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Monitoring SHPFs in Latin-America

04/07/2014

The Rotterdam Convention Secretariat, through FAO Country Representatives and Designated National Authorities (DNAs), organized, conducted and completed the “Implementation of the Rotterdam Convention” project MTF/GLO/145/UEP, in Nicaragua, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, with completion of the project in Colombia in July, 2014.

The objective of this project was to protect human health and prevent environmental risks associated with the misuse of pesticides, giving priority to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

The project emphasized the empowerment of national institutions to monitor and collect information on Severely Hazardous Pesticide Formulations (SHPFs); report incidents associated with SHPFs and submit proposals for possible inclusion of these substances in Annex III. In addition, a key element of the project was to search for less toxic alternatives to those substances already listed in this Annex.

Important results were achieved, thanks to the establishment of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), capacity-building efforts, investigation of acute pesticide poisoning cases (APP), development and distribution of educational material and review of pesticides registration systems, among others.

The project generated positive impacts and helped to establish more responsible and safe pesticide handling. The most relevant results obtained in each country are below.