Scientists from Brazil and Ecuador jointly conducted a comprehensive analysis of the profound effects of pesticide use in the Amazon. Their assessment highlights the significant environmental and health impacts of these chemicals.
The Amazon is crucial for biodiversity, climate, the water cycle and carbon storage. It is home to indigenous cultures and key to the well-being of the planet. It covers an area of around 7 million square kilometers and faces major challenges such as deforestation, international market pressures, inadequate environmental laws and the growing impacts of climate change.
As a study published at the end of 2023 shows, changes in the water cycle are one of the direct consequences of deforestation in the Amazon. “It is necessary for the moisture in the ground to evaporate, clouds to form and fall again as rain. And to maintain it, rich vegetation is required, mainly trees, shrubs, epiphytes and mosses, which essentially make up the structure of the Amazon rainforest. If they disappear, the soil’s water resources will quickly dry up“ explains Pablo Ochoa, professor at the Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL) in Ecuador and lead author of the study.
The impact of agricultural production and pesticides in the Amazon
In addition, agricultural production in the Amazon increased by 327.3% from 2000 to 2020, reaching about 11.4 million hectares of cultivated area. This growth was accompanied by a significant increase in the use of agricultural chemicals.
According to Ochoa, one of the biggest problems faced by his Brazilian colleagues is that “In order to expand the boundaries of agriculture and livestock farming, they are using glyphosate on a large scale, as they did in the Vietnam War” to destroy vegetation and then destroy it with fires.
In Brazil, the country with the largest area in the Amazon region, the consumption of these products was around 150,000 tons of active ingredients in 2000; in 2019 this value had risen to over 600,000 tons. This trend is also evident in Ecuador, where almost half of its territory is covered by the Amazon forest and, according to the FAO, has one of the highest pesticide use rates in the world (25.8 kg/ha).
Organic alternatives nearby
A study conducted in collaboration with Brazilian researchers identified sustainable alternatives to pesticide use in the Amazon and focused on organic farming of wild species.
This activity benefits biodiversity and protects the Amazon ecosystem, promotes the local bioeconomy and creates positive social impacts for communities.
A successful example is the production of guarana, which demonstrates the feasibility of replicating these methods in various crops and communities in the Amazon. This sustainable approach is not only good for the environment, but also strengthens local economies and improves the lives of indigenous and rural communities.
Contamination of foods and species
From 2013 to 2016, the Agency for Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control of Ecuador, also known as Agrocalidad, conducted a study on maximum residue limits (MRLs) of pesticides in food, examining 2,294 national samples.
Highly toxic pesticides such as thiamethoxam, oxamil, methamidophos, omethoate, phosmet or carbendazim and others have been detected in products such as kidney tomatoes, naranjilla, strawberries and tree tomatoes. For example, oxamil in naranjilla and methamidophos in tomato sprouts exceeded the MRL by 28.7 and 10 times, respectively, in some cases.
Last October, research in Ecuador found alarming levels of water pollution linked to land-use changes due to population growth and agricultural expansion in the Napo River basin.
In summary, pesticide residues were detected at all sampling sites, with the highest occurrence rates occurring for carbendazim, azoxystrobin, diazinon, propiconazole, and imidacloprid. Organophosphate pesticides pose a high ecotoxicological risk and can affect up to 29% of aquatic species.
From the Neolithic to the Green Revolution
About ten thousand years ago, the Neolithic Revolution transformed human society from nomadic hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural societies and marked the beginning of the domestication of plants and animals. This change allowed humans to manipulate the environment to increase food production. This domestication, which included crops such as corn and quinoa in Mesoamerica and the Andes, was a gradual process, transforming natural biological productivity into human convenience.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century brought significant changes to European agriculture, such as: B. Crop rotation and the use of modern technology, increased productivity, supported population growth and the transition to industry.
The Green Revolution of the 20th century continued this change with the development of technologies such as genetically modified seeds, increased use of fertilizers and pesticides, and the mechanization of agriculture. In Ecuador and Brazil, this has spurred the modernization of agriculture and the use of chemicals. However, this has led to environmental and health problems as well as a decline in traditional sustainable practices.
Public Health and Pesticides
Given the lack of data and tools to assess health and environmental risks, it is important to conduct more research on pesticide exposure in developing countries.
To address this need, the Potential Pesticide Exposure Index (PPEI) was developed, which takes into account factors such as the distance between residential areas and agricultural fields, as well as the toxicity of the pesticides used and their frequency.
A joint study by UTPL and the University of Idaho (USA) conducted in the southern region of Ecuador identified areas with high sensitivity to pesticide residues. The analysis found that of the 5,326 counties surveyed in the region, 19.34% were high risk, 21.10% were medium risk and 18.94% were low risk, according to PPEI. This means that almost 60% of this population is at risk.
According to the experts’ conclusions, this index proves to be a valuable tool for managers and scientists to in-depth assess the impact of land use policies on pesticide susceptibility.
With information from:
