Jamaica is among 11 Caribbean countries that are now free from significant quantities of hazardous pesticide waste, as well as their contaminated containers and stores.

The removal of 319 tonnes of obsolete pesticide stocks and related wastes was confirmed by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, at the 71st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development on Agriculture, held at the Caribbean Community Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, last month.

The move was based on a commitment to agricultural and food security, environmental and human health, a release from the FAO stated.

During the meeting, the ministers of agriculture from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, were presented with disposal certificates indicating that dangerous, obsolete pesticide stocks which were removed from their countries had been environmentally soundly incinerated at a specialised facility in the United Kingdom.

The certificates were presented by FAO Sub-regional Coordinator Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul. Obsolete pesticide stocks from the Dominican Republic were also recently safeguarded and exported to the same facility for destruction, and their disposal certificates have been issued.

Due to the small size of the countries, limited human and financial resources, and inadequate regulatory systems to adequately manage pesticide importation and use, Caribbean nations have been traditionally vulnerable to the entry of potentially harmful, unregistered and unregulated pesticides — including counterfeit, poorly manufactured and banned products — which have posed risks for food security and food safety in the region.

“Removing this very hazardous, toxic chemical waste from 11 Caribbean countries has eliminated a major risk from these fragile environments. The fact that it was done with no harm to people or the environment is a testament to the commitment and high quality of work delivered by all concerned,” the release quoted Mark Davis, head of safeguards at the FAO and facilitator for the development of the Caribbean obsolete pesticides project.

The achievement brings significant community and environmental health benefits through decreased exposure to highly hazardous and obsolete pesticides, by removing these chemical stockpiles as well as contaminated sites and containers.

“Obsolete pesticides that can no longer be used for any purpose are dangerous toxic waste. Stockpiles are often poorly stored and the toxic chemicals leak into the environment, threatening human and environmental health. Pesticide containers are also dangerous because they contain residues and are often used to store food or water,” Guy Mathurin, regional project coordinator at FAO’s subregional office for the Caribbean in Barbados, was quoted in the release.

The collective effort to achieve the disposal of hazardous pesticides was made possible by hard work and cooperation between the governments of the project countries and the Coordinating Group of Pesticide Control Boards of the Caribbean (CGPC), with the support of technical expertise from FAO headquarters (Pesticide Risk Reduction Team) in Italy and financial support from the Global Environment Facility, in a project titled ‘Disposal of Obsolete Pesticides Including POPs, Promotion of Alternatives and Strengthening Pesticides Management in the Caribbean’.

“The biggest challenges for the countries are to prevent accumulation of obsolete pesticides by enhancing national capacity on legislation, doing risk assessment, proper management of stock management and using non-chemical pesticides, applying Integrated Pest Management and agroecology practices to solve the problems at the source. Clearly, the countries in the Caribbean are dedicated and continuously put tremendous efforts to strengthening life cycle management of chemicals,” said Baogen Gu, senior FAO officer and team leader of the Pesticide Risk Reduction Team.

Under the project, access to and use of less- and non-toxic alternatives for pest and disease control in crops will be promoted in order to enhance the quality of food products through better control of pesticides, ultimately reducing pesticide residues on food and in the environment.

“The elimination and final disposal of 319 metric tonnes of obsolete pesticides from within 11 Caribbean territories, with the technical support of FAO and funded by GEF, is a remarkable success story. These countries have been given a clean slate from which to launch and implement a pesticide stock management system that prevents the future accumulation of obsolete pesticide stocks,” said Miriam Serrut, registrar of pesticides of the Pesticides Control Board of Belize, who is the current chairperson of the CGPC.

She said that in order to achieve this, it is imperative that all stakeholders, in particular the pesticide industry, heed the responsibilities as outlined in the FAO/World Health Organization International Code of Conduct for Pesticides Management.