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Improving pesticide-use data for the EU

DOI:10.1038/s41559-021-01574-1
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Robin Mesnage
Robin Mesnage
Robin Mesnage
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Edward A. Straw
Edward A. Straw
Edward A. Straw
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Michael Nicolas Antoniou at King's College London
Michael Nicolas Antoniou
Charles Benbrook at Newcastle University and Benbrook Consulting Services (BCS)
Charles Benbrook
  • Newcastle University and Benbrook Consulting Services (BCS)
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Abstract

To the Editor — Access to pesticide-use data is essential to accurately evaluate the adverse effects of pesticides on human and ecosystem health. In Europe, applicators are usually required to record the location and date of pesticide applications1. A subset of these data is periodically sampled to produce heavily aggregated estimates of pesticide use, with spatial data reported to a national level. By contrast, in California all the data from applicators is reported in an openly accessible and highly temporally and spatially granular database2. The Californian approach has enabled the location of endangered species exposed to spray drift3, the monitoring of surface water pollution4, the determination of honeybee pesticide exposure5 and the identification of health effects from residential exposures to pesticides6. Such analyses are not possible within the European Union. ... The regulatory regime in the EU has demonstrated a willingness to allow academic findings to play decisive roles in the approval process of pesticides, as evidenced by the ban on three neonicotinoids after academics raised concerns about their effects on pollinators10,11. Access to high-quality pesticide-use data will help inform pesticide regulation and provide greater transparency12. Improving the tracking of pesticide use would facilitate the European Green Deal objective of reducing pesticide use 50% by 2030 and promote a move towards a more sustainable agri-food system.
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Mesnage , R. Straw, E.A., Antoniou, M.N. Benbrook, C. Brown, M.J.F., Chauzat, M-J., Finger, R.,
Goulson, D., Leadbeater, E., López-Ballesteros, A., Möhring, N., Neumann, P., Stanley, D., Stout, J.C.,
Thompson, L.J., Topping, C.J., White, B., Zaller, J.G., Zioga, E. (2021). Improving pesticide-use data for
the EU. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01574-1
You can access the article free here: https://rdcu.be/czv1g
... To cut the risks of pesticide pollution in half by 2030, as the conference of the parties has agreed (CBD, 2022), requires knowing how much pesticide is being used, and where. Accurate use data are essential for evaluating the adverse effects of pesticides on human and ecological health, and are a key part of a holistic approach to pesticide management policies (Möhring et al., 2020;Mesnage et al., 2021). Good pesticide use data are difficult to come by, however, prompting recent calls from scientists and policymakers to improve data accuracy, availability, and spatially explicit information on product use (Mesnage et al., 2021;EU, 2019). ...
... Accurate use data are essential for evaluating the adverse effects of pesticides on human and ecological health, and are a key part of a holistic approach to pesticide management policies (Möhring et al., 2020;Mesnage et al., 2021). Good pesticide use data are difficult to come by, however, prompting recent calls from scientists and policymakers to improve data accuracy, availability, and spatially explicit information on product use (Mesnage et al., 2021;EU, 2019). ...
... Publicly available data on what is being used where, in what volumes, and by whom is essential for environmental assessment and risk reduction, including the COP 15 Global Biodiversity Framework's target to reduce pesticide risks by 50% by 2030. Recent calls to improve pesticide use data in Europe note that these data are critical in order to target specific harms from pesticideslike drift, water pollution, residential exposures, and harms to pollinatorsand to understand when and why a certain policy has been effective (Möhring et al., 2020;Mesnage et al., 2021). Yet, as we have shown, even the most basic aggregate data have serious accuracy problems for most of the world, if they are available at all. ...
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Eurostat. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. (2008).