July 21, 1995
Conference Focuses on International Trade in Dangerous
Chemicals
At a conference in Brussels hosted by the European Commission
in early July 1995, delegates from around the world made wide
ranging recommendations for greater control, regulation and
monitoring of hazardous chemicals including pesticides. One
of the most controversial recommendations, supported by the
governments of Denmark, Malaysia, Sweden and Costa Rica,
called for a ban on the export of chemicals banned in the
country of production. Industry representatives, however,
warned of the danger in over-regulation and stressed the
importance of free trade, particularly for the chemical
industry which plays a major role in the European economy.
The three day conference was held at the request of Members
of the European Parliament (MEP) to assess the effectiveness
of existing European regulations on international trade in
dangerous chemicals. The conference was also intended as an
opportunity to provide information and guidance to European
Union (EU) member states on elements for a Prior Informed
Consent (PIC) convention.*
Conference workshops addressed such issues as reforming
European legislation, the role of industry in chemical
management in developing countries, capacity building for
chemical management in developing countries, and strategies
for strengthening international policy framework for
management of dangerous chemicals. Recommendations covered a
wide range of topics, but calls for stronger controls and
greater access to information, including publication of trade
statistics, were consistent throughout the conference. The
provision under the current EU regulation to notify the
importing government only on the first export of a banned or
severely restricted chemical received particularly strong
criticism.
Industry representatives promoted enhancement and expansion
of their responsible care and product stewardship programs.
However, many participants felt it important to avoid funding
such programs with development aid, and that "safe use"
should only be dealt with in the broader context of
sustainable development and non-chemical alternatives. The
latter was seen as especially important in relation to
pesticides used in agriculture, where acute and chronic
poisonings are known to be extensive and many more
sustainable alternatives may be available.
While many NGOs, including PAN and Consumers International,
were sympathetic to the concept of a ban on the export of
banned chemicals, they also feared that this would encourage
production to move to developing countries (especially India,
China, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and Mexico) at an even
faster rate than is already the case. These groups instead
advocate a global phase-out of certain named chemicals, with
others remaining part of the PIC procedure. At informal
discussions following the conference, NGOs and concerned
government authorities agreed to work together to collect
information and take this issue further through the parallel
negotiations for a PIC Convention. The Government of Denmark
has agreed to host a meeting for further discussion, probably
in December 1995 or January 1996, before the first
governmental-level meeting to discuss the PIC Convention in
January/February 1996.
The conference was widely representative, with 142
participants drawn from European and developing countries, UN
agencies, industry, European Commission officials, MEPs,
trade unions and a broader than usual representation of NGOs.
Developing country representatives attended from Brazil,
China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Indonesia, Jamaica,
Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, Tanzania, Thailand and
Zambia. NGOs attending included Pesticide Action Network
(PAN) groups from Europe, North America, Asia, Africa,
Greenpeace International Malaysia and U.S., World Wildlife
Fund, Consumers International and a Dutch environment group.
*Prior Informed Consent (PIC), originally a voluntary
procedure, was adopted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization and the U.N. Environment Program in 1989 in
response to concerns, especially from developing countries,
about the risks posed by the increasing use of chemicals.
Under the PIC procedure, countries may act to restrict import
of certain banned and severely restricted pesticides. In
1992, PIC was made legally binding in the European Union (EU)
under Regulation EEC/2455/92, a regulation which also covers
the export of substances banned or severely restricted in the
EU.
Proceedings of the conference will be published in the fall.
A seven page report on the conference is available via email;
send your request to paninfopubs@igc.apc.org.
Source/contact: Barbara Dinham, The Pesticides Trust,
Eurolink Business Centre, 49 Effra Road, London, SW2 1BZ, UK;
phone (44-171) 274 8895; fax (44-171) 274 9084; email
pesttrust@gn.apc.org.
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