Reducing Pesticide Run-Off to the Caribbean Sea

Reducing Pesticide Run-off to the Caribbean Sea

Regional Report

GEF PDF-B

February 2001

Acknowledgments

This report is the result of multi-disciplinary teamwork, with participants from the government, academia, industry, private sector, and non-governmental organizations. Making individual acknowledgments is difficult given the diverse number of participants. However, mention should be made of the organizations and individuals who coordinated the work.

First of all the authors thank the governments of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia for their participation in this project. In particular, we would like to thank the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Panamanian Maritime Authority (AMP), and the Colombian Ministry of the Environment (MINAMBIENTE) for their collaboration with this project.

In addition, we would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the national coordinators: Nicaragua’s Helio Zamora, Costa Rica’s Edwin Cyrus, Panama’s Algis Cedeño, and Colombia’s Jairo Hómez. The National Reports owe their superior quality to the organizational and administrative abilities of these four professionals. Nevertheless, without the commitment of the four National Committees, the reports would not have contained such a diversity of ideas and would not have been as complete. We must also recognize the effort and dedication of the participants in the National Workshops of each country. The coordinators, members of the national committees, and workshop participants have assembled reports that will, without doubt, have a positive impact on reducing pesticide runoff into the Caribbean Sea.

The National Reports are the basis for the Regional Report. Thanks to the work of a team of highly qualified professionals, it was possible to synthesize the most relevant concepts, ideas, and recommendations of each of these reports. The points of agreement and difference among the four countries were identified, resulting in a recommendation for a Regional Plan of Action. The group was headed by Dr. Jane Yeomans (Canada) and consisted of Sith Ying Sánchez (Costa Rica), Gina Reyes (Mexico), Karla Cruz (Honduras), and Marianela Castro (Costa Rica).

The general coordinators of the project were Mr. Timothy Kasten, Deputy Co-ordinator of the Caribbean Environmental Program, and Dr. Carlos Hernández and Dr. Ramiro de la Cruz of EARTH University. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the work of the Management Committee and the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Our work is not yet finished. Once more we ask a great multi-disciplinary team of professionals to help us in collaborating on a revision of this report and the final draft of the regional program. Together we can shape the future of our region, preserving the maritime environment of the Southwestern Region of the Caribbean Sea while offering a livelihood and quality of life to the present and future inhabitants of the region.

Table of Contentspage

Acknowledgmentsi

Table of Contentsii

Executive Summaryiv

Backgroundvi

Introduction1

A.The Southwestern Caribbean Region2

B.Importance of Pesticides3

C.Importance of the Marine Environment and the Impact of Pesticides4

D.Reasons for Emphasizing Agricultural Pesticides5

E.Objectives of the Regional Report5

F.Economic Justification7

Summary of the National Reports

A.Data on Pesticide Import, Export, and Use9

B.Handling: Storage, Transportation, Resale, and Distribution of Pesticides11

C.Market Forces12

D.Pesticide Use and Applications13

E.Good Agricultural Practices for Prevention, Reduction, and Control of

Pesticide Runoff14

F.Analysis and Assessment of the Impacts of Current Pesticide Use on the Coastal Environment and Public Health 16

G.Assessment of the Effectiveness of Current Programs, Policies, and Regulations for theRegistration of Pesticides and for the Control of Environmental Pollution and ProtectionofPublic Health from Pesticide Runoff and Improper Use 17

H.Recommended Elements of a Regional Action Plan to Improve Pesticide ManagementtoReduce Pesticide Runoff and Improper Use 20

Conclusions23

page

Annexes

I.Hypothesis Tree and Lines of Action25

II.Logical Framework Matrix27

III.Summary of the Data from the National Reports

1.Types and Quantities of Pesticides Imported by each Country40

2.Types and Quantities of Pesticides Manufactured/Formulated for Domestic Useineach Country 44

3.Types and Quantities of Pesticides Exported by each Country45

4.Types and Quantities of Pesticides Stockpiled by each Country46

5.Types and Quantities of Pesticides Used in each Country47

6.Illegal Trade of Pesticides in each Country50

7.Final Destination of Unused Products in each Country51

IV. Regional Legal Study (Spanish only)

Executive Summary

The Regional Coordinator for the United Nations Environmental Program for the Environment (UNEP - CAR/RCU), serving as the Secretariat for the Caribbean Environmental Program (CEP) and the Cartagena Convention, has developed a regional project, Reduction of Pesticide Runoff to the Caribbean Sea in the area of the South Western Caribbean Basin. This initiative has received economic support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and has the participation of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama y Colombia; countries which are part of the South Western Caribbean Basin.

