Pesticides and Environmental Incidents: Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

Incidents involving pesticide use with negative repercussions on human health and the environment regularly occur. While poisoning incidents involving humans are more frequently reported, data related to environmental incidents are comparatively scarce. This report provides a brief overview of the situation and it highlights, based on wideranging examples, some of the main challenges related to the detection, monitoring, and reporting of environmental incidents and the determination of their causes. The report also identifies actions that can be taken to address these challenges and types of technical support that can be provided by the Rotterdam Convention and others.