Pubdate: Mon, 03 Sep 2001
Source: National Public Radio (US)
Copyright: 2001 National Public Radio
Contact:  http://www.npr.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1296
Author: Steven Dudley
Note: Transcript from NPR "All Things Considered" broadcast
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

CONTROVERSY OVER US-SPONSORED AERIAL SPRAYING

 From NPR News, it's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.  I'm Noah Adams.

The South American nation of Colombia supplies more than 80 percent of the 
cocaine and half of the heroin consumed in the United States. Over the past 
year, the US has given Colombia more than a billion dollars to fight 
illegal drugs.  About one-third of the US aid money has gone toward a 
massive aerial eradication plan.  The chemical sprayed on the 
drug-producing plants is called glyphosate.  As Steven Dudley reports, 
there are questions about both the safety and effectiveness of using it to 
reduce the drug supply.

STEVEN DUDLEY reporting:

In the US, glyphosate can be found on store shelves in products with benign 
names like Roundup or Rodeo.  In Colombia, it's the most effective 
anti-drug weapon the government has.

(Soundbite of airplane and helicopters)

DUDLEY: With helicopter crews keeping an eye out for dangerous drug 
runners, a T-65 twin-engine airplane zooms overhead, leaving a white cloud 
of herbicides to settle on the coca field below.  Coca is the raw material 
used to make cocaine, but it is defenseless against the glyphosate-laced spray.

(Soundbite of helicopters)

DUDLEY: Colombian and US officials say glyphosate is nothing more than a 
strong weed killer and, if used properly, can effectively destroy unwanted 
crops without causing any damage to the environment.  The makers of the 
chemical also say studies show it's safe for humans and animals if used 
properly.  However, on the label, the makers of Roundup warn that direct 
contact with the chemical may be dangerous, and spraying from a plane is 
not an exact science.

In the middle of this coca field, there's a stream that flows down towards 
the valley floor.  On the edge of the field, there's a patch where 
villagers are growing plantains to sell at the local market. Police Major 
General Alfredo Gomez(ph) says these plantains may die because of the 
glyphosate, but that's the price of growing coca.

Major General ALFREDO GOMEZ: (Foreign language spoken)

DUDLEY: 'You can't have plantains where you have coca,' he says. 'Who's 
ever growing coca is simply violating the law.' Gomez argues that the coca 
growers used processing chemicals that do much more damage to the 
environment than glyphosate does.  He also says the critics of glyphosate 
in Colombia are the beneficiaries of coca. These include left-wing 
guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries who tax coca growers and 
traffickers in order to finance their long-running war against one 
another.  They're scared, says David Becker, a US anti-narcotics official, 
because glyphosate actually works.

Mr. DAVID BECKER (Anti-narcotics Official): From a period of four or five 
years ago, where there was one or two spray planes in the country and they 
simply didn't pay any attention to whether or not there was spray 
occurring, we come to a point now where there's a clear public reaction on 
the part of people who are cultivating against spray and a clear analysis 
by the people that are doing cultivation that if spray starts in an area, 
your time is limited.

DUDLEY: Since the spraying campaign began last year, Colombian authorities 
say the chemical has destroyed 120,000 acres of coca. Despite US and 
Colombian government claims, for some people, the negative effects of 
glyphosate are very real.

(Soundbite of applause)

DUDLEY: At a recent conference on drugs, farmers who've had their coca 
fields sprayed with herbicides expressed their anger.  This man says the 
government's plan is nothing less than a declaration of war against peasant 
farmers. Farmers like Jose Francisco Tenorio(ph) can empathize with the 
speaker.  He says he's seen firsthand what glyphosate can do.

Mr. JOSE FRANCISCO TENORIO: (Foreign language spoken)

DUDLEY: 'It's done a lot of damage,' he says, 'digestive problems and 
headaches.' Tenorio says it's even killed some animals.  These claims 
cannot be substantiated, but Colombian health officials in coca-growing 
regions say they've seen more than a thousand cases of skin rashes and 
gastric disorders. Colombian agronomists claim hundreds of thousands of 
livestock could be affected.  And environmentalists say US and Colombian 
officials have not studied the possible effects of glyphosate on the 
ecosystem of the Amazon region, where much of the spraying is occurring. In 
addition, glyphosate has been mixed with other chemicals, and the effects 
of the mixture have also not been tested.

Last month, a Colombian judge ordered the government to stop spraying on 
Indian reservations after indigenous groups filed suit against the 
government for damages.  After the US threatened to halt aid, the judge 
reversed his order and spraying resumed.

But criticism has continued.  Klaus Nyholm heads up the United Nations Drug 
Control program in Colombia.

Mr. KLAUS NYHOLM (United Nations Drug Control): Of course, the fumigation 
works, but the result is that the farmer will cut even more forest, and 
usually even plant more coca than he would need, because he would expect 
the airplane to come back and spray some of it.

DUDLEY: Nyholm says that fumigation should be strictly confined to the 
large coca plantations and the government should launch rigorous economic 
development programs to help small farmers.  The United Nations official 
adds that initial investigations show that total coca cultivation has gone 
up since the spraying started.  Colombian military authorities say the 
amount of coca being grown has increased by as much as 40,000 acres since 
the campaign began in December.

(Soundbite of helicopters and airplane)

DUDLEY: Undaunted by the statistics, the Colombian government continues to 
attack the illegal drugs from the sky.  In accordance with the wishes of US 
anti-drug officials, the government hopes the strategy will help it 
eradicate 50 percent of the country's illicit crops in the next five years. 
For NPR News, I'm Steven Dudley in northern Colombia.
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