PAN Europe welcomes today’s successful vote on the Commission Delegated Regulation proposing to ban pesticides in Ecological Focus Areas that took place in the European Parliament’s plenary session.
“Today, the EP voted for not spraying pesticides in EFAs, which is a very important decision for saving and improving biodiversity and a step in the direction for sustainable agriculture. It is now well documented that there is a strong relationship between the amount of pesticides used and the reduction in biodiversity. The fact that EFAs will be kept free of pesticide sprays will help to maintain and restore biodiversity.” says Prof.Dr. Joop C. van Lenteren, Entomologist, member of the Dutch Academy of Science and former President of the International Organization for Biological Control.
“The EP refusal to undermine EFAs by allowing pesticides use is a small but welcome victory for common sense, biodiversity and the wider environment. But, in truth, much more must be done on the road to sustainable agriculture. PAN Europe now looks forward to pressurising the European Commission, Council and the Member States to fully implement the Sustainable Use Directive on pesticides so both human health and the environment can get rid of improper and excessive use of pesticides. This can be achieved through rigorous efforts across the entire agricultural and forest sectors to achieve IPM as standard practice, as now foreseen in the EU legislation.” says Henriette Christensen, PAN Europe Senior Policy Advisor.
Contact: Henriette Christensen, Senior Policy Officer, PAN Europe, Henriette [at] pan-europe.info, Tel: +32 2 318 62 55
PAN Europe is a network of NGOs working to minimise negative effects and replace the use of hazardous chemicals with ecologically sound alternatives. We work to eliminate dependency on chemical pesticides and to support safe sustainable pest control methods.
