Banning Diazinon in Iran Helps Conserve Wildlife Populations

Abstract

Diazinon has been popular neurotoxic organophosphate cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticide for decades because it reliably kills a broad spectrum of arthropods associated with human health hazards and agricultural economic losses. Diazinon does not only affect arthropods, however; it is also one of the most common long-lasting environmental contaminants of air, soil, and water, creating direct and indirect toxic threats to vertebrate populations including birds, fish, mammals, and humans. To minimize and eventually eliminate exposure of Iran’s wildlife and human populations to diazinon, the Iran Plant Protection Organization banned the import of technical-grade diazinon on 23 September 2019, and regulated phasing out all domestic use by 23 September 2022. This regulation will lead to significant decrease in use of diazinon in Iran, facilitating wildlife-friendly farming, reducing threats to Iran’s bird, fish, and wildlife populations, improving the quality of life for Iran’s human population, and perhaps inspiring other countries in the region to also ban diazinon.