Status of Highly Hazardous Pesticides and Their Mitigation Measures in Asia

Pesticide is one of the major inputs in modern agriculture and its uses are increasing annually. Pesticides are seen as inherently benign, in the same way that medicines are. Many local languages even use the same word for “pesticide” and “medicine”. Along with the increasing consumption of pesticides, Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), which are more toxic are still in widespread use in Asia and constitute a substantial challenge to human health and the environment especially in low- and middle-income countries with less resources, training and capacities to deal with them. Reducing the risks posed by HHPs has become a priority in various international chemicals management policies, and many countries have started taking action accordingly. The objective of the paper is to establish the national status of the use of HHPs in Asia in line with FAO/WHO criteria for HHPs and encourage deliberate consideration of mitigation options for effective management of HHPs. This report is based on the nationally registered pesticide active ingredients and other related information obtained from Pesticide Registration Authorities of 13 Asian countries and research reports of different national and international journals. There are currently about 3557 pesticide products (active ingredients) registered in 13 Asian countries to control pests on crops and for public health uses, and 214 HHPs among the list of registered pesticides still in use in these Asian countries. An analysis of the list of registered formulated products revealed that 61 different active ingredients are included in these 214 registered HHPs in Asian countries. Considering the global concern of HHPs, there is thus every reason to develop mass awareness raising programmes based on knowledge, aptitude and practices and to disseminate them within the community in order to inform about the risks of HHPs and to replace HHPs and mitigate human risk and exposure to HHPs. It is concluded that detailed surveys and studies should be formulated with help of experts from academia and research organizations to construct a baseline data which may be helpful to tone down the HHP situation in the country.

Current status,prospect and policy and institutional support for Conservation Agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region

The current growing demand for Conservation Agriculture(CA)at the national level in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region presents an opportunity to promote its widespread adoption and up-scaling through national policy and institutional support that appears necessary.Despite the obvious benefits of CA,it does not spread automatically unless the constraints that hinder adoption are understood and addressed in specific situations.These can include a combination of intellectual,social,financial,biophysical,technical,infrastructure constraints,or policy related support.Knowing what the bottlenecks are is important in developing strategies to overcome them.This paper presents:(a)some of the generic policy opportunities that exist for the adoption and uptake of CA;(b)a summary proceedings and outcome of the Regional Expert Consultation Workshop held in Beijing and sponsored by FAO Regional Office for Asia-Pacific which describes the status of CA in the Asia-Pacific region;(c)the challenges to CA adoption and uptake in the Asia-Pacific region;and(d)the conditions that need to be taken into account in designing and promoting policy and institutional support strategies for up-scaling CA.

清洁生产与可持续发展的关系

清洁生产作为一项可持续性发展战略,其成就应该在与环境、经济和社会影响的关系中进行量度.清洁生产在世界范围的执行成果已经被经济增长和消费的提高所抵消.世界贸易组织,还有世界银行和其他最主要的机构,已经使得发展危机雪上加霜,而且应对日益退化的环境负责.对跨国公司的监控与管制已经失败.更需要在跨国公司政策上做强制性改变,以及促进更大的社会与环境责任.