Agricultural Pollution Public Disclosure Authorized

Figure 1: Spraying Rice Figure 2: of Banana Plantations with Fields in Vietnam in the Philippines Public Disclosure Authorized

Source: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Source: Gert Kema, CCBY.

Why Care about Pollution? ing forward moreover, the influence of climate change Agriculture’s heavy and growing dependence on pes- on pest dynamics, along with rising food demand and ticides across large parts of the world, though partly the ongoing shift to intensive farming in the developing fueled by pesticides’ own effectiveness, is placing an world, could make this situation worse. ever-rising burden on human health, biodiversity, and even the agro-food sector. Pesticides are central to the Nature and Magnitude of the Problem

Public Disclosure Authorized mix of Green Revolution technologies that, by enabling Globally, approximately 2.7 million tons of pesticides agricultural intensification, have boosted agricultural were reportedly applied to agricultural land in 2015— productivity and output since the Second World War. nearly 30 percent less than the peak of 3.8 million tons When used correctly, pesticides are a labor-saving tech- applied in 2012 (see Figure 3 based on Food and Agricul- nology that can contain pest populations and improve ture Organization [FAO] data). Consumption is highest crop yields, quality, and storability, at least in the short in China and the United States, which used somewhat run. Outside the Middle East and North Africa where less than 1.8 million and 0.5 million tons per year, re- pesticide sales have generally stagnated, pesticide use spectively, and next highest in France, Brazil, and Japan. has continued to rise across every region, generally In relative terms, Costa Rica, Colombia, Israel, Chile, benefitting food availability and aiding agricultural and China are among the most intensive users of these growth. Their uptake, however—and in many cases chemicals (among large players). Farmers in these coun- their misuse—has generally unleashed a cocktail of tries apply an average of over 15 kg per hectare, versus harmful chemicals into the environment, contaminating 2–3 kg per hectare in France and the United States, and food and drinking water, and poisoning humans and 0.2 kg per hectare in India and Mozambique. In certain wildlife alike. Pesticide poisonings may kill hundreds countries, pesticide use has risen dramatically, in step

Public Disclosure Authorized of thousands of people each year, including tens of thou- with rapid agricultural growth. Vietnam, for example, sands of farm workers, and millions more suffer health went from consuming 14,000 tons of pesticides bearing problems linked to exposure—with the vast majority oc- 837 different trade names in 1990, to 50,000 tons bearing curring in developing countries (see impacts section be- over 3,000 trade names in 2008. Pesticide imports by 11 low). Some 10 million species, or 99 percent of the earth’s Southeast Asian countries grew nearly sevenfold in val- wild biodiversity, are in a precarious condition, and ue between 1990 and 2010. while habitat destruction is the leading cause, pesticide Overall levels of pesticide use, meanwhile, are only pollution is also considered a major contributor. Look- one facet of the problem. The effects of pesticides—from

This note was written by Emilie Cassou. Full references and acknowledgments are available online. Agricultural Pollution Pesticides

Box 1. What Are Pesticides? Figure 3. Global Pesticide Use 1990–2015 Millions of tons of active ingredients A pesticide is any active substance or mixture thereof used to suppress unwanted organisms, or pests, including weeds, insects, fungi, bacteria, and rodents. In agriculture, which accounts for approximately 85 percent of all pesticide us e, pesticides are used before or after harvest to protect and preserve plants or plant products, to influence their growth, or destroy unwanted parts of these. They are also used to suppress pests in confined animal operations. They come in liquid and solid form: as concentrates, solutions, aerosols, and gas; and as dusts, granules, and powders. Pesticides are generally categorized on the basis of the type of pest they are primarily designed to target, the main types of pesticides in worldwide use being (40 percent), (33 percent), and fungicides (10 percent). Notwithstanding these simple categories, a great many pesticides are in use and most commercial pesticides have complex formulations containing active and inactive ingredients which range in purpose, toxicity, and persistence in the environment. According to the World Health Organization’s 2009 system of classification, the active ingredients in pesticides range from “extremely or highly hazardous” (classes Ia and Ib) to “moderately hazardous” (class II), “slightly hazardous” (class III), or being “unlikely to present acute hazard in 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 normal use.” Source: Based on FAOSTAT data.

