FAO.org

The Government of Botswana has made efforts in recent years to improve the control of pesticides in the country. In addition to ratifying international agreements, it enacted the Waste Management Act in 1998 and the Agrochemicals Act in 1999. However, there was little evidence of the enforcement of these regulations, and a review of their relevance and application was needed. In addition, serious gaps in the ability to control all aspects of the pesticide life cycle were identified. Against this background, the project sought to reduce the risk to public health and the environment posed by poor pesticide management and obsolete pesticide wastes, by building capacity to effectively manage pesticides and avoid future accumulation of obsolete pesticides stocks, identifying Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) used in Botswana, and updating the pesticides regulatory system to phase out HHPs.