Poisons in the System: The Global Regulation of Hazardous Pesticides

A number of international regimes have emerged in the last thirty years contributing to the global regulation of pesticides. These developments bear testimony to the work of pressure groups and epistemic communities in highlighting the environmentally polluting effects of hazardous pesticides, to which the regimes have contributed. However these regimes were only achievable because they also satisfied other values, given greater priority at the global level. Human health and global trade values were also at stake, rather than just the conservation of the non-human environment.This global picture is in contrast to the situation at the domestic level, where environmental values are prominent in the regulation of pesticides. It is more difficult for environmental values to be prioritized at the global level but the development of a global civil society has put environmental values on the international agenda and has led to them becoming more influential in the future development of international regimes. This article explores these arguments. Copyright (c) 2003 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.