Stemming the Flow of Poison the Role of Unep and the Fao in Regulating the International Trade in Pesticides
| Published date | 01 April 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711789601300104 |
| Date | 01 April 1996 |
| Author | Peter Hough |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
69
STEMMING
THE
FLOW
OF
POISON
THE
ROLE
OF
UNEP
AND THE
FAO
IN
REGULATING
THE
INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
IN
PESTICIDES
Peter
Hough
Introduction
In
the
early
1990s
an
international
regime
regulating
the
issue
of
the
pesticide
trade
emerged.
Unlike
in
other
pesticide-related
issues,
such
as
industrial
safety
and
environmental
pollution,
the
rules
established
by
UNEP
and
the
FAO,
in
conjunction
with
pressure
groups,
have
been
observed
by
both
the
chemical
industry
and
governments
and
have
had
an
impact
on
political
behaviour
within
the
issue-system.
This
is
despite
the
fact
that
the
most
powerful
actors
within
the
issue-system
did
not
support
the
establishment
of
the
FAO/UNEP
rules,
which
appear
not
to
be
in
their
interests.
Thus
the
issue
appears
to
contradict
the
tra-
ditional
belief
that
regimes
are
established
in
order
to
maximize
the
interests
of
dominant
actors.
This
article
thus
argues
that
norms
of
behaviour
in
interna-
tional
politics,
on
which
regimes
develop,
can
have
their
source
in
morality
as
much
as
in
the
priorities
of
the
powerful.
The
problem
defined
The
introduction
into
the
Third
World
of
Western
agricultural
technology
in
the
1960s
and
’70s,
commonly
known
as
the
’Green
Revolution’,
created
a
depen-
dence
on
pesticides
produced
in
the
West
and
opened
up
a
massive
new
trade,
flowing
from
North
to
South.
Some
96
per
cent
of all
pesticides
are
produced
in
the
industrialized
North.’
While
most
of
the trade
in
these
products
is
within
Northern
countries,
some
20
per
cent
of
pesticides
are
sold
to
the
Third
World
to
the
tune
of
around
£2.4
billion
a
year.’
With
increased
public
consciousness
in
Europe
and
the
United
States
of
pollution
and
the
merits
of
organic
farming,
the
Third
World
market
looks
to
expand
and
become
increasingly
attractive
to
the
big
agrochemical
firms
in
the
West.
International
regulation
of
the
trading
of
pesticides
has,
until
recently,
been
extremely
lax
and
has
certainly
not
kept
in
step
with
municipal
law
in
the
devel-
oped
states.
Awareness
of
the
hazardous
nature
of
many
substances
used
for
pest
control
has
gradually
seen
the
most
toxic
chemicals
becoming
banned
or
restrict-
ed
in
the
West,
with
rigorous
safety
guidelines
for
their
application
developed.
Many
pesticides
banned
and
withdrawn
from
use
domestically
in
the
developed
1
R.
Norris
(ed),
Pills
,
Pesticides
&
Profits:
The
International
Trade
in
Toxic
Substances
(Croton-on-Hudson:
North
River
Press,
1982),
p.8
(figure
based
on
data
from
the
1978
Yearbook
of International
Trade
Statistics,
Volume
2
(New
York:
UN,
1979).
2
J.
Erlichman,
’The
Deadly
Cocktails’,
in
The
Guardian,
2
March
1990.
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