EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PANAMA
Among the many environmental problems facing the country, one can highlight
an increase in poverty, deterioration in quality of life, an increase in water, soil and air
pollution, deforestation, soil erosion and degradation, an increase in solid and toxic waste
and a loss of biological diversity. Environmental management of this country is fraught
with restrictive factors such as institutional weakness, lack of legal instruments, limited
civic participation, a low level of environmental awareness and little environmental
culture.
The Caribbean Sea area differs from the Pacific coastline in terms of quality of
life and biological diversity. The poverty indices on the Caribbean coast are higher than
in other rural areas of the country. Approximately 40% of the population in this area
lives in poverty, with extreme cases amounting to 20%. A large section of the Caribbean
coast is wooded. There is a great amount of diversity and the zone is administered by
persons with ancestral and traditional techniques which are being used even today in the
exploitation and preservation of natural resources. The Caribbean Sea and its coastal
areas are very important resources for the Republic of Panama, where activities that
contribute significantly to the economy of the country, such as maritime transportation,
ecotourism and fishing, are carried out. Small-scale fishing of non-traditional
invertebrate species contributes to the economy and to the life of these indigenous
communities, as well as to sectors of the Caribbean coastal population that are immersed
in poverty. The soils in the region are largely infertile latosols and there is little arable
land. Agricultural activities are carried out along the coast, predominantly intensive
cultivation of bananas on the river banks, with heavy use of agrochemicals, and largescale cattle rearing. There is also extensive biological diversity as well as conservation of
the largest portion of the country’s natural forests.
Given this reality, there is an urgent need for integrated environmental
management, by the relevant authorities, of economic activities carried out in the area.
Several standards exist for regulating pesticides in the health, agricultural and
environmental sectors. Additionally, permission must be sought from other entities
including the Safety Bureau. However, there is very little enforcement of compliance.
Primary control for the use of pesticides lies with several State entities such as MIDA,
MINSA and ANAM. In the area of marine transportation, the AMP and the ACP fulfil
major roles. Standardization is the responsibility of the MICI/COPANIT as well as
ANAM. Taxation of licensed retail outlets is carried out by CLICAC, an entity whose
focus is on ensuring that instructions are available in Spanish as well as on the expiry
date of the product. Isolated components of the tax system are counterproductive in
certain cases, although this system has enabled the detection of pesticides uses that are in
breach of what is stipulated in the permit.
2
Owing to coordinated inter-institutional work, standards have been established to
regulate the prohibition of sixty-one protectores de cultivos as well as to enforce
restriction of some twenty pesticides that are considered as highly dangerous to health
and the environment.
Pesticides have played an important role in agricultural activities and in public
health. Damage caused to crops by undesirable organisms are of the order of one
hundred bilboas per year. The use of pesticides has had positive economic impacts on
30-100% of crops and has saved many human lives from tropical illnesses transmitted by
insects. Among the many reasons for the use of pesticides in Panama, the most important
are the influence of the industrial/commercial pesticides sector, the use of technology in
the cultivation of monocrops as well as the climatic conditions of the inter-tropical zone
with high temperature and rainfall.
The use of pesticides in the country amounts to about 7 million metric tonnes per
year. Stabilization of the quantities of pesticides in use in Panama has been observed,
with an annual variation of 5-11% over the last few years. Substitution by low-dose
substances and reduction in the growth of cultivated areas are determining factors in this
phenomenon. The quantity of active material used is less than 2 million metric tonnes
per year.
In 1999, the protectores de cultivos with the highest toxicity in use in agriculture
amounted to 3,500 metric tonnes of formulae; this figure does not include oils and other
additives. The most significant group includes herbicides 2, 4-D, glifosato, propanilo,
paraquat and fluazifop, fungicides of the EBDC type such as mancozeb and
clorotalonilo as well as the insecticides terbufos, malation, monocrotofos and
metamidofos. In the 1997-1999 biennium, herbicides were the most widely used
(40.6%), followed by fungicides (30.5%) and insecticides (18.3%) Approximately 200
formulae are used, with 110 being the most frequently used; active substances number 59
of a total of 120.
In general, pesticides enter the Republic of Panama from the United States,
Europe and Japan as well as from Central America, Asia and Africa. 59% arrives by the
Caribbean sea followed by land transportation through northeast Central America.
Local manufacturing utilizes 470 metric tonnes of active material to produce an
estimated 1,370 metric tonnes from 20 formulae with 15 active/year, of which 81.7%
goes to agriculture.
Exports are not very significant in comparison to imports.
The permanent presence of pesticides in the country was estimated at 2-3
thousand metric tonnes of commercial products at the national level, the largest quantities
being during the pre-planting periods.
3
The gross consumption rate of agricultural pesticides was calculated for the 199799 biennium showing a value of 0.97-1.27 kg/capita. In terms of active substances, the
consumption rate is 0.5 kg/capita for agricultural use and 0.7 kg/capita for all pesticides
used at the national level. The regional consumption rate can be very high and may reach
values of >7 kg/person, including in the Caribbean coastal zones. The rates of pesticide
use per unit of soil varies greatly depending on the crop, place, the technological level of
the producer and the climate. These can range from 1-75 kg/hectare/year. In banana
production in Changuinola the rate of application of pesticides amounts to
75kg/hectare/year.
There are approximately one thousand pesticides retail outlets in Panama and there is
frequent movement of these substances via the national road network. In some areas
there is greater movement of these dangerous substances, especially by ground transport.
Crops that utilize the highest quantities of pesticides are fruits such as banana,
melon, pine and citrus, vegetables, grains such as rice and corn, and sugar cane. On the
Caribbean coast, the most important crops are banana, rice, cocoa and fodder. An
estimated 50 active substances are applied in the Caribbean zone in the above-mentioned
areas. Of special environmental interest are piretroid insecticides, which impact strongly
on hydro-biological sources. Also, public health makes important use of these substances
on the Caribbean coast.
Pesticides are applied with the use of spraying equipment (spraying cans carried in
knapsacks, on tractors, in aircrafts), manual labour and special applicators. Pesticides are
available in concentrated form to be applied with water or oils or as a mist, solid granular
form, bags, etc. Waste disposal from these applications do not currently follow a well
known procedure; a portion is deposited in dumps on farms and the remainder scattered
around farms. Large companies recycle, reuse or return the remainder of the pesticides to
suppliers. This is a matter deserving of immediate attention; it is therefore recommended
that a Control Centre be established.
The institutional infrastructure for controlling the use of pesticides and the
contamination emanating from such use is weak and requires strengthening to
substantially improve the use of these products. A number of permits for the use and
management of pesticides must be obtained from several institutions. There are barriers
to changing and improving the management of pesticides and these exist at the
institutional, economic, cultural, social and technological levels. Among the elements
needed for a national programme to reduce the drainage and improper use of pesticides is
the organization of an inter-institutional system, with the agreement of the competent
authorities. Possible participants are MINSA, MIDA, ANAM, AMP, ACP and other
decentralized entities including municipalities and local authorities. Required at the
technical level are training, technical assistance and strengthening of environmental
research capacity, including the collection of samples, analysis of designs in
environmental matrices and general monitoring of pollutants.
4
Support is needed for cleaner production activities and improving existing
programmes as well as creating new programmes within the framework of the interinstitutional environmental system.
Among the interesting economic instruments that have been recommended are
subsidies for discharges and standards for environmental loads, which should be
gradually implemented. Levels and permits can also contribute to improving the
problem of pesticides. Possible incentives mentioned are tax relief for sums invested in
the treatment of waste water, a general agreement on the Caribbean coastal zone and a
bank loan facility for producers who use little or no pesticides.
Any proposal to improve the management of pesticides and reduce their seepage
through run-offs from non-specific land-based sources into the Caribbean Sea should
include the adjustment of regulatory policies, better definition and co-ordination of
responsibilities and institutional competencies, activation or establishment of an Interinstitutional Environmental System, concrete actions to reduce the adverse environmental
effects of pesticides, better awareness of the environmental risk for the Caribbean sea
coast system, capacity and training in better agricultural practices and in the integrated
management of pests, significant reduction (1/3) in the amount of pesticides used in the
country in the next decade and the development of activities to decontaminate critical
areas and the elimination of dangerous wastes as established by Law.
A National Programme of Action with regard to pesticides requires a major
financial input and cannot be funded solely by the State; funding should be sought from
external and domestic sources, from the private sector and international bodies. Public as
much as private entities, including representation from industry and environmental NGOs
are interested in participating and supporting a National Plan of Action to reduce seepage
through run-off of pesticides from non-specific land-based sources into the Caribbean
Sea.