Beekeepers appeal for lobby of MEPs on pesticide regulation
 |
| Paul Leighton with KCA's Ray Kelly at the official launch of the Kilcullen Pollinator Project in May. Pic: Brian Byrne. |
Paul Leighton is the prime mover behind the recent installation of two community beehives in Kilcullen. He wants Kilcullen people to write to all recently-elected MEPs to vote against a lobby that would allow research by producers of the pesticides be the determinant of their safety.
In particular the concern is about neonicotinoids, more popularly described as 'neonics', which have been used since the 1990s following development by companies such as Shell and Bayer. Coated onto crop seeds, or sometimes sprayed, they are designed to protect seedlings from pests that include aphids.
Early last year, the European Food Safety Authority decided that three neonics — imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam — can harm bees. In particular, they were found to affect negatively how bees learn, navigate, and reproduce. They were subsequently banned last year for all outdoor uses in the EU. Research published this week from the Valencia Institute of Agricultural Research bears out the view that neonics can pose risks to the insect world that are not fully understood.
However, last year's ban was the implementation of only a very small part of new standards established by EFSA in 2013. Member states of the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF) have been slow to formally adopt bee safety standards in a Bee Guidance Document produced by EFSA.
The Irish Beekeepers Association says it has been made aware of an upcoming EU vote to change the regulations for approval of pesticides for use on crops.
An approval protocol recommended by pollinator researchers and EFSA for the last five years requires testing for the effects of new pesticides on bee larvae and forager behaviour by an independent body prior to their use.
However, it seems a proposed amendment to EU law would leave control of testing in the hands of the agrichemical companies and only insists that they conduct field tests on larvae if an issue becomes obvious.
The IBA is asking members to highlight the situation at local level and urge citizens to contact the 11 Irish MEPs elected last May and call for a vote against the proposed change. It says this needs to be done before the resumption of the Parliament in September.
Paul Leighton says the effects of neonics on bees can be seen with colony collapse across France and mainland Europe. "It's not a coincidence the bee numbers have increased since the partial ban in EU countries of three neonicotinoids," he says. "It is vital an independent agency approves the use of all pesticides to balance the requirements of the agricultural industry and the environment."
He says agrichemical companies monitoring the bee larvae for research 'have no interest in a negative result or impartially'. "But their big lobby groups are working away in Europe. We should all contact our MEPs before the vote happens, to protect not only honeybees but all insects that we rely on."
A recent report on biodiversity by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN has shown significant declines in the number of birds and insects, in particular bees and other pollinators, and names pesticides as one of the main drivers. Bees are indispensable for food production, pollinating over 80pc of food crops, including the healthiest ones such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy
