Beleid en debat

Uno dei maggiori esperti europei sugli effetti dei neonicotinoidi, tossicologo olandese Henk Tennekes sottolinea, a differenza sostenuto da Bayer e produttori di neonicotinoidi altre api che vivono vicino a campi irrorati, esposte ai neonicotinoidi durante tutta la stagione in crescita . Il veleno ricco così più. Tennekes spiega come le api sono esposte per tutta la stagione di raccolta questi composti e vari altri pesticidi. In primavera, livelli estremamente elevati di clothianidin e thiamethoxam trovato nei gas di scarico di attrezzi agricoli a semina di mais trattato. "Nella parte inferiore di ogni campo che abbiamo testato, abbiamo trovato neonicotinoidi, nei campi incolti."

Die EFSA hat Leitlinien für die Bewertung potenzieller Risiken für Honigbienen, Hummeln und Solitärbienen durch den Einsatz von Pestiziden veröffentlicht. Im bisherigen EU-Risikobewertungsmodell für Honigbienen wurden die Risiken einer chronischen oder wiederholten Exposition gegenüber Pestiziden bzw. das potenzielle Risiko für Larven nicht vollständig berücksichtigt. Die neuen Leitlinien schließen diese Lücken und enthalten darüber hinaus auch Modelle für Hummeln und Solitärbienen. Außerdem wird eine neue Methode zur Bewertung der Annehmbarkeit des potenziellen Schadens vorgeschlagen, dem Bienen durch den Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln ausgesetzt sind. Die im Leitliniendokument der EFSA enthaltenen aktuellen Empfehlungen richten sich an alle, die an der Bewertung von Pestiziden beteiligt sind, einschließlich Industrie und Behörden.

Butterflies are the essence of cool in the insect world, a favorite muse for poets and songwriters, who hold them up as symbols of love, beauty, transformation and good fortune. But providing good fortune apparently goes only one way. As humans rip apart woods and meadows for housing developments and insecticide-soaked lawns, butterflies across the country are disappearing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that two brown, mothlike butterfly subspecies are probably extinct in South Florida, which some entomologists say is ground zero for the number of butterfly species on the verge of annihilation.

Für gefährdete Vogelarten haben sich die Lebensbedingungen in der Schweiz in den letzten 20 Jahren mehrheitlich verschlechtert. Dies zeigt der Swiss Bird Index (SBI), den die Schweizerische Vogelwarte Sempach erstellt hat. Fast 80 der rund 200 in der Schweiz brütenden Vogelarten sind auf der Roten Liste. Sie laufen damit Gefahr, aus der Schweiz zu verschwinden. Der SBI, den die Vogelwarte für diese gefährdeten Arten erstellt hat, zeigt, dass sich die Situation seit der erstmaligen Erhebung 1990 nicht verbessert hat.

Conservationists are alarmed by the increasing number of birds under threat due to the damage being done to the earth's ecosystems. The most recent assessment for the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List for endangered birds revealed that no less than 1,300 species are threatened with extinction. It means that if nothing is done, more than 1,000 species could disappear; disturbing and damaging the natural environment.

