September 30, 2015

Consolidated List of Banned Pesticides: Pesticide Action Network releases list of Highly Hazardous Pesticides banned in countries around the world

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) today released The Consolidated List of Banned Pesticides. Frequently asked for this information, PAN has compiled the list to identify which pesticides have been banned by particular countries, using official sources of information.

The Consolidated List also shows whether these pesticides are regarded as highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) according to the criteria established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization; and/or according to the criteria agreed by PAN. HHPs are extremely difficult to use without significant risk to people or to the environment. Exposure can damage a person’s nervous, reproductive and developmental systems or result in cancer. They cause many deaths of farmers and farm workers. HHPs also significantly impact environmental quality and biodiversity.

As of July 2015, of 98 countries on which PAN could collect data, one or more of these countries have banned a total of 316 pesticide active ingredients. In addition, the European Union refused approval for a further 53 pesticides that meet the PAN criteria for an HHP.

“This list illustrates that countries around the world, from various regions, have successfully banned HHPs. Effective alternatives to HHPs exist, and it is a lack of political will that is hampering progress on banning HHPs and moving towards safer agricultural practices not relying on such pesticides,” said Dr. Meriel Watts, senior scientist from PAN Asia and the Pacific, who compiled this list.

The countries with the most known bans are Saudi Arabia (65), Cambodia (56), EU (48 banned +169 HHPs not approved), China (46), Thailand (40), Mauritania (42), Guinea (37), Oman (37), and Benin (35).

Pulling together such a list has been a difficult task since many countries do not publish lists of banned pesticides, nor notify the bans to the UN secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention which also collects this information but does not provide a consolidated list.

As new information on bans is obtained, an updated version of the Consolidated List will be published by PAN approximately every 6 months. Due to discrepancies in official information available from various countries, there may be some inaccuracies in the list. PAN encourages government officials from various countries to point out any such instances, and provide accurate up-to-date information.

“Highly Hazardous Pesticides have terrible human health and environmental impacts. Knowing the full extent of bans around the world is important as they indicate that alternatives are available. To better protect human health and the environment governments everywhere must take note of these bans and commit to getting more bans of HHPs in place,” said Carina Weber, director of PAN Germany.

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