{"id":5426,"date":"2023-04-06T17:01:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T09:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panap.net\/?p=5426"},"modified":"2023-04-06T17:01:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T09:01:59","slug":"healthy-future-goals-phase-out-highly-hazardous-pesticides-by-2030","status":"publish","type":"panap_updates","link":"https:\/\/panap.net\/beta\/updates\/healthy-future-goals-phase-out-highly-hazardous-pesticides-by-2030\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Future Goals: Phase-out Highly Hazardous Pesticides by 2030!"},"content":{"rendered":"

PAN Asia Pacific, in collaboration with its partners and allies, will launch its annual campaign to Protect Our Children from Toxic Pesticides on June 5th World Environment Day, culminating on International Children\u2019s Day on November 20th, 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Future generations are at risk from Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). While all pesticides can be dangerous, HHPs are of particular concern due to the severe adverse effects they cause to human health and the environment. They constitute a relatively small share of all pesticides registered globally, and yet they cause the most harm, most especially to children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children are more vulnerable to pesticides compared to adults. They breathe more air, eat more food, and drink more water per unit of body weight, which leads to greater exposure in a pesticide-contaminated environment. Almost all conventionally grown food crops present in children\u2019s diets are contaminated with pesticides.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early life exposure to pesticides can damage children\u2019s still-developing brain and nervous system, disrupting mental and physiological growth. Long term impacts of pesticide exposure are linked to childhood cancer, autism, lowering of I.Q. and other learning disorders among children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Globally, around 108 million children are involved in agricultural work and exposed to toxic pesticides. In many rural areas especially in the Global South, homes and schools are often situated right next to farms and plantations where pesticides are used, leaving children unprotected wherever they go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The future of the planet which children will inherit is also at grave risk from the ever increasing use of pesticides. Ninety-nine percent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides are derived from fossil fuels and are a major contributor to the climate crisis. HHPs are a major driver of biodiversity loss, including the drastic decline of pollinators and other species that may lead to the total collapse of ecosystems.<\/span><\/p>\n

We must act now<\/h2>\n

Concerted action on phasing out Highly Hazardous Pesticides is urgently needed to safeguard our children\u2019s future. Many countries have already phased out or restricted many HHPs at the national level, without affecting agricultural productivity. However, the use of HHPs continues to rise globally. Progress on phasing out HHPs and adopting safer and more sustainable alternatives has been far too slow and uneven. Majority of cases of pesticide poisoning happens in the Global South, where there are less restrictions on HHPs and health and safety protection for food producers, consumers, and their children.<\/span><\/p>\n

A new global agreement to better manage chemicals and waste and protect the environment and human health is expected to be reached at the <\/span>International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5)<\/span><\/a> in September 2023 in Bonn, Germany. The ICCM5 is an important opportunity to set an ambitious global target to phase-out HHPs in agriculture by 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2014, PANAP and its partners and allies have led a campaign to Protect Our Children from Toxic Pesticides through awareness-raising on pesticide impacts on children, lobbying for pesticide-free buffer zones around schools, bans on HHPs and promotion of agroecological alternatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, the campaign to Protect Our Children from Toxic Pesticides aims to:<\/span><\/p>\n