chronic to acute—depend not only on how heavily they The use of highly toxic or persistent chemicals, in- are applied, but also on their toxicity and persistence in cluding ones that have been banned in their country of the environment, their handling, and the susceptibility origin or use, is another critical problem in many parts of non-target organisms that get sprayed, ingest pesti- of the world; and the consequences of such chemicals cide granules, or consume contaminated water or food. can last long after their use has been uprooted. Con- Improper mixing, dosing, or timing, for instance, tinued use of these substances is often linked to poor can render pesticides less effective and accelerate pest monitoring and enforcement and other factors such as resistance, leading farmers to apply more. In Vietnam, the availability and effectiveness of these chemicals, where overuse has been an issue, it now takes pesticide and vested economic interests in producing or selling doses 500 times greater than in the past to kill rice-feed- off stocks of these pesticides. Another issue, particularly ing planthoppers. In Australia, wheat farmers’ repeated in developing countries, is the use of generic versions application of overly diluted pesticides contributed to of pesticides in which the initial brand name producer pernicious weed infestations in the 1980s and 1990s by has lost commercial interest, as these can be subject to accelerating resistance. inadequate toxicological monitoring. Generics represent Even with proper use, battling pests with chemicals around 30 percent of pesticide sales. can lead to a kind of arms race that cyclically sends farm- ers reaching for more potent substances. Some users of Impacts herbicide-resistant and pesticidal genetically modified Pesticides are now widespread in the environment, and organisms (GMOs), for instance, are confronting pest notwithstanding their different toxicity, dispersal, and resistance and reverting to the harsher chemicals that persistence properties, many of the pesticides that are biotechnology had allowed them to replace (for exam- released are harmful to non-target organisms, from ple, potent, broad spectrum insecticides, and less benign mammals to invertebrates. More than 90 percent of wa- herbicides). ter and fish samples from all streams sampled in the Unsafe handling conditions also make contamina- U.S. contain at least one pesticide, for example. Globally, tion more likely, as when producers apply pesticides modeling has shown that agricultural insecticides may with a lack of protective gear, dispose of pesticide-laden be entering surface waters in over 40 percent of land equipment and containers carelessly, or expose entire area (see figure 4). communities through aerial fumigation—whether the Particularly harmful is the presence of those per- cause is a lack of awareness, the desire to cut costs, or a sistent and accumulative pesticides that in some cases lack of means. become more toxic in the environment because their Agricultural Pollution Pesticides

Figure 4. Global Risk of Freshwater Pollution from Agricultural Application

Source: Ippolito et al. 2015. Permission required for reuse.

effects reach further into time and space (though per- Figure 5. DDT Levels in Humans 1960–2008 sistent pesticides have sometimes been replaced by ones that are more acutely toxic). Examples of these so-called Nanograms per gram of lipid weight persistent organic pollutants (POPs) or persistent bioac- cumulative and toxic (PBT) agents include substances such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), aldrin, endosulfans, and other organochlorine insecticides that have been banned or restricted in certain countries but are still in use in many. Figure 5 shows that while the levels of DDT detected in human tissue have declined globally over the past decades, they have remained sub- stantially higher in tropical countries. The most acute effects of pesticides can be seen in the many cases of that occur every year, particularly among agricultural workers and in developing countries. Reliable global estimates of the number of cases of pesticide poisoning are lacking—a reflection of data inadequacies and aggregation chal- lenges. In the mid-1980s, the WHO found that there were probably over 1 million cases (and possibly more than 2 million cases) of acute, unintentional poisoning with severe manifestations each year—70 percent attributed to occupational exposure, and hundreds of thousands of related deaths (WHO 1990). The same report calculated that, based on the estimate that 1 percent of all pesticide users could be poisoned each year in China, there could be 2.5–5 million cases of unintentional poisonings there each year (WHO 1990). In developed countries, where Source: Ritter et al. 2011, in UNEP 2012 (GEO5). the incidence of acute pesticide poisoning is known to Permission required for reuse. Whereas exposure in the general population be much lower than it is in developing countries, more Note: reflects exposure to agricultural uses of DDT, mostly than 18 per 100,000 full-time workers and 7.4 million in the past, the “highly exposed” populations were school children may be affected according to more re- primarily affected by indoor spraying in the context of cent studies (Thundiyil et al. 2008). malaria control. Pesticide-related poisonings and deaths, meanwhile, Agricultural Pollution Pesticides

