Recognizing that highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) cause a disproportionate amount of harm to people and the environment, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries, many authorities have taken action to remove HHPs from use altogether or to reduce or restrict their use in various ways. Not only national authorities have acted on HHPs; in some cases, regional regulatory bodies have acted; in other cases, private sector organizations have decided to remove the use of HHPs from food supply chains.
This fact sheet extracts information from the more comprehensive document Guidelines on Alternatives to Highly Hazardous Pesticides, about a number of cases in which action was taken on HHPs. The Guidelines aim to inform decision makers, from farmers to government ministers, that acting to remove HHPs from use benefits human health and the environment in multiple ways and does not harm agricultural productivity.
