New report highlights neonicotinoid impact on bees

The use of Neonicotinoid pesticides is a key driver in the decline of bee populations and is also a major threat to other invertebrate species, scientists have claimed in a new report.

The task for on systemic pesticides said the use of neonicotinoids had resulted in widespread contaminations of agricultural soils, freshwater resources, wetlands, non-target vegetation, estuarine and coastal marine systems.

The taskforce – a group of global independent scientists – undertook a full analysis of 800 scientific studies and how neonicotinoids affect birds, animals, soil, water and bees. It published its main conclusions today, with the full report to be published through the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

The scientists said they found the pesticides exposed bees to persistent and potent neurotoxins, which led to adverse effects on bee navigation, learning, food, collection, longevity, resistance to disease and reproduction.

The report, which was funded by ethical bank Tridos support fund for independent research on bee decline, also suggested the chemicals could have a negative effect on the physiology and survival of a wide range of other invertebrates, and called for their use to be phased out.

Scientists said: These compounds are incompatible with integrated pest management. They added regulatory agencies should consider formulating plans for a substantial reduction of the global scale use of neonicotinoid pesticides, and called for a continued research into alternatives.

Equally pressing was the need for education for farmers and practioners and the need for policies and regulations to encourage the adoption of alternative agricultural strategies to manage pests, the report claimed.

The evidence is clear; neonicotinoids are harming our pollinating insects and could be causing damage to many other species and habitats. Regulators must take a much more precautionary approach to pesticide authorisations, said Vanessa Amaral-Rogers one of the scientists behind the report and spokeswoman for charity Buglife.

Friends of the Earth spokesman Paul de Zylva called the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments –not compatible with sustainable farming – while Helen Browning, director of the Soil Association, said farming urgently needs to learn the lessons of organic farmers, in the way they succeed to manage pests and benefit wildlife without the use of dangerous pesticides.

However, the Crop Protection Association (CPA) – whose members include pesticide manufacturers – said the report was not new research and was a selective review of existing studies which highlighted worst-case scenarios, largely produced under laboratory conditions. As such, the publication does not represent a robust assessment of the safety of systemic pesticides under realistic conditions of use, added CEO Nick von Westenholz. The crop protection industry takes its responsibility towards pollinators seriously.

There is no new research in this report said Dr Julian Little, spokesman for Bayer Crop Sciences. The research was lab-based, and if what it said was the case, all species of bee would have been affected. The report gives the impression that ecology is collapsing and that is simply not true.

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