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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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Groups Around the World Mark "No Pesticides Day"
January 10, 2000
On December 3, 1999, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) groups around
the world observed "No Pesticides Day" with a host of activities to
draw attention to the life-threatening impacts of chemical
pesticides on people and the environment. This date was chosen to
honor those who died as well as those still suffering as a result of
the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India. (See PANUPS, Bhopal: 15 Years
Later, December 3, 1999.)
"The current trends of globalization and the industrialization of
agriculture are promoting intensive use of hazardous pesticides.
This has increased the suffering of millions of people in rural
agriculture and the plantation sector the world over," stated
Sarojeni V. Rengam, Executive Director of PAN Asia and the Pacific.
While most pesticide-related deaths occur in the global South,
pesticides also pose serious problems in industrialized countries.
In both rich and poor countries, however, the poor and children
suffer disproportionately.
The manufacture, distribution and use of chemical pesticides
continues to harm people and the environment in countries throughout
the world. Each year approximately three million people are poisoned
and 200,000 die from pesticide use. While many of the reported ill
effects are acute cases of pesticide poisoning, chronic long-term
effects such as cancer and reproductive problems are of increasing
concern.
Launch of PAN International Web site
The PAN International Web site was launched on No Pesticides Day.
The Web site was developed by PAN North America in collaboration
with the other PAN Regional Centers. The site is a comprehensive
entry point on the Web to the entire international PAN network. It
offers information about PAN and its international work, and links
to each Regional Center's Web site. The address is
http://www.pan-international.org.
Regional activities
Asia: Throughout December, PAN Asia and the Pacific collaborated
with partner groups in the region to observe No Pesticides Day by
launching the Asian Safe Food Campaign. This year, the Campaign
tackles endocrine disruptors by exposing the threats posed by
chemicals--particularly pesticides--that can disrupt the hormone
systems of human beings and wildlife. The Campaign was launched in
Malaysia, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka with activities
ranging from public health forums and seminars to indigenous and
safe food festivals and farmers' gatherings.
Africa: To spread the message of No Pesticides Day, PAN Africa is
working to educate decision makers, extension workers, peasant
groups, sustainable decision-makers agriculture NGOs and the general
public in various African countries about the dangers of pesticide
use. Ongoing campaigns will emphasize the hazards that pesticide
production units and warehouses represent for surrounding residents.
North America: PAN North America (PANNA) launched a joint project
with U.S. farmworker organizations to provide much needed
information on the poisons these workers encounter in the fields. In
addition, PANNA led a delegation of PAN groups to the December
meeting of the Montreal Protocol in Beijing and participated in the
ongoing negotiations to phase out the ozone-depleting fumigant
methyl bromide.
Latin America: In Latin America, the activism represented by No
Pesticides Day is ongoing, according to Luis Gomero, Coordinator of
PAN Latin America, based in Peru. In the wake of the death of 24
Peruvian children who drank milk contaminated with parathion, PAN
will mobilize to petition regional and national governments to ban
the extremely toxic World Health Organization Class 1a and 1b
pesticides, which present unacceptable dangers to public health and
the environment. In Latin America, PAN is working to take the
message of No Pesticides Day to every community and every
legislator.
Europe: Representatives from the Pesticides Trust of the U.K.
traveled to Bhopal to join in the activities to commemorate the
fifteenth anniversary of the worst chemical disaster in history.
For more information:
PAN Centre Regional Pour L'Afrique, B.P. 15938 Dakar-Fann, Dakar,
Senegal; phone (221) 2 54 914; fax (221) 254 914; email
panafric@telecomplus.sn
PAN Asia and the Pacific, P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia;
phone (604) 657 02 71/656 0381; fax (604) 675 7445; email
panap@panap.po.my
PAN Europe c/o The Pesticides Trust, Eurolink Business Centre, 49
Effra Road, London SW2 1BZ UK; phone (44-171) 274 8895; fax (44-171)
274 9084; mail pan-uk@pan-uk.org
PAN Latin America c/o Red de Acción en Alternativas al uso de
Agroquímicos (RAAA), Mariscal Miller No. 2622, Lince, Lima, Peru;
phone (51-1) 421 0826; fax (51-1) 440 4359; email
rapalpe@mail.cosapidata.com.pe
PAN North America (PANNA), 49 Powell St. #500, San Francisco, CA
94102 USA; phone (1-415) 981 1771; fax (1-415) 981 1991; email
panna@panna.org
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Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
Phone: (415) 981-1771
Fax: (415) 981-1991
Email: panna@panna.org
Web: http://www.panna.org
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