With the increase in agricultural activity in the countries of the South Western Caribbean, and the extensive use of pesticides, has come a growing concern for the increased incidents of contamination of continental soil and water, whose sediments and residues eventually empty into the Caribbean Sea. From the information compiled by the four countries involved in this project, it can be seen that there is an irrational use of pesticides in agricultural practices in this region. In many cases, there is documented evidence of application of chemicals without following recommendations, and without considering the environmental and social impact of these practices.

Annually the countries of this region import considerable quantities of pesticides. However, pesticides are also formulated, synthesized, exported and or re-exported to other countries by these countries, making it difficult to obtain accurate statistics on the total amounts of pesticides that are in use. The access to this information is difficult due to the fact that it comes from different sources, each responsible for the collection and processing of the information. This movement and management of data have caused, in some cases, discrepancies in the data of the National Reports. For this reason, the information reported in this Regional Report was compiled based mainly on the information from the tables in the Annexes of the National Reports.

The marine currents play an important role in the movement of these contaminants in the sea. For example, as the current of the South Western Caribbean interacts with the continental platform, it produces a cyclic spin-off that changes the direction of the current towards the southeast, passing along the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Then, it turns north as it passes along the coast of Colombia, completing a circular pattern. As a result, the runoff from land-base generated pollution from any of these four countries has a cumulative and cyclic effect, and in the end, affects all four countries. Furthermore, as the cyclic current comes into contact with the main northeastern current, the pollutants may enter this main current as well, and affect the rest of the region that is in contact with the Caribbean Sea.

The main objective of this project is to reduce the runoff of pesticides and to protect the marine environment in the South Western Caribbean Basin by reducing the use of, and reliance on, pesticides in agricultural activities. To achieve this objective, National Reports on pesticide use were prepared and served as a basis for the development of National Action Plans in each country. These Reports evaluated the magnitude of the problem as well as environmental, economic, and social impacts. The existing national programs, policies, and laws were evaluated and alternatives for improving the present situation were proposed.

The National Reports were written with the cooperation of pesticide producers, marketing organizations, local communities, non-government organizations (NGO's), health and environmental specialists, and consumers. There was a coordinator in each country who was responsible for collecting the information and presenting it to the different groups at local workshops and at a national meeting. The final product was a National Plan for each of the four participating countries.

The results of the National Reports clearly indicate that there is a need to increase the awareness and education of the different groups concerning the rational use of pesticides; to strengthen national institutions; and to integrate as a multi-disciplinary group state and local institutions, NGO's, universities, and other academic institutions, private industry, and local communities. As a way to establish incentives for rational pesticides use, it is highly recommended that a monitoring program be implemented to evaluate pesticide contamination and that alternatives be sought for sustainable agricultural production. Finally, reproducible experiments should be conducted, providing relevant information for larger and more extensive projects.

The results from the four National Reports clearly show that there must be an overall ecological approach to the new pesticide strategy, which integrates pest or disease biology for the identification of pest management alternatives. There is a consensus that it is necessary to maintain a diversity of tools for maximizing flexibility, precision, and stability in reaching the objectives of crop production. The usefulness of pesticides is well defined and there is no justification for abandoning chemicals as components in pest management. However, there is also consensus that pesticide use must be rational, correct, and appropriate. Additionally, it is recommended that an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program be implemented as a global strategy.

A Regional Report was written, based on the findings of the four National Reports. This report includes elements of cooperation among the four participating countries for adequate pest management. The content of this report concentrates on the identification of strategies common to all four countries. Based on this information a Regional Action Plan was written, and it will be discussed at the Regional Workshop in Panama City at the end of January (2001).

The results from this workshop will be a short description of this Project for a PDF Project Brief, which will include the identification of co-financing, an analysis of incremental costs, and the development of a plan matrix for actualization of the project. In effect, this document is a request for financial support from GEF to cover costs of the regional elements of the project. Finally, an institutional infrastructure will be developed to implement the National Action Plans, with participation by government and academic sectors, producers, and consumers.

Background

The Regional Seas Programs was initiated in 1974 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and through 17 programs and with the participation of 142 countries worldwide, established guiding principles for the development of programs to deal with pollution of the seas. One of these programs is the Caribbean Environment Program (CEP), a regional cooperation for the protection and sustainable development of the Southwestern Caribbean Region, that has two legal instruments for operation: the Cartagena Convention (adopted in 1983 and entered in vigor in 1986) and the Caribbean Action Plan (adopted in 1983 with the participation of 33 member countries, and signed by 22 of them). The Cartagena Convention complements the Caribbean Action Plan and both were developed by and for the countries of the Southwestern Caribbean Region. The Cartagena Convention contains three protocols: 1) Oil Spills Protocol, 2) Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol, and 3) Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution Protocol.

