|
4A - Integrated ecological and human health RA (MO18/6) Preliminary ecological and human risk assessment of pesticide-use in multi-use aquatic systems in the tropics. Van den Brink, Paul1, Sureshkumar, (Suresh)7, Daam, Michiel2, Domingues, Ines2, Millwain, Garry3, Beltman, Wim1, Perera, (Warnajith)2, 4, Satapornvanit, Kriengkrai3, 5, 6, 1 Alterra Green World Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands7 NARA, Colombo, Sri Lanka2 University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal3 University of Stirling, Stirling, UK4 University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka5 Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand6 Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand ABSTRACT- Currently, a major difficulty facing the establishment of sustainable management plans in complex agricultural systems in the tropics, is the lack of sufficient relevant information on important ecological, hydrological and land-use processes that underpin the various values generated by natural resources. By applying baseline information from two study sites in Thailand and Sri Lanka, this project aims to develop cost-effective tests and other environmental diagnostic tools that can ultimately be used in an Integrated Risk Assessment Model, leading to the development of policy guidelines for the management of agrochemical use in aquatic systems in Asian countries. The initial stage of the project involved a situation analysis which was followed by a preliminary risk assessment. An important part of the situation analysis was to identify the communities and institutions that are stakeholders in terms of policies and issues relating to pesticide use within the study areas / nationally. The preliminary risk assessment aimed to gather further information on the environmental characteristics of the study sites, in order to estimate potential risks (to both human health and the environment) through pesticide exposures. Once training is completed field deployments will commence to monitor effects. The information gathered will allow modelling of the distribution, persistence and bio-availability of contaminants, and effect monitoring to link fate with effects. The output will be a user friendly decision support system (DSS). The DSS, and its implications for decision making, will be discussed and disseminated at a participative workshop at the completion of the project, following which a set of policy recommendations will be drafted. The paper presented here will give an overview of the outline of the project together with the results of the situation analysis and the preliminary risk assessment. Key words: ecological risk assessment, pesticides, human risk assessment, tropics |
