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BRS TA Newsletter

The workshop was organized by the FAO part of the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat in collaboration with the FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (Samoa) and was funded by a European Commission Global Public Goods and Challenges (GPGC) Thematic Programme project with financial contributions of FAO, Island Sustainability Alliance C.I. Inc (ISACI), the FAO implemented programme on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries; the National Toxics Network Inc., Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Cook Islands.

The specific objectives were to identify key elements of environmental and socio-economic impacts of hazardous pesticides and their less hazardous alternatives, to make case studies from several SIDS countries and results from field demonstrations available and to promote alternatives to hazardous pesticides. Concrete recommendations on how to move towards less hazardous alternatives to hazardous pesticides were supposed to be generated.

Target audience were parties as well as non-parties to the Rotterdam Convention from the Pacific region. 35 participants from 11 countries representing stakeholders from 7 parties and 4 non-parties received explanations on the key obligations under the Convention. Non-parties in addition were informed about the steps to take towards ratification. Representatives from key partner organizations included the Secretariat of the Pacific Communities (SPC), POETCOM, and FAO.

• Strong commitment towards the implementation of the Convention by the Cook Islands through active participation of the Minister of Agriculture and the DNA; submission of last missing import response
• Video footage was taken throughout the workshop and during the field trip, to be used for awareness raising campaigns and as input for a side event to be held at COP-8 in 2017.
• 25 recommendations clustered in a) Implementation of Rotterdam Convention & National Regulations, b) Monitoring of pesticides use & impacts on human health, c) Proposed awareness-raising activities, d) Proposed subregional capacity-building about reducing pesticides use were endorsed by all meeting participants.
• Concrete examples on alternative approaches presented in case studies from Australia, Philippines, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and during the field trip (tarot, dragon fruit, banana, pineapple).

Christine Fuell: Christine.fuell@fao.org