Pollinators & Agriculture
BeeLife is a European NGO working for a brighter future for bees and pollinators, improving their protection and their collaboration in our agricultural system.
Thiacloprid Banned in the EU - An opportunity to surpass neonicotinoids?
October 29, 2019
The European Union banned Thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid-family insecticide whose impact on bees has been widely debated in the last few years.This ban marks a new chapter in the prohibition of several dangerous neonicotinoid insecticides. Earlier, in 2018, the EU had already banned the open air use of three highly controversial substances, clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. After their ban, the Commission listed Thiacloprid as a candidate for substitution, but new conclusions by the EFSA led towards a different direction.
A New Chance for Adopting the EFSA Bee Guidance After Vote in the European Parliament
October 23, 2019
Members of the European Parliament decided during plenary (Oct 23) to object the proposal by the European Commission regarding the assessment of pesticides to bees. Since it included a strongly limited application of the recommendations by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), it maintained a troubling statu quo where bees are unprotected from dangerous pesticides. The objection now brings a new opportunity of adopting EFSA's Bee Guidance Document.
Pollinators as Indicators in Policy Affecting the Landscape and Environment
October 3, 2019
There is an increasing need to improve how we monitor the impact and efficiency of environmental or landscape policies. For this reason, BeeLife proposes that a Pollinator Index should be introduced as an impact indicator for policies. In need of more targeted measurements, authorities, conservation movements, researchers and citizens in general can find essential allies in pollinators. The index has the potential to help improve accountability, monitoring the effectiveness of public spending, and indicating when modifications are necessary. BeeLife insists on the importance of developing and applying a Pollinator Index in Europe.
