IFCS 2008 Award of Merit
Forum vi - Dakar, senegal, september 2008
Ms Barbara Dinham
Current position:
Freelance Consultant
Environmental Policy, Social Justice Advocacy
Trustee Bhopal Medical Appeal
Previous positions:
Director, Pesticide Action Network- UK (Pan UK) (2000-2006)
Senior Policy Advisor Pan UK (1990 - 2000)
Senior Researcher Earth Resources Research
Ms. Barbara Dinham is a leading environmental activist, policy expert and researcher focusing on pesticide hazards and human rights issues in agriculture worldwide. She has served in a leadership role within the Pesticide Action Network for 16 years, including as the Director of Pesticide Action Network UK for 6 years.
Deeply involved in international chemicals and toxics work, she has been a prominent and highly valued participant of key international fora such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Bank and UNEP, where she has strongly represented the voice of civil society and of communities worldwide affected by pesticides. In all these arenas, Ms. Dinham is well known and respected for her hard work, her ability to collaborate effectively in international processes, and her commitment to the highest standards of accuracy.
Under Ms. Dinham’s leadership, PAN-UK has become an internationally respected and successful environmental organization with a broad scope of work ranging from
• Sustainable solutions for the large and toxic obsolete pesticide stockpiles in Africa,
• Pesticide Use Reduction Strategies in Europe,
• Control of pesticides in developing countries,
• Influencing the agricultural policy in the UK and EU,
• Industrial hazards and human rights,
• Safe disposal of pesticides,
• Fair trade and fair agriculture,
• Women’s Health and gender-related pesticide isues in agriculture,
• Organic cotton production and promotion of sustainable, fair trade textile markets.
A highly regarded and well-known scholar, Ms. Dinham has written or co-authored eight books focusing on food security, agri-business, pesticide hazards and pesticide and gender issues.