The 122 countries taking part in the 2004 Stockholm Convention are meant to present plans to phase out, or prevent pollution by, the "dirty dozen" Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) by the end of this month.

The 12 POPs, including the pesticide DDT and dioxins, are known as some of the most harmful, causing cancers and damaging immune and nervous systems, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

POPs also accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and remain intact in the environment for long periods if they are allowed to get into the soil or water sources such as rivers, potentially spreading over wide areas.

The nine pesticides, two industrial chemicals, and dioxins produced by incineration of some plastics, are already outlawed or severely restricted in industralised nations.

"Today, most developing countries have released their plans. We are waiting for finance," said Ibrahim Sow, a member of Senegal's delegation at a meeting in Geneva over the past week.

Experts warned the effectiveness of international restrictions would depend on financial and technical support for the developing countries involved.

"There are substitutes for most POPs, but their use is hampered by the high cost, insufficient public awareness or a lack of the right infrastructure or technology," UNEP said in a statement.

About eight billion dollars is thought to have been pledged towards monitoring, but some campaigners believe that is not enough.

"It's a drop in the ocean," said Mariann Lloyd-Smith, of the Australian non-governmental organisation, National Toxic Products Network.

DDT is still used in many developing countries to tackle mosquitoes that carry malaria.

However, many African countries have opted to get rid of what was once the most commonly used insecticide, either by shifting to less toxic substitutes or adopting a range of measures.

In Senegal, the effort includes other forms of mosquito control such as campaigns to clean up stagnant pools of water, the use of impregnated bednets, more anti-malarial drugs and public information campaigns.

"We have to see how we can improve these strategies and how African countries can have access to them," explained Henry Rene Diouf of the NGO Pesticide Network Africa, which is part of an international POPs control network.

Another key hurdle is technical assistance. Sow said individual countries, and not donors, must be allowed to determine what is needed in their local setting.

"For treatment, everything is done in Europe. If you talk about reinforcing capacity to deal with the problem, then (treatment) facilities have to be set up in our regions," the Senegalese official said.

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