On December 3, 1984, a major accident classified as an environmental disaster occurred at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. In connection with this disaster and in order to draw attention to the problems of chemical pollution of the environment, the Latin American network of fighters against pesticides declared December 3 as the Day of the Fight against Pesticides, which soon became international.

The motto of the International Day against Pesticides is “Pesticides are a dead end for civilization.”

In 2001, in Stockholm (Sweden), the governments of 127 countries adopted the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. This Convention defines a list of 12 of the most dangerous organochlorine pesticides and legally secures the global elimination of persistent organic pollutants, industrial chemicals and gases, and also prohibits their production and use, which causes great harm to all life on Earth. To date, the document has been signed by only two countries – the United States and Canada. But, although the Convention will enter into force only after its ratification in 50 countries, many countries have already realized how dangerous pesticides are for our planet and have refused to produce and use them.

However, the problem still remains quite acute, since persistent organic pollutants, having a weak ability to decompose, have accumulated in the environment over decades of active use and accumulate in the bodies of animals and people. Unutilized stockpiles of pesticides are one of the most serious risk factors for human life and health and the ecological state of the planet as a whole. To draw attention to this problem, environmentalists from different countries hold various actions against persistent organic pollutants on December 3, calling on their governments to ratify the Stockholm Convention and completely destroy pesticides.

Additional information:

• Pesticides in the modern world
• More about pesticides