On 20 February 2019, OECD Council adopted the Recommendation on Countering the Illegal Trade of Pesticides to strengthen cooperation between countries and inspectors. A Best Practice Guidance was developed to provide guidance for inspectors and regulatory authorities on best practices for identifying and tackling illegal pesticides throughout the complete lifecycle of a pesticide, from manufacture, through formulation, trade and use to destruction.
A clear, efficient, and modern regulatory framework for pesticides is essential for addressing their impacts on human health and the environment, supporting a life-cycle approach to their management, and ensuring crop protection and a sustainable agricultural industry. This report identifies the gaps, barriers, implementation flaws and inefficiencies that affect the regulatory framework of pesticides in Mexico.
The understanding that some pesticides are more hazardous than others is well established. Recognition of this is reflected by the World Health Organization (WHO) Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard, which was first published in 1975. The document classifies pesticides in one of five hazard classes according to their acute toxicity. In 2002, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) was introduced, which in addition to acute toxicity also provides classification of chemicals according to their chronic health hazards and environmental hazards.
This report includes the outcomes of the workshop discussions, as well as the overall workshop conclusions (Section 4) and recommendations (Section 5) targeted at governments, all stakeholders and OECD.
The purpose of the guidelines is to provide guidance to governments that seek to review, update or design national pesticide legislation. It should be emphasized, however, that legislation alone cannot ensure effective pesticide management and adequate protection of the environment and public health. Governments will need to have in place the necessary institutional infrastructure for registering pesticides and enforcing legislation. Further, governments also need effective supporting policies and tools to promote sustainable pest and pesticide management. This may include promoting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Vector Management (IVM) through training programmes and incentive schemes, increasing availability and use of low risk products, fostering scientific research, carrying out public education campaigns and providing training for inspectors, retailers and professional users. A solid legislative framework should underpin the selected institutional framework, policies and tools. This document supersedes the Guidelines for Legislation on the Control of Pesticides of 1989.
International and national legal frameworks governing the trade and use of pesticides have undergone significant changes over the last twenty years. The International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, the Rotterdam Convention, the Stockholm Convention, the Basel Convention and the Montreal Protocol are only some of the binding and non-binding international instruments applicable to part or all of the life cycle of a pesticide. Specific guidelines for implementation are often available from the secretariat of the applicable international instrument, but comprehensive guidance is generally lacking. Governments need a clear picture of their international obligations as well as guidance on the accepted international consensus on the proper management of pesticides. Upgraded national legislation is needed to align national frameworks with international norms. This text aims to provide governments wishing to design, reform or update their national legislation with up-to-date advice on all aspects of pesticide management. Although the recommendations for national legislative change are designed to be useful to all countries, the text highlights the particular problems faced by developing countries and countries in transition, offering practical solutions to common problems. Also published in Spanish.
This document presents key messages and the state-of-the-art of soil pollution, its implications on food safety and human health. It aims to set the basis for further discussion during the forthcoming Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (GSOP18), to be held at FAO HQ from May 2nd to 4th 2018. The publication has been reviewed by the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soil (ITPS) and contributing authors. It addresses scientific evidences on soil pollution and highlights the need to assess the extent of soil pollution globally in order to achieve food safety and sustainable development. This is linked to FAO’s strategic objectives, especially SO1, SO2, SO4 and SO5 because of the crucial role of soils to ensure effective nutrient cycling to produce nutritious and safe food, reduce atmospheric CO2 and N2O concentrations and thus mitigate climate change, develop sustainable soil management practices that enhance agricultural resilience to extreme climate events by reducing soil degradation processes. This document will be a reference material for those interested in learning more about sources and effects of soil pollution.
These guidelines are a complete revision of the outdated Guidelines for Legislation on the Control of Pesticides [1989]. They are intended for Governments wishing to develop, review, update or strengthen national legislation for the control of pesticides. These serve as a reference for the preparation or review of pesticide legislation and cover all specific elements of such legislation. They describe specific requirements for all stages of the pesticide life-cycle, from manufacturing to use or disposal.
The second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century witnessed important changes in ecology, climate and human behaviour that favoured the development of urban pests. Most alarmingly, urban planners now face the dramatic expansion of urban sprawl, in which city suburbs are growing into the natural habitats of ticks, rodents and other pests. Also, many city managers now erroneously assume that pest-borne diseases are relics of the past. All these changes make timely a new analysis of the direct and indirect effects of present-day urban pests on health. Such an analysis should lead to the development of strategies to manage them and reduce the risk of exposure. To this end, WHO invited international experts in various fields - pests, pest-related diseases and pest management - to provide evidence on which to base policies. These experts identified the public health risk posed by various pests and appropriate measures to prevent and control them. This book presents their conclusions and formulates policy options for all levels of decision-making to manage pests and pest-related diseases in the future. [Ed.]
Resistance to conventional pesticides has been growing rapidly among all pests. Furthermore, there is increased public concern about the safety of conventional pesticides, and increased governmental restrictions have resulted in the need to identify new compounds that are safe and effective in controlling pests that are of concern to agriculture as well as to public and animal health. Biopesticides may aid in the control of such pests with fewer deleterious effects to the environment, people and animals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines biopesticides as "pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals" (www.epa.gov). According to the U.S. EPA's website in 2014 there were more than 430 registered biopesticides along with 1320 active product registrations. Biopesticides have seen a recent growth, which is partially due to increased advances in biotechnological tools for pest control. However, the growth has been largely spurred by the growing needs for new tools to fight pesticide resistance and safer and more benign means of pest management. This volume and the chapters contained within it resulted from the "Biopesticides: State of the Art and Future Opportunities" symposium held at the 246th ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, September 8-12, 2013. The symposium was comprised of 38 papers in five sessions: The Big Picture, Repellents and Attractants, Insecticides and Nematicides, Products from Genetic Improvements, and Economic, Regulatory and Future Needs. Biopesticides: State of the Art and Future Opportunities offers a wealth of information that will enrich the knowledge of experts in the field of biopesticide research.
