The path of pesticides: researcher named Australian representative for global award

April 22, 2024

Research into the insidious and far-reaching effects of pesticides has seen an environmental engineer chosen to represent Australia in a global battle for breakthroughs in sustainability science.

On April 22, 2024, Associate Professor Federico Maggi of the University of Sydney was named National Champion for the Frontiers Planet Prize, an initiative of the non-profit Frontiers Research Foundation.

Now in its second year, the prize focuses on research that demonstrates the greatest potential to help humanity stay within the limits of our planet’s ecosystem.

Associate Professor Maggi is one of three researchers nominated by the Australian Academy of Science for his paper ‘Agricultural pesticide land budget and river discharge into oceans’.

He is now in the running to win one of three International Championship Prizes, each worth one million Swiss francs or approximately A$1.6 million, which will be awarded as a grant to the recipients’ host institutions to fund their continued research.

The winners of the International Championships will be announced at an awards ceremony on June 26 during the Frontiers Planet Prize Award Ceremony in Montreux, Switzerland.

The National and International Champions will be chosen by a jury of 100 leading sustainability scientists and will become part of the Frontiers Planet Prize alumni network, where they will have the opportunity to share their research and findings at events in collaboration with Frontiers Planet Prize partners .

Associate Professor Maggi said he and the paper’s co-authors, Fiona Tang and Francesco Tubiello, were humbled that their many years of work had received this recognition.

Their research represents the first comprehensive environmental assessment conducted on the journey of individual pesticides from their origins to their endpoints around the world.

Because each pesticide carries its own specific toxicity and mode of action, the research provides insight into the impact of substances resistant to degradation and identifies biodiversity risk hotspots where they accumulate, said Associate Professor Maggi.

“The geographic scope of pesticide contamination is so wide that there is no pristine environment left in the world… every corner of the earth has been adulterated by these chemicals,” he said.

“Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of pesticides, with around three million tonnes of active substances used in crops every year. Active substances in pesticides are intended to kill unwanted invasive species in agriculture, but have serious adverse side effects on living organisms that are not among the target species.

“Our research has raised global awareness of the serious pollution caused by these invisible chemicals that are having major impacts on ecosystems and humanity.”

Associate Professor Maggi said the findings underline the “urgent need to make a radical change in the food production system, where profit must be valued as much as environmental conservation and human health. Our paper is a striking warning: now is the time to set planetary limits on the use of these pesticides.”

One of Australia’s two second-place nominees is exploring alternatives to pesticides to tackle the devastation caused by rodent invasions.

Professor Peter Banks from the University of Sydney was nominated for his research into ‘olfactory disinformation’ as an ecologically sensitive approach to rodent management, including the use of masking scents to conceal desirable foods such as crop seeds.

Dr. Sachinthani (Sachi) Karunarathna from the University of Melbourne was nominated for her work developing rubber concrete road barriers. By incorporating approximately 45 kg of waste tire per barrier, Dr Karunarathna says it improves occupant safety while tackling the problem of tire wastage and extending the life of road barriers.

Read more about the 2023 National Champion.

Read more about the Frontiers Planet Prize.