Human Health and the Environment

Adequate locust management implies mitigating and monitoring the potential impact of control operations on human health and the environment with a view to limit any negative side effects due to pesticides, their storage, handling, transport and spraying.

The main human health issue is related to the use of inappropriate pesticides and formulations and/or unnecessary exposure during pesticide handling, transportation, storage and spraying operations. Plant protection staff and workers involved in these operations are under greater risk but rural populations living in treated areas can also be exposed to pesticides. Environment, i.e. soil, water, vegetation and non-target organisms, is also under potential threat in case of pesticide misuse.

Special emphasis must therefore be given to mitigating impact of locust control on human health and the environment, with adoption of appropriate behaviours and specific measures before, during and after control operations. There are many ways to significantly reduce undesirable or unforeseen negative impacts of locust control operations using pesticides. They include:

• Systematic use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by staff involved in control operations and pesticide management.
• Well-trained staff carrying out control operations in respect of good practices, including with sprayers properly calibrated and used.
• Use of updated and efficient techniques (such as Ultra-Low Volume -ULV) as well as less environmentally hazardous pesticides, in particular alternatives to conventional pesticides (biopesticides). 
• Respect of protected areas and buffer zones.
• Adequate pesticide management, i.e. handling, transportation, storage.
• Collection and disposal of empty pesticide containers.
• Timely information and awareness raising of local populations, including on withholding and re-entry periods for humans and livestock, pre-harvest intervals, no re-use of empty containers, etc.

Monitoring the efficacy, quality and impact of locust control operations on human health and the environment is also essential for improving future control operations in addition to adopting any remedial actions, should they be required. This includes:

• Assessment of control efficacy and quality, including by the use of the Spray Monitoring Form and of Human Health and Environment Monitoring Form;
• Assessment of the potential effects on human health (operators, including by measuring incidence of exposure to chemical pesticides/organophosphates, and local populations) and fauna (non-target organisms such as beneficial arthropods, birds, mammals, reptiles, aquatic fauna). This can be done on the spot and as first step by the control agents (as part of the Spray Monitoring Form) and more in depth by specialized Human Health and Environmental Monitoring Teams, set up, trained and equipped to conduct field monitoring missions during the locust campaigns.
• Side effects can also be detected (and corrected if needed) by conducting pesticide residue analysis (i.e. sampling and analyzing of soil, water, vegetation, fauna, etc.). 

The FAO Locust Programme in (CCA), which aims at mitigating and monitoring the impact of locust control operations, has allowed very important progress in this respect. They include the development of national systems for environmental and human health monitoring of locust control operations in six countries, which resulted in the creation of Human Health and Environmental Monitoring Teams in all of them, between 2015 and 2024, for the first time ever in CCA. Practical Guidelines on Pesticide Risk Reduction for Locust Control in CCA as well as material on safety measures (such as posters and calendars) were also published and dispatched to the attention of both staff and populations living in locust-affected areas.