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?"