In a landmark study published in Science, researchers from the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) have unveiled deeply concerning trends regarding pesticide toxicity in global agriculture. Despite the United Nations’ target set at COP15 in Montreal in 2022 aiming to halve pesticide-related environmental risks by 2030, the study reveals that current trajectories of pesticide application pose escalating threats to biodiversity worldwide. Using a highly novel analytical approach, this research underscores an urgent need for a paradigm shift in how pesticides are employed, monitored, and regulated internationally.
At the heart of this groundbreaking work is a new metric developed by environmental scientists Ralf Schulz and Jakob Wolfram, which quantifies “applied toxicity.” Unlike traditional measurements focusing only on pesticide quantities, this metric accounts for the intrinsic environmental toxicity of each active ingredient used globally. By integrating these toxicity values with detailed application data from 2013 to 2019, the team derived an unprecedentedly accurate picture of the real environmental hazards posed by current agricultural pesticide practices.
A significant challenge addressed by the research is the harmonization of pesticide use data from around the world, given the variable reporting standards and regulatory frameworks that exist. To surmount this, the researchers compiled data from seven major regulatory agencies covering approximately 625 pesticide substances and evaluated their toxicity impact on eight distinct organism groups commonly considered during pesticide approval. This comprehensive, cross-jurisdictional dataset allowed a truly comparative global risk assessment, providing insights that were previously unattainable.
The findings are alarming. Across the reporting period, there was a marked increase in both the volume and toxicity of pesticides applied in agriculture. Expanding farmland and intensified crop production partially explain the upward trend in volumes, but an equally influential driver is the rising toxicity of the active compounds themselves, a trend particularly notable among insecticides. The consequences of these trends manifest most intensely in land-dwelling insects and soil organisms, critical components of ecosystem health, as well as fish species, which face increasing exposure to toxic runoffs.
Encouragingly, the study notes some reductions in toxicity impacts on certain taxa such as aquatic invertebrates, pollinating insects, and terrestrial plants, although these positive trends are insufficient to offset the overall rise in ecosystem risks. Across the board, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides all contributed to the increased applied toxicity, though the analysis pinpointed about twenty active ingredients as key drivers of harm, suggesting targeted regulatory action on these substances could yield substantial biodiversity benefits.
Geographically, the data indicate that Brazil, China, the United States, and India are the most significant contributors to global pesticide toxicity, reflecting their vast agricultural sectors and crop choices. Contrastingly, countries like Nigeria currently register low applied toxicity levels, but the researchers caution that rising intensive farming practices and adoption of more potent pesticides could rapidly change this landscape, potentially spreading risks across African agricultural systems.
Assessing crop types reveals that fruit, vegetables, corn, soybeans, cereals, and rice comprise roughly 80% of the global pesticide toxicity burden. The interplay between land use patterns and crop choices emerges as a crucial lever for mitigating impact. Specifically, adjusting cultivated area and promoting crops requiring less toxic pesticide regimes could have substantial effects in curbing environmental harm, an insight invaluable for policymakers and agricultural planners seeking to harmonize productivity with sustainability goals.
Compellingly, projections indicate that without significant intervention, only Chile is on track to meet the UN’s stringent target of a 50% reduction in applied pesticide toxicity by 2030. While China, Japan, and Venezuela showed promising downward trends during the study’s timeframe, many major agricultural nations, including European powers like Germany, face daunting challenges. For these countries, reversing current trends will necessitate reverting applied toxicity levels to those seen over 15 years ago, a goal that will likely demand systemic transformations in pesticide management and agricultural practices.
Central to achieving these ambitious reductions is transitioning away from highly toxic active ingredients toward safer alternatives and accelerating the adoption of organic farming methods. Organic agricultural systems, with their reduced reliance on synthetic pesticides, present a pathway not only for toxicity reduction but also for fostering broader biodiversity gains. The study’s authors advocate that such shifts could function synergistically with regulatory reforms to advance the biodiversity protection agenda substantially.
To ensure progress toward the UN targets, the research underscores the critical importance of improved data transparency and monitoring. The irregular reporting across countries undermines the ability to track pesticide use and its ecological impacts in real-time, limiting policy responsiveness. The authors call for an international framework mandating annual, detailed pesticide use disclosures categorized by active ingredient, enabling dynamic monitoring and informed decision-making at global and national levels.
The study’s innovative applied toxicity metric provides decision-makers with a powerful tool, linking pesticide application patterns directly to environmental risk profiles. This quantitative approach transcends simplistic volume measures, emphasizing that not all pesticide use carries equal ecological damage. Policymakers can leverage this insight to prioritize the phasing out of severely toxic compounds and incentivize adoption of safer alternatives, aligning agricultural productivity with biodiversity conservation imperatives.
In an increasingly globalized food system, the implications of unchecked pesticide toxicity extend beyond national borders, influencing ecosystem health, agricultural sustainability, and ultimately human well-being. The RPTU research team’s findings sound a clarion call to the international community: meeting the UN’s pesticide reduction goals requires coordinated, science-informed policies integrating toxicity data, regulatory oversight, and sustainable farming practices. Without immediate and collective action, the trajectory of pesticide toxicity threatens to undermine global biodiversity conservation efforts and the resilience of food systems worldwide.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Increasing applied pesticide toxicity trends counteract the global reduction target to safeguard biodiversity
News Publication Date: 5-Feb-2026
Web References: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aea8602
References: Wolfram, J., Bussen, D., Bub, S., Petschick, L. L., Herrmann, L. Z., & Schulz, R. (2026). “Increasing applied pesticide toxicity trends counteract the global reduction target to safeguard biodiversity.” Science.
Image Credits: RPTU, Sina Hurnik
Keywords: Pesticide toxicity, applied toxicity, biodiversity, agricultural sustainability, UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15, environmental risk, organic agriculture, global pesticide use, regulatory frameworks, ecosystem health, agricultural intensification
