7 May 2015
SPC Workshop Builds Pacific Capacity to Assess Pesticide Risk
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The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) hosted a capacity-building workshop on assessing the risks of agricultural pesticides to human and environmental health.

Participants included Pacific Islanders involved in national pesticide registration and management through training in health and environmental risk assessments on hazardous pesticides.

SPC2 May 2015: The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) hosted a capacity-building workshop on assessing the risks of agricultural pesticides to human and environmental health. Participants included Pacific Islanders involved in national pesticide registration and management through training in health and environmental risk assessments on hazardous pesticides.

The workshop, held on 27 April-1 May 2015, in Suva, Fiji, introduced participants to the Pesticide Stock Management System (PSMS), a tool of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) that aims to harmonize the global use and sharing of pesticide registration information and enable users to link and gather pesticide product information from current users to assist in registration protocols. It also assists governments with pesticide regulations by establishing a direct link between customs and pesticide registration offices, SPC says.

According to SPC, most Pacific Islands lack the necessary skills and diagnostic equipment to undertake scientific analyses of pesticides, and often must rely on standards used in neighboring countries, such as New Zealand and Australia. More than 60% of pesticides imported by Pacific Island countries and territories have not been assessed for human and environmental health risks.

Delivering the workshop’s keynote address, Ken Cokanasig, Deputy Director, SPC’s Land Resources Division, stressed the need for national governments to regulate pesticides, particularly highly residual and toxic insecticides, such as organochlorines and organophosphates. He said this requires revising and updating pesticide legislation, adopting effective pesticide registration schemes and implementing the FAO/WHO International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management. He also urged those countries that have not already done so to ratify the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

The EU assisted with workshop funding through its partnership with SPC on ‘Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries.’ [SPC Press Release] [PSMS Website]

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