REGION: Nicaragua
NAME OF THE ASSESSMENT: Pesticide Runoff to the Caribbean Sea Nicaragua Establishment of an environmental monitoring system.
1 What organization carried out the assessment?
Centro para la Investigación en Recursos Acuáticos de Nicaragua, Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de Nicaragua
2 Was the assessment a result of an initiative by the body carrying it out? If not,
what body took the initiative that resulted in the assessment?
Fondo para el Medio Ambiente Mundial – GEF, bajo la coordinación a nivel regional del
Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA) y al Ministerio de
Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de Nicaragua (MARENA)
ORIENTATION
3 What is the context and purpose of the assessment?
There is scarce information in Nicaragua about the dynamics of the contaminants
(pesticides with different characteristics of toxicity) in the ecosystems of the Caribbean
coast.
4 Were there explicit objectives for the assessment? If so, what are they?
Evaluate pesticide runoff and generate environmental information to help determine the
sources, causes and promote agricultural practices that give result in reduced pesticide
runoff to the Caribbean Sea.
5 What is the relation of the assessment to the cycle of determining the problems,
adopting measures and evaluating progress?
Since the cotton boom of the last decades until now, there has persisted in the country a
culture of application of considerable amount of pesticides with different characteristics of
toxicity and persistence, which are released to the drainage basins in runoff to surface and
ground water resources and coastal zones of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. There is
scarce information in Nicaragua about the dynamics of these contaminants in the
ecosystems of the Caribbean coast.
COVERAGE AND SOURCES
6 What area does the assessment cover?
Nicaragua
7 What were the reasons for selecting the area covered?
Since the cotton boom of the last decades until now, there has persisted in the country a
culture of application of considerable amount of pesticides with different characteristics of
toxicity and persistence, which are released to the drainage basins in runoff to surface and
ground water resources and coastal zones of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. There is
scarce information in Nicaragua about the dynamics of these contaminants in the
ecosystems of the Caribbean coast.
8 What period of time does the assessment cover?
(-)
9 How often will assessments of this kind be produced?
(-)
10 What aspects of the marine ecosystem are covered by the assessment?
The pesticide monitoring was performed on matrices: water, surface sediments,
suspended particulates and biota.
11 What aspects of human activities and pressures that impact on the marine
environment are covered by the assessment?
Application of considerable amount of pesticides with different characteristics of toxicity
and persistence, which are released to the drainage basins in runoff to surface and ground
water resources and coastal zones of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
12 On what information is the assessment based?
Very few studies on the dynamics and effects of pesticides in different environmental
components such as water, sediment and biota of river basins, coastal lagoons and
marine areas have been developed in the Nicaraguan Caribbean.
13 Where environmental, economic or social data were used, what arrangements
were made for subsequent access to this data by the public or by experts?
They executed four sampling campaigns in the two seasons (winter and summer). In the
Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic monitoring Basin No. 45 (Cuenca del Río Coco)
reaching four sampling sites (Figure 1), and in the Autonomous Region of the South
Atlantic were monitored watershed No. 61 and No. 63 (Basin Rio Escondido and between
Rio Escondido and Punta Gorda), in which eight sites were selected.
14 Where environmental, economic or social data were used, are metadata available
on these data series?
Yes
PROCESS
15 How did the assessment control is the quality of the data used in it?
The qualitative and quantitative determination of the different groups of pesticides was
performed using gas chromatographs, brand VARIAN, equipped with capillary column DB5
and DB1701, electron capture detector (ECD Ni63), thermionic specific (TSD) and mass
spectrometry GC / MS for confirmation of the analyses.
They executed four sampling campaigns in the two seasons (winter and summer). In the
Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic monitoring Basin No. 45 (Cuenca del Río Coco)
reaching four sampling sites (Figure 1), and in the Autonomous Region of the South
Atlantic were monitored watershed No. 61 and No. 63 (Basin Rio Escondido and between
Rio Escondido and Punta Gorda), in which eight sites were selected.
16 Were models of aspects of the marine environment developed and used in the
assessment?
No
17 Did the assessment use any form of indicators?
Yes, they evaluate the pesticide runoff
18 If the assessment was based (wholly or partly) on traditional knowledge, what
practices were used to control its quality?
