Toxic Endosulfan Pesticide Is Banned Worldwide

Last week, I wrote about a proposed international ban on endosulfan, and I'm back to report some awesome news.

After many years of worldwide citizen action around a proposed ban, this year, at the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Conference in Geneva last week, success looked within reach. However, one country strongly opposed to such a ban, India, indicated that it would be hard to convince. India is the leading producer and largest exporter of endosulfan and has conducted its own governmental studies supposedly finding that endosulfan is not so horrible (many other studies have found quite the opposite).

Due to a ton of internal pressure to ban this toxic insecticide and a couple of Indian states actually banning it within their jurisdictions, as well as international pressure and negotiation, the country's leadership has come around and an international ban was agreed to on Friday.

Solidarity Youth Movement, based in Calicut in the Kerala State in India, has been a champion of the effort to ban endosulfan worldwide for years and, in the wake of this victory, I think it's worth highlighting some of the tremendous work it has done over the years to get us to this point. Solidarity Youth Movement has organized numerous marches (including to the Indian Parliament), has hosted speeches from leading environmental and human rights activists, has offered endosulfan workshops, has created petitions (including one they placed on Change.org to push for final momentum on the ban this week), and has participated in numerous public hearings.

Solidarity Youth Movement, in the midst of all these efforts to get endosulfan banned, has also offered tremendous support to thousands of people negatively effected by the toxic pesticide, especially in the state of Kerala, where nearly 500 deaths and chronic health problems are attributed to the past use of the pesticide in cashew plantations. It has worked to provide these people with "medical treatment, housing, free rationing of food items, education, employment and community development" as part of its Endosulfan Rehabilitation Project. Additionally, an organization was actually set up under the auspices of the Solidarity Youth Movement -- Endosulfan Victims Forum -- to advocate more forcefully for endosulfan sufferers and their basic needs.

This international ban is a great success and it is no doubt due in part to the continuous efforts of these dedicated activists and humanitarians. We're glad to see that almost 800 people using Change.org helped support the Solidarity Youth Movement's final push this week for landmark ban.

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Photo via Solidarity Youth Movement