FAO.org

At the time of project formulation, Eritrea had undertaken a significant amount of preparatory work to characterize the hazards posed by pesticides, and to develop a communication strategy and legislative framework to address these. In 2008, an FAO project identified 400 tonnes of obsolete and unknown pesticides, around 1 400 m3of contaminated soil, 12 000 empty containers and 5 400 contaminated sprayers. The current project was conceived to safeguard and soundly dispose of the stockpile of obsolete pesticides and highly contaminated materials, held in 294 stores scattered across the country. In addition to the environmentally sustainable disposal of the inventoried obsolete pesticide wastes, the project aimed to strengthen the life cycle management of pesticides in Eritrea, to reduce risks to human health and the environment, and to guard against the further accumulation of obsolete pesticide stocks. The project was implemented in conjunction with the GEF funded project “Prevention and Disposal of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Obsolete Pesticides in Eritrea -Phase II” (GCP/ERI/014/GFF), which has complementary objectives.