Nepal Leads Global Health Movement by Banning Three Highly Hazardous Pesticides
Kathmandu, Nepal - The Center for Public Health and Environmental Development (CEPHED) and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) welcome the decision by the government of Nepal last week to ban three highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) long linked to serious health and environmental concerns. The production, sale, use, and trade of three farm chemicals, chlorpyrifos, phorate, and paraquat is banned immediately, according to the decision by the country’s Pesticide Management Committee.
The Nepali decision follows the September 2023 founding of the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC), which initiated a collaborative Global Alliance on HHPs, with a goal of phasing out all HHPs by 2035. The health risks of the three pesticides banned by Nepal are indicative of the risks from HHPs:
- Chlorpyrifos and Phorate are two toxic organophosphate insecticides, a group of pesticides linked to harms to fetal and children’s brain development and certain cancers. This fall, the Stockholm Convention’s science review committee recommended a global ban on chlorpyrifos, a decision that the COP will consider in spring 2025.
- Paraquat is a toxic herbicide linked to Parkinson’s disease in studies going back more than thirty years and to other serious health concerns.
“We have long worked to document the health and environmental threats from these harmful farm chemicals, so we fully support and applaud the decision to protect public health and the environment with this strong regulation,” said Ram Charitra Sah, Executive Director and Environmental Scientist at CEPHED. “By banning these chemicals, Nepal is leading the global community and fulfilling our national obligation toward the realization of the new GFC policy on HHPs and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). We expect prompt and assertive implementation of this ban throughout Nepal.”
While many HHPs are banned or tightly regulated in most wealthy countries, an IPEN report this year found that pesticide registers in 31 low- and middle-income countries surveyed by IPEN member groups show many HHPs are still allowed for use. In some countries, almost 70% of all pesticides allowed for use were HHPs. The IPEN report also notes that safer alternatives for HHPs are available, leaving no reason for their continued production or use.
“These highly toxic, obsolete pesticides contribute to global violations of human rights, with particularly devastating impacts to vulnerable groups such as women and children,” said Sara Brosché, Science Advisor for IPEN. “HHPs are obstacles to achieving many of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. We appreciate the Nepalese government’s action and urge all governments to take national action to ban HHPs, prohibit the export of HHPs, and support the Global Alliance on HHPs for a swift global phase out of these dangerous, harmful chemicals.”
While praising the urgent and bold decision taken by the government of Nepal to ban these three HHPs, Mr. Sah of CEPHED also warns and draws attention to the long lists of registered pesticides allowed to be imported, sold, distributed, and used in Nepal. As of today, 34.15% (56 out of 164) registered chemical presides in Nepal have been banned in one or more countries around the world for their known toxic impacts on health and the environment. CEPHED calls for a ban on all pesticides that have been banned in one or more countries around the world but remain legally registered, imported, sold, distributed, or used in Nepal.
In fact, many countries that have banned HHPs continue to allow their production and export. A 2020 investigation by Public Eye and Unearthed showed that in 2018, EU member countries approved the export of 81,615 tonnes of pesticides containing substances not allowed for use in Europe. Chlorpyrifos was banned in the EU in 2020 but documents obtained by Public Eye and Unearthed showed that in 2022, the EU exported more than 380 tonnes of the toxic insecticide. Paraquat exports from the EU continue even though the chemical was banned throughout the EU in 2007 (and is today banned in more than 70 countries). Maintaining this health destructive, environmentally unjust double-standard serves only to benefit pesticide makers: four companies – Syngenta Group, Bayer, Corteva, and BASF –control about 70% of the global pesticide market, with the five largest pesticide makers (those four plus FMC Corporation) generating more than one-third of their pesticide sales from HHPs.
“Banning these highly hazardous pesticides will save many lives and protect the health of workers, children, vegetable growing farmers and communities throughout Nepal,” said Pamela Miller, IPEN Co-Chair. “This action sets an important precedent for countries around the world and is an essential measure to safeguard public health and the environment. Nepal demonstrates that action on this and other harmful pesticides is both possible and necessary.”
Ms. Dolores Romano, Policy Manager for Chemicals, European Environmental Bureau (https://eeb.org/) noted, “Finally the time of paraquat, chlorpyrifos, and phorate is over. These highly hazardous pesticides have no longer a place in Nepal. While welcoming this positive move of the Government of Nepal, we invite other countries to follow this example to protect human health and the environment and urge the EU to stop exporting HHP already banned in this region due to their high risks.”
Contacts:
Ram Charitra Sah, Executive Director and Environmental Scientist
CEPHED, Kathmandu, Nepal
Charles Margulis, Communications Director
IPEN
Additional Information
Chlorpyrifos (CAS No. 2921-88-2), also known as chlorpyrifos ethyl, insecticide, is an organophosphate pesticide that has been used on crops, and animals in buildings, and other settings, to kill several pests, including insects and worms. It acts on the nervous systems of insects by inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase enzyme. Exposure to Chlorpyrifos has been linked to neurological effects, persistent developmental disorders, and autoimmune disorders. Exposure during pregnancy may harm the mental development of children. In the case of Nepal, its residues have been found in different vegetables like chilly, eggplants, and tomatoes and farmers have been already affected by this pesticide.
Paraquat /Paraquat Dichloride (CAS No. 1910-42-5) is a toxic organic compound, one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide. It is quick-acting and non-selective, killing green plant tissue on contact. Paraquat is toxic (lethal) to human beings and animals. In humans, paraquat damages the mouth, stomach, and intestines if it is ingested. Once absorbed, paraquat causes particular damage to the lungs, kidneys, and liver. Paraquat exposure has been linked to the development of Parkinson's disease.
Phorate (CAS No. 298-02-2), is an organophosphate used as an insecticide and acaricide. It is very toxic both for target organisms and for mammals including humans. It inhibits acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. Some metabolites may persist in soil. It also damages some seeds. Phorate (Thimate) is absorbed readily through all ways. Its toxicity is high.