OO. 4c.6 Reduce the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity

Pesticides are used to combat organisms considered to be harmful to crops and have therefore a detrimental effect on biodiversity. It is nevertheless possible to reduce the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity by lessening their impacts on non-target organisms. A range of measures, if correctly applied, can contribute to reducing these impacts; they are either related to the choice of the pesticide or to the way it is spread into the environment (for example, organic agriculture, integrated agriculture, biological control, prohibition of pesticides with long-term repercussions for the abundance and diversity of non-target species; and application of risk mitigation measures such as buffer zones in order to protect aquatic organisms).

A number of initiatives contributing to the reduction of the impact of pesticides on non-target organisms are ongoing or will be developed in the near future. These initiatives are as follow:

1. All authorised pesticides will be re-evaluated according to EU legislation by the end of 2012;

2. The comparative assessment and substitution principle will be integrated into pesticides legislation, in accordance with an upcoming proposal of the European Commission (expected to be operational in 2008 or 2009);

3. The pesticide reduction programme adopted by the Federal Government in 2005 aims to reduce the adverse impact of pesticides between 2001 and 2010 by 25% for those used in agriculture, and by 50% for the others. This programme foresees the establishment of specialised working groups examining the possibility of reducing the impact of pesticides used on a certain crop or group of crops (for instance potatoes or cereals); the obligation for all professional pesticides to have an application licence, and splitting of pesticide authorisations between professional use on the one hand and amateur use on the other. Amendments to the first programme will be examined in the course of 2007 where necessary.

4. Adequate indicators (taking into account both health and environmental aspects) will be defined and used to monitor the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity. Despite all efforts made so far to decrease the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity, it remains difficult to evaluate the progress made that benefits the protection of biodiversity. This is due to the lack of availability of suitable indicators.

Therefore, in the framework of the update of the European Strategy for Biodiversity, Belgium should seek to set up a list of indicators specifically addressing the issue created by pesticides.

Indicators developed to monitor the pesticide reduction programme in Belgium should focus explicitly on measuring the reduction of the risk by 25% and 50% in each of the areas they cover. For instance, the PRIBEL indicator (Pesticide Risk Index Belgium) covers consumers, farmers, birds, bees, aquatic organisms, earthworms and underground water. The risk reduction objective should be reached by ensuring an effective reduction of risk by 25% and 50% for the biodiversity-related categories
(i.e. birds, bees, aquatic organisms and earthworms).