AN upsurge in the use of dangerous pesticides around the Tonle Sap area has started
to kill off wildlife and damage residents' health, according to experts who warn
the problem is about to get worse.
Dr. Yang Saing Koma, Executive Director of the Center for Study and Development in
Agriculture of Cambodia (CEDAC) said that farmers in the area have reported symptoms
of poisoning such as impaired vision and lethargy. He added that he believed the
decline in fish numbers and disappearance of some species of birds from the area
are also attributable to pesticide poisoning.
Ministry of Agriculture officials and NGO workers said farmers often mixed together
a number of pesticides to make a potent cocktail and then sprayed it in huge quantities
on crops. They said an additional concern was that pesticides were being used to
kill fish and game for human consumption.
An example of farmers' attitudes towards pesticides was recently highlighted in a
Dr Koma, said that the study showed vegetable growers around Phnom Penh used a cocktail
of four to six different pesticides per application which occurred 8 to 30 times
per cycle of vegetable production.
The result of such a high level of pesticide use has been its runoff into other areas.
Coordinator of the Agriculture Ministry's Integrated Pest Management scheme, Iv Phirun,
said that in one case they estimated 10 tonnes of DDT and Folidol had ended up in
the Tonle Sap as run-off from 2000 hectares of mung bean plantations in the Kampong
Plok village alone.
Poisons such as DDT and Folidol are banned in most countries but have been sold here
at bargain prices.
DDT is an accumulative poison. It does not break down easily and is stored in animals'
body fat. Most countries have banned it because of its long term ecological damage
and health dangers - DDT breaks down into a compound that is suspected of causing
Its effectiveness is also questionable because many species of insect, particularly
mosquitoes, have built up resistance to it.
The other common pesticide being used is Folidol (methyl parathion). While it is
not as long- lasting as DDT in the environment Folidol is much more poisonous and
is in the WHO's top category of pesticide toxicity. In the US its use is restricted
to special licensed applicators. It is rapidly absorbed through the skin and can
be fatal in large doses while smaller amounts can cause cancer. It is also hazardous
to eye sight, reproduction and the central nervous system.
As long ago as 1994 NGOs had tried to have Folidol banned. The King supported the
move and issued a communique to both Prime Ministers asking them to ban the importation,
production and distribution of methyl parathion and all other WHO class 1a poisons
However no practical steps were taken to carry out the King's wishes. There was not
even a move to provide warnings or usage instructions for the pesticides in the Khmer
language, a dangerous omission which Dr Koma wants addressed.
Iv Phirun said that in the past two years farmers have used a lot of DDT but now
they are using Folidol mixed with Thiodan (a similar pesticide) because they believe
it is stronger but don't realize it could ruin their health.
He said that Folidol and Thiodan had become popular because they were cheap. He said
Vietnam and Thailand had ceased to use them so companies were off loading stock onto
"Our country is the same as a rubbish bin - they throw out here what they
can't use," he said.
Meanwhile, Pich Sam Ang, National Director of Inventory and Management of Cambodia
Wetland at the Environment Ministry, said that the pesticide problems were nationwide
and not confined to the Tonle Sap area.
He said they had been able to educate some farmers about the hazards of pesticide
use but people in isolated areas received no information at all.
He said he was concerned about the use of pesticides to catch fish and other animals
"The poverty forces them to do this so they don't think about their health or
He said he believed that the problems would get worse once the rainy season started
and flooded the areas were the pesticides were used. He said once that happened there
was likely to be widespread poisoning of fish and other animals as the pesticides
get spread out.