Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
9 April 2009
Maputo — The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic on Thursday ratified the Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for international trade in hazardous pesticides and other chemicals.
This Convention states that its objective is "to promote shared responsibility and cooperative efforts" among those involved in such trade. The basic principle is that the dangerous chemicals covered by the Convention can only be exported with the "prior informed consent" of the importer. It is thus a weapon against the dumping of toxic waste on developing countries.
Submitting the ratification proposal to the Assembly, the government pointed out that, due to its geographical location, Mozambique "is vulnerable to potential danger from the transit of dangerous chemical products and because it has not yet ratified the Rotterdam Convention it can currently do nothing to prevent or control the eventual circulation of dangerous products in its territory".
The Assembly also ratified the 1997 Montreal and 1999 Beijing amendments to the Montreal Protocol on substances that destroy the ozone layer. The Montreal amendment introduces a licensing system for "the import and export of new, used, recycled and reclaimed controlled substances", while the Beijing amendment adds Bromochloromethane to the list of controlled substances.
Bromochloromethane (also known as methylene bromochloride or Halon 1011) was once used in fire extinguishers, but has been banned because of its capacity to damage the ozone layer.
The Montreal Protocol, which came into force in 1989, aims to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals, of which the best known and most widespread were chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Full international adherence to the protocol is expected to restore the damage done to the ozone layer by 2050.
Both ratifications passed unanimously, although deputies of the former rebel movement Renamo took the opportunity to snipe at the Mozambican customs service, claiming that its agents were only interested in collecting revenue, and did not have sufficient training to detect dangerous chemicals or ozone-depleting substances.
A woeful ignorance of the science involved was displayed by Jose Palaco who claimed that destruction of the ozone layer "let's in the sun's rays that provoke floods and drought".
In fact, the ozone layer has nothing to do with the weather. It is important because it blocks most of the ultra-violet radiation from the sun. Scientists calculate that between 93 and 99 per cent of the ultra-violet radiation hitting the atmosphere never reaches the surface of the planet because it is absorbed by the ozone layer. An increase in ultra-violet radiation reaching the ground would damage human health by increasing skin cancers. It could also damage crops, and kill plankton, thus disrupting food chains in the world's oceans.
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