this may also reflect increased consciousness of environmental hazards related to
pesticides.
The Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent
In industrialized countries, governments are able to test and assess pesticide hazards
and risks and may ban or restrict those suspected of causing unacceptable health or
environmental harm. Developing countries need early-warning systems to alert them
to these actions. The 1992 Earth Summit recommended that the voluntary Prior
Informed Consent (PIC) clause in the FAO Code become an international conven-
tion; it was ratified in September 1998. PIC covers pesticides that are banned or
severely restricted for health or environmental reasons. Once included, governments
must indicate whether they prohibit or consent to import. If they do not respond, it
will be assumed that importation is not permitted.
PIC remained a voluntary procedure until Armenia ratified the convention on No-
vember 26, 2003, completing the fifty-nation ratification requirement, bringing the
PIC treaty into force on February 24, 2004, ninety days after ratification. This means
that the PIC treaty is a legally binding law.
Pesticides banned or severely restricted due to their health or environmental
impacts can be included in the PIC procedure by the participating governments.
Besides this, severely hazardous and acutely toxic pesticides (WHO Class 1a) that are
a threat under the conditions of use in developing countries or countries with econo-
mies in transition may also be included.
The ratification of the PIC treaty is a significant event toward better protection of
human health and the environment. This is an indication of a move toward a more
precautionary approach in managing hazardous chemicals. The new legal strength of
the treaty should concern all those involved in the production, distribution, and use
of hazardous chemicals, especially pesticides. Although the treaty addresses chemicals
in general, out of the thirty-two enlisted chemicals, twenty-seven are pesticides.^4
Persistent Organic Pollutants
Since chemicals are so highly persistent in the environment that they cross national
boundaries, moving from tropical regions to build up in the northern temperate
areas, they also build up in the food chain and the fatty tissue of animals, including
mammals. Nine of the twelve Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) identified so far
are pesticides. These include DDT, still in use against mosquitoes, though most other
POP pesticides are no longer available. Governments are negotiating a convention to
phase out the production and use of POPs.^5
Incomplete Records
There are indications that trade agreements are creating pressure for developing
countries to increase their use of outdated, inexpensive, and hazardous products. The
ongoing liberalization of trade has caused an influx of hazardous pesticides into
International Trade in Pesticides | 221