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Context:

Experts urge India to ban chlorpyrifos before global chemical summits in Geneva due to its toxic effects.

Background

India faces pressure to ban chlorpyrifos, a toxic pesticide, before a major global chemical safety summit in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 28 to May 9, 2025. Experts, including Indian scientists and activists, demand immediate action because chlorpyrifos harms human health and the environment. Despite being banned in over 40 countries, India still uses it on crops like rice, cotton, and Bengal gram.

The upcoming Conferences of the Parties (COP) to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (BRS COP), brings together world leaders to tackle hazardous chemicals. Indian experts urge the government to align with global standards and phase out chlorpyrifos in favor of safer alternatives.

Why Is Chlorpyrifos a Problem?

Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide, attacks the nervous system by blocking an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which controls nerve signals. This disruption causes serious health issues, especially in children. Prenatal exposure links to neurotoxicity, irreversible brain damage, reduced IQ, attention disorders, and developmental problems.

It also harms farmers and consumers through contaminated food, water, and air. Environmentally, chlorpyrifos persists in soil and water, travels long distances (even reaching the Arctic), and bioaccumulates in wildlife and humans, causing long-term ecological damage.

The World Health Organization labels it “moderately hazardous,” but its widespread use in India—approved for 18 crops—raises alarm, especially since a 2022 report found unauthorized use on additional crops.

What Are the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions?

• Basel Convention: Controls the cross-border movement of hazardous waste, preventing developed countries from dumping toxic waste in poorer nations.
• Rotterdam Convention: Requires countries to share information about hazardous chemicals before trading them, ensuring “prior informed consent.” Listing a chemical in Annex III mandates transparency.
• Stockholm Convention: Aims to eliminate or restrict persistent organic pollutants (POPs)—chemicals that linger in the environment and harm health. Listing a chemical in Annex A triggers a global ban, though exemptions are possible.

These summits, held every two years, unite over 180 countries to make science-based decisions. In 2025, delegates will discuss restricting chemicals like chlorpyrifos, paraquat, and others, focusing on reducing harm, especially in the Global South.

What Challenges Does India Face?

Indian agriculture depends heavily on pesticides to protect crops like rice and maize, ensuring food security. Alternatives, while available, may be costlier or less accessible in rural areas. Industry stakeholders argue that chlorpyrifos isn’t a carcinogen and demand more research, delaying action.

Globally, some countries, including the U.S. in past meetings, have questioned whether chlorpyrifos meets the Stockholm Convention’s criteria for restriction, mentioning insufficient evidence of environmental persistence. However, recent decisions by UN chemical review committees in 2023 and 2024 confirm chlorpyrifos’s risks, strengthening the case for a ban.

Source: 

DOWNTOEARTH