Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jun 2002
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Webpage: www.dallasnews.com/world/stories/062102dnintecuador.7c731.html
Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author:  Reese Erlich

HERBICIDES FROM COLOMBIA THREATEN ECUADOREANS

Farmers File Lawsuit Alleging Crop Damage, Health Problems

Ecuador - Walking along a dirt trail here in the heart of Ecuador's Amazon 
forest, farmer Santiago Tanguila points to trees with yellow, withered leaves.

Life for subsistence farmers has always been precarious here in San 
Francisco 2, a village of only 32 people next to the Colombian border, but 
now they face a new danger.

Colombian government planes spray U.S.-manufactured herbicides inside 
Colombia in an attempt to eradicate cocaine-producing coca plants.

But the wind blows the toxic liquid into Ecuador, causing widespread crop 
damage and illnesses, according to local farmers and government officials.

"This liquid comes out and covers everything," said Mr. Tanguila, who is 
president of the Indigenous Association of San Francisco 2. "It wrecks our 
agriculture. It affects everything we grow."

Many of those affected are Quichua Indians, the largest tribal group in 
Ecuador. Indians, who make up 25 percent of Ecuador's 13 million people, 
occupy the lowest economic positions.

Herbicide spraying can kill crops such as coffee, yucca and mango, and 
potentially pollute water supplies, environmentalists said.

Down a dirt path, Quichua farmer Judith Rodriguez recalls how a misty cloud 
of herbicide hit her farm located about a half mile from the Colombian border.

"I got sick with a kind of fever," she said. "I have body aches and intense 
headaches. At the time, I had rashes on my skin. The doctors say the 
problems are caused by the aerial spraying."

Some 10,000 Ecuadoreans were affected by the spraying, according to the 
Quito-based, environmental group Ecological Action.

All of the farmers living within three miles of the border report symptoms 
of herbicide poisoning, while 89 percent living within 6 miles report 
symptoms, according to Adolfo Maldonado, a Spanish doctor who worked on an 
Ecological Action report.

Symptoms include respiratory problems, headaches, severe skin sores and 
intestinal bleeding.

The aerial spraying is financed by Plan Colombia, a $7 billion U.S.-backed 
project aimed at eradicating cocaine production and supporting the 
Colombian government's war with leftist guerrillas.

The Colombian government sprays with RoundupUltra, manufactured by St. 
Louis-based Monsanto Company. Monsanto says RoundupUltra, which is used as 
a weed killer in the United States, is safe both for humans and plants when 
properly applied.

At worst, it would cause temporary eye and skin irritation, Monsanto 
spokeswoman Janice Armstrong said. But she declined to comment on the 
herbicide's use as part of Plan Colombia.

San Francisco 2 residents have filed a class-action lawsuit in Washington, 
D.C., against the Virginia-based DynCorp and DynCorp International, 
headquartered in Ft. Worth. DynCorp oversees the aerial spraying operations 
in Colombia.

The suit seeks unspecified monetary relief for crop damage and health 
problems allegedly caused by the spraying.

DynCorp argues that U.S. courts don't have jurisdiction and that Plan 
Colombia is a legal project approved by the president and Congress. A 
Washington, D.C., federal district court judge is expected to rule soon on 
DynCorp's motion to dismiss the case.

The Colombian government says its planes don't spray any closer than six 
miles from the border. But such claims are disputed by dozens of local 
farmers who live along the border. They say they have seen the planes as 
recently as last January.

Maximo Abad, mayor of the provincial capital of Nueva Loja, reports dozens 
of complaints from farmers who have been hit by aerial spraying. In 
addition to any physical harm, "there's the psychological impact," he said. 
"The fumigation is done with airplanes guarded by helicopters. They are 
violating Ecuadorean air space and scaring children in school."

The Ecuadorean Ministry of Environment wants to conduct a scientific study 
to determine the impact of aerial spraying on agriculture and human health.

Melania Yanez, a ministry official, says not all problems reported by 
farmers are caused by the spraying.

Low coffee yields and smaller mangos, for example, are not likely caused by 
herbicide spraying, she says. An herbicide kills a plant outright, she 
says, and the chemical doesn't affect its growth.

The ministry is concerned, however, because some of the health "symptoms 
reported by farmers are consistent with pesticide poisoning," Ms. Yanez said.

Until a scientific study can be done, the Ecuadorean government wants a 
written guarantee from Colombia that it will not spray within six miles of 
the border, a request so far refused by Colombian authorities, Ms. Yanez said.

Colombian authorities didn't respond to phone calls for comment on the 
fumigation issue.

As for farmers, they want compensation from DynCorp, Monsanto and the 
United States.

"We want them and the U.S. government to pay us for our damaged crops and 
health problems caused by the spraying," said farmer Tanguila. "How else 
can we recoup our losses?"
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