What are Pesticide POPs?
A pesticide is any substance, or mixture of substances of chemical or biological ingredients intended for repelling, destroying or controlling any pest, or regulating plant growth. A number of pesticides have also been shown to cause adverse effects on non-target organisms, amongst those are persistent organic pollutants (POPs), man-made hazardous chemicals that threaten human health and the planet’s ecosystems potentially causing biodiversity loss.
Around the world, how we produce our food is unnecessarily destroying habitats, accelerating climate change and decimating species. In fact, globally, agriculture and land use are responsible for almost 60% of biodiversity loss. (Source: WWF)
In Germany, a recent study has shown “more than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. ... Agricultural intensification, including the disappearance of field margins and new crop protection methods has been associated with an overall decline of biodiversity in plants, insects, birds and other species in the current landscape. (Source: Caspar A. Hallmann)
Production and use of Pesticide POPs
Global production and use of pesticides have expanded steadily during the past decades fuelled largely by the demand for crops for food but also an increasing demand of crops for feed, fibres, biofuels and feedstock. If pesticides are misused or overused they can poison agricultural soil, reduce its resilience and interfere with natural nutrient cycles. Stockpiles of banned pesticides kept in poorly maintained facilities, across Sub-Sahara Africa for example, have left a legacy of polluted soils. (Blankespoor rt al. 2009)
The global goal to minimize adverse impacts of chemicals and waste by 2020 has not been achieved for pesticides and fertilizers Business-as-usual is not an option (Source: Environmental and Health Impacts of Pesticides and Fertilizers and Ways of Minimizing Them UNEP 2021).
Pesticide POPs hazardous effects
Pesticides cause both acute and long-term health impacts. About 385 million cases of non-fatal unintentional pesticide poisonings have been estimated to occur every year, with approximately 11,000 deaths.
POP pesticides exhibit similar characteristic as all POPs: they are highly persistent in the environment, have a high potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification, and can be transported for long distances. They are often classified as a possible human carcinogen and are toxic to living organisms, in particular in the aquatic environment.
POP pesticides were recognized as an issue of international concern in a resolution of the fourth International Conference on Chemicals Management in 2015. They are Highly Hazardous Pesticides, according to Criteria 5: Pesticide active ingredients listed in Annexes A and B of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and those meeting all criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D (Persistence, Bioaccumulation, Potential for long-range environmental transport, Adverse effects on human health and/or the environment) (Joint FAO/WHO meeting on Pesticide Management - JMPM).
A global treaty to protect human health and the environment from POPs
Entered into force in 2004, the Stockholm Convention obliges Parties to eliminate the production and use of pesticides listed in its Annex A and to restrict the production use of the pesticides listed in Annex B.
Sixteen POPs used as pesticides are listed in Annex A: Aldrin to kill termites, grasshoppers, corn rootworm, and other insect pests, Chlordane to control termites, Chlordecone agricultural pesticide, Dicofol to control mites on a variety of field crops, fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, cotton, tea, acaricide for cotton, citrus and apple crops, Dieldrin to control termites and textile pests, Endrin insecticide sprayed on the leaves of crops such as cotton and grains, also used to control rodents such as mice and voles, Heptachlor to kill soil insects and termites, HCB widely used to control wheat bunt, Alpha-HCH and Beta-HCH insecticide, Lindane broad-spectrum insecticide for seed and soil treatment, Mirex to combat fire ants, PeCB fungicide, PCP herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, algaecide, Endosulfan to control crop pests, tsetse flies and ectoparasites of cattle, used also as wood preservative, Toxaphene insecticide used on cotton, cereal grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables also used to control ticks and mites in livestock.
Two POPs used as pesticides are listed in Annex B: DDT with restrictive use as disease vector control (to kill mosquitoes that transmit malaria) and PFOS/PFOS-F with restrictive use as control of leaf-cutting ants.
In May 2023, the candidate pesticide chemical Methoxychlor is listed by the Conference of the Parties. Chlorpyrifos, another candidate pesticide chemical, is still proposed for listing under the Stockholm Convention. See the Interactive timeline of POPs listed under the Stockholm Convention
GMP Dashboard
The UNEP/GEF Global Monitoring project measures concentrations of POPs, many of which are pesticides, in air, human milk and samples of national interest. See the results in the interactive dashboard.
Further Resources
Environmental and Health Impacts of Pesticides and Fertilizers and Ways of Minimizing Them - UNEP 2021
Synthesis report on the environmental and health impacts of pesticides and fertilizers and ways of minimizing them - UNEP 2022
Highly Hazardous Pesticides on UNEP platform
Highly hazardous pesticides on SAICM KNOWLEDGE platform
Stockholm Convention website section on Pesticides
Factsheets UNEP, December 2022