The Caribbean Environment Program (CEP) has four components:

AMEP - Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution

Support for the Oil Spills Protocol
Support for the Land-Based Sources of Marine Pollution Protocol

SPAW - Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife

Support for the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol

CEPNET - Information Systems for the Management of Marine and Coastal Resources
ETA - Education, Training, and Awareness

The Regional Coordinating Unit of the Caribbean Environment Program of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP-CAR/RCU), as Secretariat to the CEP and Cartagena Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment for the Southwestern Caribbean Region, has developed a regional project Reducing Pesticide Runoff to the Caribbean Sea. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia are participating in this project that was presented to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and subsequently approved for project development funds (PDF), Block B Grant. This PDF-B will have regional and national components for development and implementation.

The objective of this project was to prepare a Regional Report, including elements of regional cooperation between the four countries. This will allow for the development of an institutional infrastructure for the execution of a Management Plan for pesticide use in each of the participating countries, through National Action Plans. The project also seeks to assist the countries in developing and implementing comprehensive management practices and specific measures to control the use of pesticides in the agricultural sector, strengthening the national regulatory systems for the management of chemical substances. The regional component of the project will contribute to the analysis and evaluation of the pesticide load in the shared seas of the region as well as of the mechanisms of pesticide runoff. In addition, this component will promote sub-regional cooperation and coordination to detail common regulations and economic instruments among the four countries.

Introduction

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economies of the Southwestern Caribbean Region, which produces approximately 60% of the world's coffee, 40% of the bananas, 25% of the beans, 20% of the cocoa, and significant quantities of sugar, corn, vanilla, cotton, potatoes, rice, and wheat. Export-oriented agricultural production is the main source of foreign exchange earnings in the region. In Nicaragua, the agricultural sector provides approximately 32% of Gross National Product (GNP), in Colombia 19%, in Costa Rica 18%, and in Panama 7%.

Pesticides are an important tool in agricultural development, contributing to an increase in crop production. In the countries of the Southwestern Caribbean Region, there are basically three agricultural production systems: industrialized systems, systems with low inputs, and subsistence systems. The first two of these systems use agricultural chemicals, but for the most part, the land in this region is farmed using the second system - low inputs. The region has become a major user of pesticides and the use appears to be on the increase. In addition to agriculture, substantial quantities of pesticides are used in programs for the control of disease vectors such as dengue and malaria.

The increase in agricultural activity in the countries of the Southwestern Caribbean Region has heightened the concern about possible contamination of soils and groundwater. Significant quantities of pesticides are mobilized from agricultural land uses and transported through watercourses into receiving coastal waters. There is sufficient information on the levels of contaminants in sediments and marine organisms along the coast of the Mexican Gulf to reveal the transboundary/regional character of marine environmental problems related to the use of pesticides. For example, contaminants accumulate in fish tissue and can reach levels that present significant risks to human consumers. Public health experts and eco-toxicologists have also shown that intensive and excessive use of pesticides can result in disease vectors becoming resistant, thereby increasing the threat to human health. There is evidence that these same things are happening now in the Southwestern Caribbean Region.

The capacity of the sea to assimilate wastes and render them harmless, and its ability to regenerate natural resources, is not unlimited. This phrase was originally interpreted to mean that although the capacity of the oceans was accepted as finite, it is not necessary to take action if there is no scientific evidence of danger. However scientific evidence is seldom conclusive and some scientists in any event argue that once detrimental effects are registered, the assimilative capacity of the environment has already been exceeded.

The UN Secretary General in his 1990 Report on the Law of the Sea expressly recognized the significance of the precautionary principle for future approaches to marine environmental protection and resource conservation. The adoption of the precautionary principle and the implementation of a precautionary approach entail a shift in decisionmaking in favor of a bias towards safety and prevention. It means that in the case of doubt as to the effects on the environment, preventive and remedial action must be taken.

A.The Southwestern Caribbean Region

The currents observed in the Caribbean Sea are influenced by the northeastern geostrophic winds and by currents that originate in the Atlantic Ocean. The current in the Southwestern Caribbean is a continuation of the Guyana current, or North Equatorial current, which intensifies as it enters the region. This circular current enters the Caribbean Sea through the Lesser Antilles, crossing the area in a northwesterly direction and then down around the countries of the Southwestern Caribbean Region.

As this current interacts with the continental platform, it changes direction towards the southeast, passing along the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Then, it turns north as it passes along the coast of Colombia, completing a circular pattern. The Colombian fleet has documented this phenomenon using buoys (Figure 1). These buoys are traced via satellite, demonstrating that the currents completely circle this region approximately every two months. In total, this Caribbean current passes for more than 3000 km of coastline in the four countries (Table 1). Twenty-three percent of Panama's area, while more than 45% of Costa Rica's area, drains towards the Caribbean Sea. More than 90% of Nicaragua's area, and 70% of Colombia's area, also drain to this region. In the Caribbean area, these four countries cultivate almost 3,000,000 ha of crops.