Figure 6. Hand Pollinating Pear Orchards in Sichuan, China Figure 7. Applying Pesticide to Crops in Yunnan, China

Source: © Eric Tourneret. Source: © Mads Nissen / Panos. are widespread among fish, birds, and other forms of thology, or fish stocks, the various productivity impacts wildlife, often in connection with the use of organophos- of pesticide use directly harm farm profitability. In ad- phates and carbamates in insecticides. Invertebrates, in- dition, pesticide-related food safety concerns, verified cluding beneficial insects such as natural predators and or perceived, mean lost market opportunities. In 2015, pollinators, suffer the most severely from pesticides, as mere rumors of pesticides being discovered on straw- they are often most closely related to target organisms. berries in Beijing led local producers to lose millions of Pesticides such as neonicotinoids, for instance, have yuan within weeks before public authorities could carry been shown to impair bees’ ability to navigate, implicat- out tests that assuaged consumer fears. Meanwhile, the ing these in colony collapse crises. Pesticides can also failure to meet screening requirements kill beneficial soil microbes, including nitrogen-fixing costs developing country exporters large sums in reject- ones, leading to higher fertilizer requirements and in- ed products and foregone trade. Pesticide pollution is creasing plants’ susceptibility to disease. also problematic well beyond the agro-food sector. Pes- Though less visible and understood, the worst effects ticide contamination of both surface water and ground- of pesticide pollution on living organisms may be con- water is of particular concern given reliance on these for nected to its chronic effects on growth, physiology, re- drinking water. production, and behavior. Certain pesticides, for exam- ple, mimic hormones in humans and wildlife, leading Drivers to endocrine disruption, afflictions of the reproductive The drivers of excessive and improper pesticide use are system, and certain forms of cancer. Prenatal and early as varied as the problems associated with the use of life exposure to certain still used in these chemicals. These range from classic externality, in- agriculture (for example, chlorpyrifos) may also ham- formation, principal-agent, and coordination failures, to per brain development in children. As already noted behavioral, physical, and structural path dependencies. above, another problem that can develop over time as Agricultural producers do not generally face the full pesticides are used repeatedly in a given environment is social and environmental costs of excessive and improp- that of pest resistance. Some 42 percent of the species on er (or even illegal) pesticide use, and do not always fully the threatened or endangered species lists in the United perceive the private costs they do face in terms of pest States are at risk primarily because of alien-invasive spe- resistance or chronic health effects. On the input side cies that have proliferated in part because of pesticide of the market, meanwhile, this mixture of externalities, overuse (Pimentel, Zuniga, and Morrison 2005). information asymmetries, and weak regulatory en- Several of these and other impacts cause direct eco- forcement can translate into a strong profit motive for nomic losses to the agro-food sector. The loss of polli- pesticide suppliers to market chemicals for which there nation services in certain parts of China—which some are buyers, irrespective of bans or adverse downstream attribute to the heavy use of pesticides—, for example, consequences. Marketing and extension efforts, as well has left no choice but to hand-pollinate fruit trees, a la- as subsidies in certain contexts, help to boost pesticide bor-intensive activity valued at tens of billions of dollars purchases by touting their benefits, offering discounts worldwide (see Figure 6). In addition to being costly, oc- for bulk or bundled input purchases, or simply lowering cupational hazards make it harder for the farm sector to their price. compete for increasingly scarce labor. Whether related Yet pesticide misuse often persists despite the heft to soil fertility, worker safety, pest resistance, plant pa- and salience of certain risks to producers, such as the Agricultural Pollution Pesticides

