1887

OECD Environment Working Papers

This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected studies on environmental issues prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal authors are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language English or French with a summary in the other if available.

English

Managing the biodiversity impacts of fertiliser and pesticide use

Overview and insights from trends and policies across selected OECD countries

This paper reviews the impacts and costs of pesticide and fertiliser pollution as well as the policy responses to counter these in selected OECD countries. More specifically, the paper begins with an overview of the main biodiversity and health impacts of excess pesticide and fertiliser. In economic terms, nitrogen pollution, for example, has been estimated to cost the European Union between EUR 70 billion and EUR 320 billion per year. The paper also provides an overview of the trends in both pesticide sales (per 1000 ha of agricultural land area), and pesticide use (in tonnes of active ingredients), as well as soil nutrient balances in OECD countries before reviewing policy instruments available to promote more sustainable fertiliser and pesticide use. Case studies of specific policy responses used to address adverse impacts of pesticides including in Denmark and France are presented along with case studies of policies to counter nutrient pollution in Denmark, Japan and the United States. Based on the literature review and case studies, the paper concludes with policy insights and recommendations.

English

Keywords: environment & development, ecological economics, ecosystem services, agricultural policy, government policy, biodiversity conservation
JEL: Q58: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Environmental Economics: Government Policy; H23: Public Economics / Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue / Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies; Q57: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Ecological Economics: Ecosystem Services; Biodiversity Conservation; Bioeconomics; Industrial Ecology; Q24: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Renewable Resources and Conservation / Renewable Resources and Conservation: Land
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