ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how the pesticide pollution problem has arisen by first understanding how social factors have influenced rising pesticide use. The emphasis on sustainable development has led to a range of recent policy initiatives at the European level which begin to address the problem of pesticide pollution from an environmentally led, rather than an agriculturally dominated, perspective. The view is held by the European Commission and several Northern European Member States who argue that pesticides have no place in water. In Britain, the first widespread concerns about the environmental impacts of pesticide use were aroused in the early 1960's following the publication of Rachel Carsons book Silent spring. With respect to pesticides, pollution and sustainability in the British context, the task now is to learn from the strategies and experiences of some of more forward-looking neighbours, encourage farmers to minimise the use of more-polluting pesticides, and to stimulate more actively the search for more sustainable crop protection practices.
