Caribbean countries have a long agricultural tradition. This, combined with their geographical conditions, has led to the import of a great amount of pesticides which, with the course of time and the recent international ban to certain substances, has led to pesticide stockpiling. Unfortunately, the amount of stockpiles has not been quantified yet in most of the Caribbean countries. Although it is acknowledged that most of these stockpiles are stored in bad conditions, pesticide stockpiles have not been recognized as the cause of local health diseases and are ignored in poverty alleviation policy.

The Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) is developing studies of the impact of pesticide use in the Caribbean Islands. DSD has established a partnership with CEHI in order to raise awareness on this issue. As a first activity, a workshop on obsolete pesticide stockpiling is planned to be held this year.

 Agenda

                            back