Environmental survey of agro-chemicals in the land water interface of St Lucia

Abstract

A snapshot environmental survey was conducted in three watersheds in St Lucia in order to assess the fate of agro-chemicals in water, sediment and biota along the length of the watershed. Results showed that pesticide levels in samples were below minimum detectable limits for the selected pesticides except for one tissue sample. With regard to the fate of fertilisers in the environment, results showed that potassium levels were high in two watersheds and also in sea moss. The report concludes that there is a need for a more comprehensive agro-chemical monitoring programme in St Lucia that pays close attention to application rates/frequencies and weather patterns