Integrating Environmental and Social Dimensions with Science-Based Knowledge for a Sustainable Pesticides Management—A Project of Lombardy Region in Italy

Abstract

Achieving a change towards the sustainable use and management of pesticides requires a multiple perspective approach that combines traditional knowledge, experience of different local stakeholders, scientific expertise, and context-specific data to provide useful and understandable information for the target farmers. In this paper, the incorporation of the information on environmental and social dimensions into a “science-based” pesticide management practice is presented as an example of a replicable multidisciplinary approach. This approach depicts the importance of the context-specific scenario analysis and of the involvement of farmers starting from their practices and their knowledge. A diverse range of engagement initiatives have been adopted to consult, inform, and involve the community. Tools as target guidelines of good practices, self-evaluation checklists, and a user-friendly indicator that considers social, environmental, and territorial parameters of the specific area, gained a lot of interest and trust and have proven to be useful in disseminating the methodology of environmental risk assessment to farmers, supporting and assisting them in the comparison of different phytosanitary strategies at farm scale to identify weaknesses in their current pesticide management at farm level and to find corresponding corrective actions. The experience also highlighted the importance of the role of properly trained and informed advisors.