loss of income linked with market rejection, or the loss research to, for example, develop early warning capac- of good health or life due to pesticide poisoning. Even ity and effective control techniques. Technical changes when producers are aware of such overwhelming private in how pesticides are formulated or applied—ranging costs, they can lack the technical or financial means, or from the simple to the sophisticated—can significantly knowledge, to take corrective action. Behavioral factors reduce the use of and exposure to toxic pesticide sub- (for example, action-intention divides and social norms), stances. The use of pesticide-coated seed, for instance, coordination failures (when gains from change cannot be can help reduce pesticide contact and applications when achieved by acting alone), and principal-agent problems used correctly, while biocontrols (e.g., the inoculation of (when workers making decisions face lesser consequenc- soil with non-toxigenic fungi that outcompete unwanted es than their employers) can intervene, as can various in- toxic ones) can sometimes offer more benign alternatives put market issues that ultimately limit producers’ options to harsh chemicals (though they too can carry risks). with regard to what chemicals they apply and how. To the extent that current practices can be held in In highly commercial farming contexts however—as place by social expectations—for instance to maintain in industrial production systems—the persistence of the appearance of a clean field—changes in practices highly polluting practices (that is, associated with neg- may also require social norm change. Vietnam in the ative externalities) has often less to do with resource, 2000s met considerable success in gaining control over information, institutional, or cognitive constraints, as pesticide abuse and planthopper devastation in the it has to do with path dependence, and possibly the Mekong Delta, its rice basket region, by marketing IPM power to influence regulation. If pesticide dependence through posters, leaflets, television spots, and a radio is particularly pronounced in highly specialized pro- soap opera (it later initiated regulatory measures to pre- duction systems that intensively grow a single or small vent exaggerated pesticide marketing claims). In experi- number of species, this is partly due to the tendency mental fields, farmer incomes improved by 8–10 percent, for these simplified agroecosystems to have fewer nat- and in 2006, the campaign was aided by the demonstra- ural defenses against pests (for example, in field crop, tion effect of an outbreak disproportionately harming fruit, and beverage tree monocultures). Their options heavier users of pesticides. are structurally constrained, to the extent that switch- Market incentives and the removal of subsidies. ing to less chemical-dependent modes of production can These can also help enhance the profitability, or short- be cost-prohibitive. While industrial farms have greater en the payback period, of changing practices. In some means to adjust their practices to maximize profit and contexts, this requires the removal of direct or indi- comply with regulatory standards, they also have more rect subsidies. In 1986, for example, Indonesia stopped means to shape regulators’ attempts to correct for exter- subsidizing a range of pesticides in an attempt to get a nalities for their commercial benefit. Meanwhile, certain handle on their rampant use—a measure that was effec- wholesalers, retailers, and consumers play a role by de- tive until the market was flooded by lower cost, gener- manding perfectly unblemished products, strengthen- ic versions of these in the 2000s. In the United States, a ing the incentive for farms to use pesticides. voluntary, organic certification standard developed by the Department of Agriculture in 2000 has allowed a What Can Be Done? growing (though still marginal) share of consumers to Though some of the costs of pesticide pollution are what pay a motivating price premium to farmers for avoid- are known as externalities in that they affect a diffuse set ing most synthetic inputs including pesticides. In this of actors, farmers stand to benefit privately and substan- respect, heightened awareness and norm change among tially, in many cases, from investing in better manage- the public and further down food value chains can also ment practices and technologies. Preventive pest con- yield results. Lowering retailer and consumer expecta- trol can often save farmers more time and money, over tions when it comes to the aesthetic perfection of the time, than can the systematic use of pesticides with all produce they buy can weaken farmers’ incentive to de- the risks this brings. For example, integrated pest man- liver unblemished products at all cost. agement (IPM), an approach to which favors Bans, standards, enforcement, and monitoring. natural pest control mechanisms and rests on synthetic Where chemical bans or restrictions and food safety pesticides only as a last resort, is less aggressive than or other standards can be implemented effectively and other methods, to be sure, but can ultimately be less transparently, these can contribute to informing, rais- costly. The following are some of the approaches that ing awareness, diffusing technology, and if they are can be used to address pesticide pollution preventively. tied to market access, economically incentivizing farm- Information, awareness, norm change, and tech- ers to use pesticides more carefully. Legal access to the nology. For farmers to use pesticides more judiciously, it European Union, North American, and other markets, can help for them to be aware of the near- and long-term for instance, is conditional on meeting maximum resi- benefits of alternative choices, as well as to have materi- due limits (MRLs) for food and feed, compliance with al and financial access to these. This requires data and which, though not flawless, is monitored upon entry and Agricultural Pollution Pesticides

