Ecological Risk Assessment Workshop

Abstract

The IUPAC-supported project “A Global Framework for Implementing Consistent Ecological Risk Assessment for Pesticides for Sustainable Agriculture” has elicited a great deal of interest. Following workshops in China, Colombia, and Chile, a fourth workshop was hosted by the Technical University of Kenya in Nairobi 25-26 February 2016. Losses due to crop pests and diseases can be significant. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, reported losses in maize can be up to 50% due to stem borers, up to 75% due to fungal attack by grey leaf spot, and up to 90% because of weed competition. [1] Pesticides are a necessary tool to reduce crop losses and increase production to feed growing populations, particularly in countries such as Kenya. However, with the use of pesticides comes the need to keep the ecological impact to a minimum. A key to the safe and sustainable use of a pesticide is to evaluate how likely it is that the environment may be impacted as a result of exposure to the pesticide. This requires carrying out an ecological risk assessment. Many countries include an ecological risk assessment in their registration requirements, but risk assessment is an evolving science, and it is important that the current best practices are understood and implemented properly, particularly in scientifically emerging regions. An ecological risk assessment can be broken down into several different steps: