Bumblebees

Recent studies have shown a dramatic decline in the bee population – with a nearly 90% decrease in recent years – placing the insect on the endangered species list.

The use of uncontrolled pesticides, the continuation of deforestation and lack of cipher flowers (bee food) are the main reasons for the recent population nosedive.

In der Landwirtschaft sind Insektengifte weit verbreitet. Manche Substanzen wie die Neonicotinoide töten allerdings nicht nur Schädlinge, sondern schädigen auch Bienen. Das ZDF hat bei Recherchen nach eigenen Angaben ermittelt, dass manche Giftstoffe längst hätten verboten werden müssen. Am Mittwoch, 30. Oktober 2019, berichtete „ZDFzoom“ ab 22.45 Uhr über „BAYER, Bauern und die Bienen - Ein Konzern unter Druck“.

Nonostante la moratoria europea del 2013 sull’uso all’aperto, e la successiva conferma in senso restrittivo e permanente (a eccezione delle serre) del 2018, i neonicotinoidi clotianidina, imidacloprid e thiamethoxam sono ancora molto presenti sui terreni del vecchio continente e, in particolare, su quelli francesi, dove questi insetticidi sono stati vietati del tutto nel 2018 per tutelare le api e gli altri insetti impollinatori.

Neonicotinoid insecticides have been signaled as an important driver of widespread declines in bee diversity and abundance. Neonicotinoids were registered in the 1990s and by 2010 accounted for one third of the global insecticide market. Following a moratorium in 2013, their use on open-field crops was completely banned in the EU in 2018. Pesticide regulation should be based on solid and updated scientific evidence, whereby products showing unacceptable effects on the environment are not approved.

Forscher haben im Nektar von Raps Rückstände von Neonikotinoiden gefunden. Es verdichteten sich die Hinweise, dass sich die Mittel lange in der Umwelt halten und auch weiträumig verbreiten können. Der Nektar von Raps kann offenbar weiterhin mit neonikotinoiden Wirkstoffen belastet sein, auch wenn für diese Kultur seit 2013 ein Anwendungsverbot gilt.

MEPs call on the Commission to beef up its Pollinators Initiative and to come up with new measures to protect bees and other pollinators. In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, Parliament welcomes the EU Pollinators Initiative, but highlights that, as it stands, it fails to protect bees and other pollinators from some of the many causes of their decline, including intensive farming, pesticides, climate change, land-use changes, loss of habitat and invasive species.

Since 2013, a European Union moratorium has restricted the application of three neonicotinoids to crops that attract bees because of the harmful effects they are deemed to have on these insects. Yet researchers have just demonstrated that residues of these insecticides can still be detected in rape nectar from 48% of the plots of studied fields, their concentrations varying greatly over the years.

The renowned author and whistleblower Evaggelos Vallianatos describes British environmentalist and campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason as a “defender of the natural world and public health.” I first came across her work a few years ago. It was in the form of an open letter she had sent to an official about the devastating environmental and human health impacts of glyphosate-based weed killers. What had impressed me was the document she had sent to accompany the letter.

In der Landwirtschaft sind Insektengifte nicht immer zu vermeiden. Manche Substanzen wie die Neonicotinoide beseitigen allerdings nicht nur Schädlinge, sondern schädigen auch Bienen. Der Bayer-Konzern, einer der Hersteller, gerät unter Druck: "ZDFzoom"-Recherchen haben ergeben, dass manche Giftstoffe längst hätten verboten werden müssen. Auch die Übernahme von Monsanto und Schadenersatzklagen in Sachen Glyphosat haben dem Konzern zugesetzt. Am Mittwoch, 30. Oktober 2019, 22.45 Uhr, berichtet "ZDFzoom" über "BAYER, Bauern und die Bienen - Ein Konzern unter Druck". Bereits am Sonntag, 27.