India agrees to ban endosulfan, wrests sops

India has agreed to a ban on endosulfan, a chemical that is used widely in the country as an insecticide.

In a surprising softening of stance, India, however, has wrested time for phasing out the chemical from the country. Until Thursday, India was among the nations that had been opposing a ban on endosulfan.

At a 5-day key meeting of an United Nations Environment Programme body in Geneva, a consensus was arrived at in listing endosulfan in Annex A. Under the Stockholm Convention, in which 172 countries are members, listing in Annex A means the chemical is considered to be persistent organic pollutant (POP). When a chemical is listed as POP, signatories of the Convention will have to ban it.

India has listed 15 crops for exemption and sought 11 years to phase out the controversial chemical. The time has been sought to also find an alternative to endosulfan to control pests in plants.

Not just that, India has also obtained an assurance from the convention for getting technical and financial assistance for implementing the consensus.

According to Mr R. Hariharan, Chairman of International Stewardship Centre, all of India's concerns have been addressed and accommodated at the meeting that ended Friday. Mr Hariharan was in Geneva as a neutral observer.

Along with India, other developing nations such as Indonesia have agreed to the ban. Japan and China, which supported India in initially seeking deferment of the ban, too, are also party to the consensus.

A lot of heat and dust was raised before the Geneva meet, especially in India, where the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, went on a fast on Monday demanding a ban on endosulfan across the country.

Kerala and Karnataka have already banned use of endosulfan.

On Friday, the Left Front in Kerala observed a bandh demanding country-wide ban on the chemical. The demand has found support from the BJP, the principal opposition party in Parliament.

Already 27 European Union countries and 21 African nations have banned endosulfan.

India had till now contended that the ban has been imposed by these nations due to trade compulsions.

The country's share in the global endosulfan market is over 70 per cent. Annual production in the country is 12 million litres, valued at Rs 4,500 crore. It also exports the chemical valued at Rs 180 crore.

The Indian industry is also against the ban. Its contention is that endosulfan is soft on pollinators such as honeybees and beneficial pests such as ladybird beetle while killing harmful ones.

India had also contended that the recommendation to ban endosulfan at a meeting in Geneva in October 2010 lacked scientific data. Then, the recommendation was made with a consensus, India argued.

India opposed a ban on endosulfan in view of gaps in scientific data for blacklisting the chemical. Besides India, China and Argentina also opposed such a move.

The Indian pesticide industry says that Europe is inspiring the ban as companies in the continent have decided to stop marketing the compound. For over 55 years, European firms marketed endosulfan and no problem was found then.

On the other hand, those seeking ban pointed out to the harm caused to people in Kerala and Karnataka. People were reported to have been affected by aerial spraying of endosulfan in cashew plantations.

Welcoming India's shift in stance, the Centre for Science and Environment said the Centre should expedite steps for phasing out the chemical.

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