The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention in Geneva on last Friday approved the recommendation for elimination of production and use of endosulfan and its isomers worldwide, subject to certain exemptions. The actual decision is to list technical endosulfan and related isomers in Part I Annex A to the Convention with specific exemptions for production as allowed in the Register of Specific Exemptions and/or use on crop-pest complexes as listed with the decision. This would require 173 countries, which are parties to the Convention, to take steps for a ban on production and use of endosulfan. However, exemptions will be available for five years, extendable for another five years. The listing takes one year to be effective.
Exemptions will be available for application of endosulfan against 44 pests in 22 crops — cotton, jute, coffee, tea, tobacco, cowpeas, beans, tomato, okra, eggplant, onion, potato, chillies, apple, mango, gram, arhar, maize, paddy/rice, wheat, groundnuts and mustard. The pests include aphids in most of the exempted crops, bollworms, jassids, whiteflies, thrips and leafroller in cotton, Bihar hairy caterpillar and yellow mites in jute and berry borer and stem borer in coffee. For tea, application of endosulfan is allowed for a host of pests including caterpillars and tea mosquitoes. Endosulfan will be allowed to be used against hopper and fruit fillies in mango and several pests in tomato. In rice, use will be permitted against white jassids, stem borer, gall midge and rice hispa and in wheat against termites and pink borer, besides aphids.
Many of these crops are commonly cultivated in India. Nevertheless, we do not have control on the use of the pesticides. It is impossible in a country like ours to track down the use of the pesticides. Even though the ban is in force, on the use of this pesticide on other crops, we will not be able to have control on its use. In this circumstances, the ban remains only procedural. It is required to have an immediate and complete ban of Endosulfan.
Exemptions will be available for application of endosulfan against 44 pests in 22 crops — cotton, jute, coffee, tea, tobacco, cowpeas, beans, tomato, okra, eggplant, onion, potato, chillies, apple, mango, gram, arhar, maize, paddy/rice, wheat, groundnuts and mustard. The pests include aphids in most of the exempted crops, bollworms, jassids, whiteflies, thrips and leafroller in cotton, Bihar hairy caterpillar and yellow mites in jute and berry borer and stem borer in coffee. For tea, application of endosulfan is allowed for a host of pests including caterpillars and tea mosquitoes. Endosulfan will be allowed to be used against hopper and fruit fillies in mango and several pests in tomato. In rice, use will be permitted against white jassids, stem borer, gall midge and rice hispa and in wheat against termites and pink borer, besides aphids.
Many of these crops are commonly cultivated in India. Nevertheless, we do not have control on the use of the pesticides. It is impossible in a country like ours to track down the use of the pesticides. Even though the ban is in force, on the use of this pesticide on other crops, we will not be able to have control on its use. In this circumstances, the ban remains only procedural. It is required to have an immediate and complete ban of Endosulfan.
its not banned, perhaps the use of endosulfan may increase due to legalizing the use this killer pesticide for excepted crops
ReplyDeleteEvery state has similar complaints against the central govt. that it give step motherly treatment. Does this mean every state should get separate from India?
ReplyDeleteJust like the central govt's fund does not reach where it is intended to reach, the state govt. fund also does not reach the districts and villages. Funds from district HQs does not reach tehsils so on and so forth..
Within a family one sibling complains that s/he is given a step motherly treatment.
Does it mean that the family, a district a state should all break-up thinking that they would prosper without each other???