub-Saharan Africa, where farmers and government regulators often lack the financial resources and technical capacity to handle pesticides safely and screen out substandard, banned and contaminated compounds. The FAO and WHO estimate that as much as 30 per cent of pesticides sold annually in developing countries - worth US$ 900 millions last year - fail to meet international standards and are often mislabelled or entirely unmarked.
In the western Ethiopian village of Arjo, FAO researchers found over 5 tonnes of DDT and malathion in a collapsing barn in the middle of the community - just yards from homes and pastures. Residents have long complained of nausea, respiratory ailments and headaches, and report a strong stench from the unprotected site. The Ethiopian government and the FAO, with funding from the Dutch, Swedish and US governments, have begun a clean-up effort intended to destroy 1,500 tonnes of the pesticides - the largest decontamination effort under way in Africa. Disposal costly, difficult Greater involvement by the pesticide industry, which is dominated by a handful of US, European and Japanese companies, said Mr. Wodageneh, is indispensable. "Support from industry is crucial for the disposal of pesticides because aid agencies of donor governments cannot cover all the costs." The industry is committed to assist in the incineration of obsolete and unstable compounds, he noted, but so far has contributed little. In the meantime, FAO, WHO, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Industrial Development Organization have stepped up efforts to assist African governments identify and respond to the toxic threat. In June 2000, UNEP held a regional workshop in Dakar, Senegal, on the Rotterdam convention governing the trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides. UN agencies are working with many African governments, including Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal and Ethiopia, to develop national action plans for the handling and disposal of pesticides, and to encourage adoption of environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical pest control. On 23 May, 122 countries adopted the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, banning 12 of the most dangerous compounds. The Global Environment Facility, managed by the World Bank, UNEP and the UN Development Programme, will finance implementation of the convention. Sources: Based on article by Africa Recovery, United Nations.
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