The UN Incheon strategy Implementation and the Pakistani quagmire; ground realities.

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific is the regional developmental arm of the United Nations. There are over 650 million persons with disabilities living in the region. In 2012, member countries, including Pakistan, launched the new decade of persons with disabilities from 2013 to 2022, adopting the Incheon Strategy to 'Make the Right Real', based on the Put Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities" and aimed at accelerating the disability inclusive development with 10 measurable goals and targets. The year 2017 marked the mid-point of that decade at which point member countries were to submit the Government Members Report on the Implementation of Incheon Strategy. The ambiguity in usage of terms, variable definition of disability, and use of impairment screens in population census of Pakistan has resulted in flawed data and underreporting of persons with disabilities. Pakistan provided data on only 13 of the 30 core indicators as part of its midpoint review. There is lack of awareness among ministries regarding the Incheon Strategy implementation.

Evaluation of pesticide residues in vegetables and risk assessment from Incheon, Korea.

This study investigated pesticide residues to evaluate food safety caused by vegetables in Incheon. A total of 385 samples of 33 different types of vegetables mainly consumed by Koreans were collected from the Incheon market in 2021. The pesticide residues were analyzed by the multi-residue methods of the Korean Food Code for 339 different pesticides. Of the 385 vegetables, no residual pesticides were detected in 329 samples (85.5%), while 56 samples (14.5%) contained residual pesticides and 13 samples (3.4%) had residues above the maximum residue limit. A total of 34 different pesticide residues were detected and 8 pesticides exceeded maximum residue limits (MRLs). The most frequently detected pesticide residues were fluxametamide (7 samples), azoxystrobin (4 samples), chlorantraniliprole (3 samples), flubendiamide (3 samples), and procymidone (3 samples). The highest values in the risk assessment were obtained when Chinese chives were consumed with terbufos. But the values of HQ and cHI were lower than 100%. Therefore, the results showed that the detected pesticides were no potential risk from consumption of vegetables.

Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Changes in Selected Ecosystem Services Caused by Free Trade Initiatives in Incheon, Korea.

Expansion of a development area can negatively impact ecosystems by decreasing or fragmenting habitats. With increased awareness of the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES), ecosystem service evaluations have attracted increased attention. The geography surrounding the city of Incheon is ecologically valuable because of its ecological diversity, attributed to its mudflats and coastal terrain. This study analyzed changes caused by the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) agreement in the ecosystem services of this area using uses the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model and assesses the impacts of BES before and after the implementation of the agreement. Results revealed that carbon fixation and habitat quality decreased by approximately 40% and 37%, respectively, owing to the development caused by the agreement (p < 0.01). Additionally, endangered species and migratory birds were not protected by the terms of the IFEZ, and a decline in habitats, prey, and breeding sites was observed. This study suggests that the value of ecosystem services and the expansion of conservation areas should be considered part of ecological research under economic free trade agreements.

Health risk associated with pesticide residues in vegetables from Incheon region of Korea.

This study was conducted to investigate the pesticide residue concentrations and assess potential human health risks from vegetable consumption in Incheon. A total of 960 samples were collected from the Incheon areas of Korea in 2019. The pesticide residues were analyzed by the multi-residue method of the Korean Food Code for 373 different pesticides using GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, GC-ECD/NPD, and HPLC-UVD. Among the vegetable samples, 869 samples (90.5%) were free from detectable residues, while 91 samples (9.5%) contained residues, and 16 samples (1.7%) had residues exceeding the Korean maximum residue limit (MRLs). A total of 33 different pesticide residues were found, and 11 residues exceeded MRLs. The most frequently detected pesticide residues were chlorfenapyr, fludioxonil, pyridalyl, hexaconazole, and procymidone. Samples exceeding the MRLs were found in aster scaber, coastal hog fennel, lettuce (leaves), mustard green, mustard leaf, perilla leaves, Pimpinella brachycarpa, radish leaves, shepherd' purse, spinach, and winter-grown cabbage. The potential health risk assessment of pesticides was estimated by calculating the estimated daily intake (EDI) and the acceptable daily intake (ADI). The range of HQs was 0.002-90.621%, which was below 100%. Therefore, the results of this study show that the detected pesticide could not be considered a serious public health problem through the consumption of vegetables.