Neonicotinoid restrictions present a unique opportunity to introduce safer agro-ecological approaches to pest management

摘要

The Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) welcomes the recent decision by the European Commission (EC) to place a temporary suspension on some uses of the three neonicotinoid pesticides, imidacloprid, thi-amethoxam and clothianidin. We believe that the steps taken by the Commission are a measured and reasonable response to the conclusions on the unacceptable risks posed to wild pollinators as identified in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports on these actives (EFSA, 2013). The new measures introduced in April by the EC, following much discussion and debate, mean that these three actives can no longer be used as seed treatments on any flowering crop that is attractive to bees. This is for a provisional period of two years starting in December 2013, to allow Member States to assess the impact, positive or negative, this will have on bee populations.