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Collaboration and Partnerships
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP)
Office of Pesticide Programs and all 10 EPA Regions
Geographic location or area of activity: Nationwide
Description of activity: The mission of the PESP is to reduce pesticide risk in both agricultural and nonagricultural settings through public private partnerships. PESP is a public-private partnership program that works with the nation's pesticide user community to reduce the health and environmental risks from pesticide use. PESP began in 1994 and now has close to 200 partnership organizations, including nonprofits, corporations, government agencies, school districts, and trade associations. While government regulations can reduce pesticide risk, PESP is guided by the principle that information in the hands of pesticide users can reduce risk even further. By joining, organizations pledge that environmental stewardship is an integral part of their pest control strategy, and they commit to integrating pest and pesticide management practices that reduce risk to human beings and the environment.
Another key function of the PESP program is its role in administering PESP Regional grants that average approximately $500,000 dollars per year. Through these grants, interested parties are able to implement sustainable integrated pest management
practices – in their specific regions – that further pesticide risk reduction goals of PESP.
Examples of recently funded (2007) PESP projects:
1. Building IPM Capacities in Latino Daycare Centers in Philadelphia - Through this project, Pennsylvania State University will build Integrated Pest Management (IPM) capacities in Latino Daycare Centers in Philadelphia and teach about IPM and pesticide safety. Outcomes of the proposed project will include: an increased capacity of educational professionals and care-givers to implement and teach about IPM and pesticide safety practices; changes in attitudes, knowledge and skills; removal of problematic pesticides from the proximity of children in assessed sites, and changes in pesticide and pest management protocols in participating daycare centers.
2. Pesticide Risk Reduction and Integrated Pest Management for Migrant Farmworker Families - The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will use the funding to teach migrant farmworker women/mothers in Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina about the risks of agricultural and residential pesticide exposure, the potential health effects of this exposure for them and their families, and actions they can take to improve household pesticide safety, especially through the use of residential integrated pest management. This will be accomplished mainly through short training sessions offered through the East Coast Migrant Head Start Program in partnership with the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Outcomes will be changes in knowledge and behavior change that can result in improvements to human health, the environment, and the community.
Interagency partners: PESP has a sector focused exclusively on partnering with other government agencies. The Government Sector of PESP represents federal, state, county, and tribal organizations engaged, directly or indirectly, in pesticide risk reduction, integrated pest management, and environmental stewardship. Though diverse in their responsibilities, these organizations find common ground in seeking and applying safer tools for managing insect, weed and microbial pests. Nationwide, governmental organizations exert huge influence on how pesticides are used in agricultural, commercial and residential settings. PESP members in this sector are leading the way with a multitude of innovative and practice initiatives to reduce pesticide risks.
Local partners: PESP has a sector focused on partnering with environmental
organizations. The Environmental Organization Sector represents the non-grower/non-pesticide user organizations whose missions relate to pesticide risk reduction. There are dozens of such organizations throughout the United States representing thousands of citizens interested in protecting the environment. EPA has a long history of working voluntarily with environmental organizations to reduce risk of pesticides.
Activity URL: https://www.epa.gov/pesp