[afro-nets] Science in Environmental Policy Making (2)

[Dr. Shamim ul Moula <shamimul.moula@gmail.com>]

Science in Environmental Policy Making (2)
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People in the third world and American birds of prey

*"I'm sorry, but why should people in the third world at risk
from malaria care about American birds of prey?"*

Dear Sir,

I thank you for your precious mail with references. This is cer-
tainly the moment to act.

Now finally it is the time to demand DDT for the lives in the
planet earth for the effective fight against Malaria. The propa-
ganda by the multinational insecticides and anti-malarial drug
producers and suppliers of the wise "consultants" from western
world have been proved as almost fake as it was mentioned by
Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria, and Roger
Bate, research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute:

"...To some extent the book launched the modern environmental
movement and the campaigns that it spurred eventually led to the
banning of DDT for agricultural use in 1972 by the newly formed
US Environmental Protection Agency. The new government depart-
ment was determined to show that it could act boldly, but many
of the fears Carson expressed were greatly exaggerated, and
there was no scientific basis for the banning of DDT outright
(although restriction in agricultural use was certainly war-
ranted)..."

They also wrote as follows:

"...USAID has an annual malaria budget of $80 million, but the
agency does not spend a single cent buying either insecticides
or drugs for malaria control. The vast majority of the agency's
budget is directed towards US-based consultants who 'advise' ma-
laria control programmes and conduct nebulous projects that have
no clear deliverables..."

Please also see:

"In some third world countries where malaria had been all but
eradicated over the past 20 years, there have been epidemics of
the disease since DDT was restricted. Currently malaria is on
the rise in all the tropical regions of the planet; in 2000, it
killed more than one million and made 300 million seriously ill.
Campaigners claimed that DDT was bad for the environment; they
said that it caused harm to American birds of prey. I'm sorry,
but why should people in the third world at risk from malaria
care about American birds of prey? Decisions about these things
should be based on local needs and on empirical evidence..."
(Green Watch" in 2004).

Let us take our own decisions for DDT as otherwise the inhabi-
tants of HIV/AIDS infested world will possess logical risks of
final destruction with Malaria, although Tuberculous diseases
will also take their tolls.

Sincerely,

Dr. Shamim ul Moula
Grass-root development worker
Dhaka, Bangladesh
mailto:shamimul.moula@gmail.com