Con notevole tempismo, le autorità italiane hanno attuato la prima parte del Regolamento 485/2013/UE del 24 maggio scorso, che aveva pesantemente limitato le autorizzazioni di agrofarmaci contenenti i neonicotinoidi clothianidin, thiamethoxam e imidacloprid. Il decreto 25 giugno 2013 ha infatti revocato sette agrofarmaci a base di clothianidin o imidacloprid e ne ha limitati altri cinque, a base di imidacloprid o thiamethoxam, cancellandone l'impiego su colture considerate attrattive per le api (nel caso specifico mais, girasole, cotone, frumento e orzo). Il provvedimento, che interessa solamente prodotti utilizzati in concia e granulari per i trattamenti al terreno, è entrato in vigore lo scorso 1° luglio e consentirà l'utilizzo delle scorte attualmente in commercio sino al 30 novembre 2013.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked by the European Commission (EC) to develop a Guidance Document on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees. The Guidance Document is intended to provide guidance for notifiers and authorities in the context of the review of plant protection products (PPPs) and their active substances under Regulation (EC) 1107/2009. The scientific opinion on the science behind the development of a risk assessment of plant protection products on bees (Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees) (EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Poducts and their Residues (PPR), 2012a) provided the scientific basis for the development of the Guidance Document. The process of the development of the Guidance Document follows the methodology of definition of specific protection goals (SPGs) as outlined in the scientific opinion of EFSA‘s Plant Protection Products and their Residues Panel (EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR), 2010). The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health was consulted for the appropriate levels of protection (e.g. to make choices on the magnitude of effects, duration of effects and exposure percentiles). The Guidance Document suggests the implementation of a tiered risk assessment scheme with a simple and cost-effective first tier to more complex higher tier studies under field conditions. Each of the tiers will have to ensure that the appropriate level of protection is achieved. More detailed guidance on specific aspects of laboratory studies and higher tier risk assessments is given in the appendices. A need for test protocols for bumble bees and solitary bees was identified. Potential protocols are available in the published literature and first proposals are made in the appendices. It is important that fully validated test protocols are developed in future.

Previous research has suggested positive associations between parental or childhood exposure to pesticides and risk of childhood brain tumors (CBT). This Australian case–control study of CBT investigated whether exposures to pesticides before pregnancy, during pregnancy and during childhood, were associated with an increased risk. Cases were recruited from 10 pediatric oncology centers, and controls by random-digit dialing, frequency matched on age, sex, and State of residence. Exposure data were collected by written questionnaires and telephone interviews. Data were analyzed by unconditional logistic regression. The odds ratios (ORs) for professional pest control treatments in the home in the year before the index pregnancy, during the pregnancy, and after the child’s birth were 1.54 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 2.22), 1.52 (95 % CI: 0.99, 2.34) and 1.04 (95 % CI: 0.75, 1.43), respectively. ORs for treatments exclusively before pregnancy and during pregnancy were 1.90 (95 % CI: 1.08, 3.36) and 1.02 (95 % CI: 0.35, 3.00), respectively. The OR for the father being home during the treatment was 1.79 (95 % CI: 0.85, 3.80). The OR for paternal occupational exposure in the year before the child’s conception was 1.36 (95 % CI: 0.66, 2.80). ORs for prenatal home pesticide exposure were elevated for low- and high-grade gliomas; effect estimates for other CBT subtypes varied and lacked precision. These results suggest that preconception pesticide exposure, and possibly exposure during pregnancy, is associated with an increased CBT risk. It may be advisable for both parents to avoid pesticide exposure during this time.

De vaste commissie voor Economische Zaken en de vaste commissie voor Infrastructuur en Milieu hebben op 1 juli 2013 overleg gevoerd met staatssecretaris Dijksma van Economische Zaken en staatssecretaris Mansveld van Infrastructuur en Milieu over:
- de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken d.d. 14 mei 2013 houdende de Aanbieding van de Nota "Gezonde Groei, Duurzame Oogst"(27858, nr. 146);
- de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken d.d. 5 december 2012 inzake Verbetering naleefbaarheid en handhaafbaarheid gewasbeschermingsmiddelengebruik (27858, nr. 137);
- de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische zaken houdende de Aanbieding Integriteitscode van het College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden (Ctgb) (27858, nr. 139);
- de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken d.d. 12 februari 2013 inzake de Voortgang van de verbetertrajecten bij het Ctgb (27858, nr. 142)
- de brief van de staatssecretaris van Infrastructuur en Milieu d.d. 18 juni 2013 inzake het Onderzoeksrapport van Pesticide Action Network (Pan Europe) (27858, nr. 160).
Van dit overleg brengt de commissie bijgaand geredigeerd woordelijk verslag uit.