within food distribution channels. With effective imple- regulated substances as their production, use, sale, dis- mentation, the results of pesticide bans can be clear and posal, and presence are governed by both international substantial. Bird deaths related to acute pesticide poi- and national texts in most countries. Monitoring and soning, for example, are thought to have declined from implementation remain a global challenge, however, as 67 million to (a still substantial) 15 million between 1992 does the stringency of existing laws and regulations in and 2012 in the United States, largely as a result of the certain cases, particularly as pesticide formulations and elimination of certain organophosphates from agricul- scientific evidence on their risks are constantly evolving. tural use. Overall, pesticides are widely and heavily

Box 2. International Efforts to Address Pesticide Risks While most pesticides are regulated at • Also in force since 2004 is the established jointly by the FAO and the national level, various international 2001 Stockholm Convention on the WHO in 1963—sets MRLs for efforts have attempted to coordinate Persistent Organic Pollutants, pesticides found in food, to protect their oversight and raise awareness of which aims to protect human health health and ensure a level playing their risks. Chief among these are the and the environment by reducing field for trade among participating following. or eliminating POP releases to countries. • To promote the voluntary exchange the environment. The Convention • The World Trade Organization’s of information, the FAO launched recognizes 23 of these as of Agreement on the Application the International Code of Conduct 2015, and requires parties to the of Sanitary and Phytosanitary on the Distribution and Use of Convention to, among other things, (SPS) Measures requires that Pesticides in 1985, and the United prohibit and eliminate, restrict, pesticide standards be based upon Nations Environment Programme or reduce the use, production, “an assessment, as appropriate (UNEP) set up the London import and export of those listed to the circumstances, of the Guidelines for the Exchange in annexes A, B and C respectively. risks to human, animal or plant of Information on Chemicals in In addition, the Convention has life or health” and encourages International Trade in 1987. In supported developing countries compliance with the UN Codex 1989, the FAO and UNEP jointly to properly dispose of stockpiles Alimentarius. Negotiated under the introduced the Prior Informed of obsolete POP pesticides. Other 1986–1994 Uruguay Round of trade Consent (PIC) procedure to provisions relate namely to the negotiations, the SPS agreement ensure that governments have safe management of POP wastes, entered into force in 1995. adequate information to assess risks research, education, information • The WHO’s Recommended associated with chemical imports. exchange, and data collection. Classification of Pesticides by • Legally binding obligations have • The 1980 Basel Convention on Hazard, published (most recently in since replaced these according to the Control of Transboundary 2009) by its International Program the 1998 Rotterdam Convention on Movements of Hazardous Waste on Chemical Safety (IPCS), provides Prior Informed Consent Procedure and their Disposal aims to protect a scientifically consensual and for Certain Hazardous Chemicals human health and the environment widely used description of the in International Trade, which from the adverse effects resulting risks associated with chemical entered into force in 2004. Its aim from the generation, management, exposures, aligned with the UN’s is “to promote shared responsibility transboundary movements and Globally Harmonized System of and cooperative efforts among disposal of hazardous and other Classification and Labelling of parties in the international trade wastes, including that of POPs. Chemicals (GHS, first adopted in of certain hazardous chemicals Since its entry into force in 1992, 2003). The IPCS develops training [including pesticides] in order shipments of hazardous and other modules on chemical safety in an to protect human health and wastes that are made without attempt to harmonize approaches the environment from potential consent have been illegal in to risk assessment. The WHO’s harm; and to contribute to the application of the PIC procedure. International Agency for Research environmentally sound use of those The Convention also obliges parties on Cancer (IARC) reviews evidence hazardous chemicals, by facilitating to ensure that hazardous and other on the carcinogenicity of chemical information exchange about their wastes are managed and disposed agents; and the WHO Pesticide characteristics, by providing for a of in an environmentally sound Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) national decision-making process manner. provides information on pesticides on their import and export and by • The Codex Alimentarius—the and public health to facilitate disseminating these decisions to UN’s international food standards, pesticide registration within parties.” guidelines, and codes of practice, member countries.