Beleid en debat

Feldlerche Alauda arvensis, Brachvogel Numenius arquata und Kiebitz Vanellus vanellus: Seit Jahren kämpfen diese Vögel einen schier aussichtslosen Kampf gegen die Methoden der modernen Landwirtschaft. Nun behauptet der niederländische Toxikologe Henk Tennekes, dass eine neuere Gruppe von Insektiziden, die Neo-Nicotinoide, verantwortlich ist für eine Verschärfung des Überlebenskampfes auf Feld und Wiese. „Vor unseren Augen“, sagt Tennekes, „findet der ökologische Kollaps statt“, einer, der womöglich den durch das Insektizid DDT einst verursachte Vogelsterben übertrifft.

Het is dramatisch gesteld met de biodiversiteit in Vlaanderen. Zo geraken soorten meer en meer opgesloten in natuurgebieden en in verstedelijkt gebied en landbouwgebied valt vooral de leegte op.

Widespread use of insecticides is affecting bee populations but also causing decline in numbers of birds, butterflies and moths, warns Dutch toxicologist. A new book is blaming the significant decline of bird and bee numbers across Europe on the use of certain pesticides in agriculture. In The Systemic Insecticides: A Disaster in the Making, toxicologist Dr Henk Tennekes suggests that dangerous insecticides known as neonicotinoids are seriously affecting bird and insect life, and their continued use could result in an ‘environmental catastrophe’.

Could we be facing a future without birds? Our reliance on pesticides has cut a swathe through their numbers. We must act now, argues Kate Ravilious. It is nearly 50 years since Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, the book that warned of environmental damage the pesticide DDT was causing. Today, DDT use is banned except in exceptional circumstances, yet we still don't seem to have taken on board Carson's fundamental message. According to Henk Tennekes, a researcher at the Experimental Toxicology Services in Zutphen, the Netherlands, the threat of DDT has been superseded by a relatively new class of insecticide, known as the neonicotinoids. In his book The Systemic Insecticides: A Disaster in the Making, published this month, Tennekes draws all the evidence together, to make the case that neonicotinoids are causing a catastrophe in the insect world, which is having a knock-on effect for many of our birds.

Afgelopen woensdag (3 november 2010) was er een rondetafelgesprek over gif - of gewasbescherming zoals de sector het zelf graag noemt - in de Tweede Kamer. Dr. Henk Tennekes, die onderzoek doet naar de relatie tussen neonicotinoiden – een heel giftige insecticide - en bijensterfte, was daar ook aanwezig als deskundige. Dr. Tennekes is lang bezig geweest met onderzoek naar kanker. Hij vertelde mij dat hij betrokken raakte bij het onderzoek naar bijensterfte, toen hij ontdekte dat insecticiden zoals imidacloprid op een vergelijkbare manier werken als kankerverwekkende stoffen. Toen hij zich realiseerde wat dit betekent voor het milieu en de biodiversiteit, heeft hij besloten hier werk van te maken. Om zijn zorgen over de effecten van neonicotinoiden met een wijder publiek te delen, heeft Dr. Tennekes ook een boek geschreven over dit onderwerp: The systemic insecticides: a disaster in the making. Voorafgaand aan het rondetafelgesprek bood Henk mij zijn nieuwe boek aan. Hij wilde mij daarmee bedanken voor het feit dat ik al in 2007 Kamervragen heb gesteld over dit onderwerp.

Am 1. November 2010 erschien das Buch „A disaster in the making“ des holländischen Toxikologen Dr. Henk Tennekes über die Ursachen des europaweiten Bienen- und Vogelsterbens. Das Buch wird mit ganzseitigen Bildern des Künstlers Ami-Bernard Zillweger illustriert. Dr. Tennekes legt darin dar, dass der drastische Rückgang zahlreicher Vogelpopulationen, unter anderem Spatzen Bachstelzen, Stare, Kiebitze oder Feldlerchen, mit der Dezimierung von Insekten in Zusammenhang steht. Käfer, Fliegen, Schmetterlinge und Motten, die den Vögeln als Nahrung, werden vor allem durch die Anwendung von Pestiziden, sogenannten Neonicotinoiden, reduziert.

A 72-page 2010 publication raises new and troubling questions about a widely used insecticide's potential for harm to bees, beneficial insects, and bird populations. Using imidacloprid as an example, Dutch toxicologist Dr. Henk Tennekes reports on the hazards of imidacloprid to insects and birds. Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid chemical, and has systemic action in plants. Other European researchers have linked this insecticide to significant risks for honey bee populations, including possible links to Colony Collapse Disorder.

Dr. Tennekes' findings indicate that imidacloprid (and possibly other neonicotinoid-type insecticides) can bind irreversibly to critical receptors in an insect's nervous system. If these receptors are permanently blocked, the insecticide would not follow a typical dose-response curve. He provides evidence that long term low level to imidacloprid exposure can lead to neurological problems and eventual death of insects.

Studies have shown imidacloprid to be highly persistent in the environment (RCC Compendium of Pesticide Information). In his book, Tennekes presents data showing that imidacloprid has contaminated most of the waterways in the Netherlands.

Systemic activity in plants combined with long-term persistence in the environment and toxicity at low concentrations can be a dangerous combination. Many vulnerable species over large areas could be exposed to this insecticide on land, in surface water following runoff from treated areas and in groundwater due to its potential for leaching through certain soil types.

Several previous studies have shown that imidacloprid is highly toxic to various forms of wildlife, including honey bees, certain beneficial insects, upland game birds, and crustaceans

Tennekes further suggests that imidacloprid has led to a general decline in the insect populations in the Netherlands, and this lack of food in turn has been responsible for declines in bird populations.

Présentation, Christian Pacteau.
Vicky KINDEMBA, pour le compte de Buglife, The Invertebrate Conservation Trust soutenu par Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Edimburg Entomological Club, Soil Association, The Grassland Trust, Plantlife et Pesticides Action Network, a réalisé une vaste méta-analyse de l'état des connaissances en matière d'effets létaux et sublétaux sur les abeilles et les autres invertébrés des insecticides systémiques néonicotinoïdes et des phénylpyrazoles. Cela lui a permis de se rendre compte que le "Rapport d'Evaluation Préliminaire" (DAR) fourni par la firme productrice du pesticide en vue d'obtenir l'AMM, (Autoristaion de Mise sur le Marché) opérait un "tri", entre les recherches témoignant de l'innocuité de la substance, et celles émettant des doutes. Elle a également pu montrer que les recherches indépendantes conduisent des recherches plus approfondies en contradiction avec celles du DAR.