Thesis completed as part of the requirements for a Masters Degree in Natural Resource Management, Leicester University, United Kingdom, 1994.
Edited version published in the Faculty Research Journal, Miriam College, 18th Edition, Q.C., Philippines, October 1999, pp. 1-24.
Summary: This study was an offshoot of first hand observations of DDT use in upland indigenous community farming. The study traced origins and use of DDT in the Philippines in the broader context of pesticide circulation in developing countries. Information was gathered through a review of government documents, monitoring records and key informant interviews. A questionnaire survey was conducted with field workers from a provincial rural health office.
Findings present how DDT found it’s way into the Philippines after WW2 through testing and assistance packages for a malaria control program, supported by the United States government and the World Health Organisation. Decisions were made to expand and prolong it’s use despite inconclusive effectiveness, and fears of vector resistance. Evidence of DDT residues in crops indicate that the substance was pilfered from prescribed use for public health into agricultural uses; this is corroborated by perceptions of health workers surveyed. DDT was discontinued only in the early 1990s, due more through a change in the political situation than from any new evidence or environmental concern.
The results of the study underline how, in their search for effective interventions to basic health threats, developing countries are made vulnerable to the market expansion and dumping of unwanted substances from industrialized nations. It recommends less dependence on imported technology and development of primary health care systems that are more environment and people- friendly.
THE ECOLOGY OF THINGS 