by Mr. Sebastião Barbosa

As a representative of the FAO to the meeting I would like to thank UNEP and the organizers for the invitation sent to FAO asking for his participation in the Workshop. He emphasized the importance of the agenda issues for the countries of the Cono Sur plus Bolivia. He commented on the reports given by country representatives on POP pesticides and the actions being taken or being proposed for the phase-out of their use and measures to eliminate all stocks. From the country reports, it was clear that all the countries of the Sub-region have enacted legislation prohibiting or severely restricting the use of POP pesticides but unfortunately it was also noticed that very little is being done to implement existing legislation. The role of the South Cone Plant Protection Committee (COSAVE) to achieve harmonization of pesticide registration procedures was recognized but there is still a lot to do in order to establish a better coordination among countries in relation to the POP pesticides, as this problem goes beyond COSAVE’s mandate, also involving animal and human health authorities. On the other hand, the lack of coordination among national institutions and even competition for mandate in many cases, was indicated as a negative factor in achieving the common goals of eliminating stocks of POP pesticides.

FAO activities for the identification and destruction of obsolete pesticide stocks in Africa and the Near East were discussed and presented as examples. The government of the Netherlands has financially supported these activities and it is hoped that other donors will join efforts to do the clean-up in other regions. In relation to this, a publication in Spanish on Provisional Guidelines on the Prevention of Accumulation of Obsolete Pesticide Stocks was distributed to participants. Other information, including a video was offered to participants. Planned joint activities by FAO and UNEP to conduct an inventory of obsolete pesticide stocks in selected countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean region was discussed. There was much interest by workshop participants and a good question/answer session followed. The role and responsibility of the pesticide industry for the clean-up was stressed by many participants and also the role of government and non-government organizations. It was recognized that in some countries of the Sub-region industry is developing isolated activities to call back some of their products and taking care of their disposal but a more orchestrated effort at regional level was found necessary. Mention was made of stocks originated from donations by industrialized countries which should now have part of the responsibility in the very costly disposal activities.