The Organization on Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme on Pesticides and Sustainable Pest Management has published a vision for the future, which advocates for a cooperative global approach to regulating agricultural pesticides and sustainable pest management.
The vision includes: enhancing the protection of humans, animals and the environment; integrating green growth strategies; fostering public confidence; and facilitating cooperation between countries and international organizations.
31 October 2014: The Organization on Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme on Pesticides and Sustainable Pest Management has published a ‘Vision for the Future,’ which advocates for a cooperative global approach to regulating agricultural pesticides and sustainable pest management. The vision includes: enhancing the protection of humans, animals and the environment; integrating green growth strategies; fostering public confidence; and facilitating cooperation between countries and international organizations.
The document notes that pesticide use can lead to significant risks to health and the environment, leading many governments to set high standards for registering new pesticides and reevaluating those already on the market. To this end, OECD countries have been increasing their cooperation on joint reviews of pesticides and sharing existing evaluations, leading to more efficient assessments and resource saving by regulators and industry.
The document lays out strategic objectives for 2014, including: protecting human health and the environment through harmonized science-based data requirements and methodologies for hazard and risk assessment; sharing work among regulatory authorities of OECD countries; ensuring integrated pest management (IPM) in all OECD member countries; combating illegal trade of agricultural pesticides; and minimizing non-tariff trade barriers. The core elements necessary to achieve this future vision include: harmonizing regulatory systems and collaboration to help improve the registration system; reducing risk; enhancing communication; and partnering with non-OECD countries.
According to the publication, the OECD Programme on Pesticides and Sustainable Pest Management has worked since 1992 to streamline the process of pesticide approval and registration by helping governments evaluate individual pesticide risks, and assess progress in risk reduction, taking into account climate change impacts and threats to biodiversity. [Publication: Vision for the Future: A cooperative global approach to the regulation of agricultural pesticides and sustainable pest management] [OECD Pesticides Website]