The qualitative and quantitative determination of the different groups of pesticides was
performed using gas chromatographs, brand VARIAN, equipped with capillary column DB5
and DB1701, electron capture detector (ECD Ni63), thermionic specific (TSD) and mass
spectrometry GC / MS for confirmation of the analyses.
They executed four sampling campaigns in the two seasons (winter and summer). In the
Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic monitoring Basin No. 45 (Cuenca del Río Coco)
reaching four sampling sites (Figure 1), and in the Autonomous Region of the South
Atlantic were monitored watershed No. 61 and No. 63 (Basin Rio Escondido and between
Rio Escondido and Punta Gorda), in which eight sites were selected.
19 If the assessment was based (wholly or partly) on expert opinion, what practices
were used to control its quality?
(-)
20 Was any particular conceptual framework used to organize the assessment?
Yes
21 How were decisions made on which scientific specialism’s should be involved,
and how this scientific specialism’s should be brought in?
Biology, ecology, natural resources
22 How was interaction organized during the assessment process between
scientific, economic and social disciplines and policy makers?
(-)
23 How were non-official stakeholders enabled to participate in the assessment?
(-)
24 Did differences of opinion arise over the conclusions of the assessment? If so,
how were these resolved?
No
25 Was there a peer review of the assessment during the assessment process,
and/or before the final text was published?
No
26 Were any specific arrangements made to link the assessment with other
contemporary international or national processes?
Yes, they realize the determination of pesticides residues was achieved by means of
innovative analytical techniques based on gas chromatography with detectors of electron
capture, thermo-ionic specific and mass spectrometry.
27 Were specific efforts made to strengthen institutional, scientific or technical
capacity for the assessment?
(-)
COMMUNICATIONS
28 In what form was the output of the assessment presented?
The assessment was presented in scientific article
29 In which languages is the assessment available?
The assessment is available in Spanish
30 How were the results of the assessment made public?
The results of the assessment was presented in scientific article
CONTENT ON FUTURE ACTIONS
31 Did the assessment rank the severity of problems or otherwise identify priorities
for future action?
Yes, a monitoring system was established that generates information about the degree of
contamination in the selected hydrographic basins, coastal and marine zones, which
contribute to the development of suitable strategies directed to reduce pesticides runoff to
the Nicaraguan-Caribbean Sea.
32 Did the assessment evaluate options for future policy, and their likely outcomes?
Yes, they realize the determination of pesticides residues was achieved by means of
innovative analytical techniques based on gas chromatography with detectors of electron
capture, thermo-ionic specific and mass spectrometry. A monitoring system was
established that generates information about the degree of contamination in the selected
hydrographic basins, coastal and marine zones, which contribute to the development of
suitable strategies directed to reduce pesticides runoff to the Nicaraguan-Caribbean Sea.
33 Did the assessment indicate gaps in the information needed for it?
Yes
34 Did the assessment indicate gaps in the scientific understanding of the relevant
processes that need to be addressed in order to improve the assessment?
Yes
REVIEW
35 Was there a review of the assessment process in order to draw lessons for future
assessments?
A monitoring system was established that generates information about the degree of
contamination in the selected hydrographic basins, coastal and marine zones, which
contribute to the development of suitable strategies directed to reduce pesticides runoff to
the Nicaraguan-Caribbean Sea.
EXPERT EVALUATION
36 Is the published assessment easy to understand and accessible ton on-specialist
readers?
Yes
37 To what extent does the assessment give confidence that it provides sound
conclusions that apply to the whole of the area covered?
They realize the determination of pesticides residues was achieved by means of
innovative analytical techniques based on gas chromatography with detectors of electron
capture, thermo-ionic specific and mass spectrometry. A monitoring system was
established that generates information about the degree of contamination in the selected
hydrographic basins, coastal and marine zones, which contribute to the development of
suitable strategies directed to reduce pesticides runoff to the Nicaraguan-Caribbean Sea.
38 Does the assessment appear to have been timely in relation to policy
development and the adoption of measures?
Yes
39 Are there any particular strengths or weaknesses in the assessment that are
relevant to the Assessment of Assessments?
The assessment is strength
40 Does the assessment appear to have been influential in policy making and the
adoption of measures?
(-)