Pesticide endosulfan considered for global ban

GENEVA (Reuters) - Scientists took a step closer on Friday to banning the pesticide endosulfan, widely used on crops like cocoa and cotton, despite objections from India which is a major producer and consumer of the toxic chemical.

Endosulfan is under consideration for inclusion on the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) under the 166-member Stockholm Convention -- a treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals.

The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee decided to draw up a risk management evaluation for endosulfan, the penultimate step to putting it on the banned list, the convention secretariat said in a statement.

Once the committee has produced the evaluation it can propose to the next meeting of the convention in May 2011 that endosulfan should be banned.

"Endosulfan is a pesticide that is still widely used on many crops such as soy, cotton, rice, and tea. It is highly toxic to humans and many other animals and has been found in the environment, including the Arctic," the statement said.

India voted against the proposal to draw up the evaluation at the meeting of the 31-member committee.

Substances are listed as POPs if they are shown to persist for long periods in the atmosphere, soil and water, increase in concentration up the food chain, travel over long distances around the globe, and are toxic.

The convention currently lists 21 chemicals as POPs, including the pesticide DDT, which can damage reproduction, mental capacity and growth, and cause cancer.

The committee also decided to prepare a risk profile of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), a flame retardant, for possible listing under the convention.

But it postponed a decision on short-chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCP), used in metalworking and paint, to gather more information on how toxic it actually is.

(Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Reuters

FYI:

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP)
and
The International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ)

proudly announce the launch of the

ASIA PACIFIC RICE JOURNALIST AWARD 2008/09

The first ever Award in the region to acknowledge excellence in writing on rice-related issues!

Rice is Life to the people of Asia and our most revered treasure. It is central to the Asian way of life; its cultural heritage and diversity, spirituality, and traditions.

We invite nominations of the best articles or radio scripts on rice and rice-related issues written by writers, reporters, journalists, or columnists based (working/living) in the Asia Pacific region and published or broadcasted as print or electronic media.


AWARD CATEGORY & ELIGIBILITY: One general category: open to everyone in the eligible* countries in the Asia Pacific region with no age limit. The writer of the published article or radio script must be a citizen, permanent resident or otherwise based (working/living) in the Asia Pacific region*. (*Please see list of eligible countries at www.panap.net.)

DURATION OF COMPETITION: Nominations will be accepted from 1 August 2008 to 31 May 2009 (12 midnight Malaysian time).

THEMATIC SCOPE: Asia's rice heritage (based on the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom described at www.panap.net) and the threats it faces in this era of globalization.

ARTICLES/SCRIPTS: The articles or radio scripts must have been published or broadcasted between 1 September 2007 and 31 May 2009 in print and electronic media i.e., national newspapers, magazines, journals, etc. or on websites of the said media or on radio. While mainstream media is preferred, non-mainstream media will also be considered.

PERMISSION TO USE ARTICLES / SCRIPTS / PRODUCTIONS: The authors agree to allow the competition organisers to use their nominated articles or radio scripts/productions for advocacy, educational, or promotional purposes with no time limit for such use.

Judges: The organisers have jointly designated a regional panel of judges below comprising journalists, activists and other professionals in relevant fields.
- Darryl D'Monte (Chairman) – President of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ)
- Irene Fernandez – Right Livelihood Recipient 2005, and renowned Human Rights activist, Malaysia
- Danilo Ramos – Secretary General of the Asian Peasants Coalition, the Philippines
- Kalinga Seneviratne – Senior Research Associate with the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Singapore
- Devinder Sharma – Renowned and Award Winning Journalist and Political Analyst, India
- Song VoKyung – Renowned Consumer Advocate, Korea

JUDGING CRITERIA
- Editorial Content
- Scientific Accuracy
- Originality and Creativity

The decision of the judges will be final, binding, and not open to challenge. The judges and organisers reserve the right not to present an award if entries do not meet minimum quality standards. Results are expected to be announced by September 2009.

PRIZE: The winner will receive the following:
• US Dollars One Thousand (US$ 1,000) in cash / cheque
• An Asia Pacific Rice Journalist Award plaque
• An Asia Pacific Rice Journalist Award certificate

These will be presented at an event in 2009 to be organised by PAN AP or a PAN AP partner organisation at a venue determined at PAN AP’s discretion.

NOMINATIONS: The Nomination Form and Author’s Declaration Form are attached and are also available at www.panap.net/aprja. Nominations must state the reason for the nomination. Self-nominations are accepted. Nominations must be accompanied by (1) a fully completed Nomination Form, (2) a fully completed Author’s Declaration Form, (3) the original article (or scanned or on a url site) showing the whole article and name and date of the publication as printed or the original radio production (in common audio formats like mp3, AVI, WMA) recording the whole production as broadcasted and (4) a summary translation for non English articles. Submitted articles or radio scripts/productions will not be returned.

Not eligible to participate in this competition are: The management and staff of PAN AP and IFEJ; the judges and their organisations; and the immediate family members of all such persons/organisations.
_______________________________________________________________
For full details on this competition, please go to www.panap.net/aprja
For enquiries, contact: PAN Asia and the Pacific,
P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
E-mail: panap@panap.net