Consequences of pesticide use in the tropics
Surprising insecticide findings
The project focused on “modern”, often polar active substances, such as fungicides and insecticides. In Africa as well as in Central America, there are still hardly any regulations on these. However, it is evident that they are widely used. In individual samples from streams, the researchers found active substances in concentrations that were significantly above the threshold limits as recognised in Switzerland. And problematic concentrations were also found in boreholes and ponds from which the population draws its drinking water. In addition – and this was surprising – the team found substances in the water that are hardly ever sprayed on the fields, including the insecticide chlorpyrifos, which has since been banned in Switzerland. The researchers suspect that the agent is used to control mosquitoes and mites in stables and enters the environment with farmyard manure, for example.
The “Pestrop” project was jointly led by the aquatic research institute Eawag and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.
Philipp Staudacher on the use of pesticides in developing countries
Lecture at Eawag Infoday 2023
At Eawag’s Info Day "Aquatic research for sustainable development" on 14 September 2023 in Dübendorf, Christian Stamm, Deputy Director of Eawag, will take a closer look at Eawag's research on the use of pesticides in the Global South, but also in Switzerland, and present the research results. In particular, he will explain the conflict of goals between plant protection versus environmental and health protection, identify the causes of the problems and outline possible solution strategies. Further information on the Eawag’s Info Day programme and registration