Bonn, Germany WWF Urges Governments to Fund Alternatives to Poisonous Chemicals WWF, the conservation organization, today urged delegates negotiating a global toxic chemicals treaty in Bonn, Germany, to agree to eliminate 12 of the most dangerous substances, and start funding alternatives for achieving a strong, effective convention.
Studies confirm that the means already exist to phase out POPs.
However, inadequate financial resources prevent developing countries shifting towards and affording these alternatives. It is only with this financial and technical assistance that they will be able to compile well-researched inventories on POPs, develop national plans to end reliance on these chemicals, and initiate the use of effective alternatives. POPs originate mainly from multinational companies in industrialized countries, which have transferred production and sale of these chemicals to developing countries. To demonstrate to arriving delegates that POPs travel to the farthest reaches of the Earth, WWF staff outside the convention center in Bonn sprayed a three meter-high globe with colored water symbolizing the 12 POPs. POPs such as PCBs, dioxin and DDT are linked to health problems in wildlife and humans.