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Neonicotinoids: Banned in the EU to protect bees

2021-11-18T03:45:26.322Z


The EU has banned neonicotinoids to protect bees. However, new figures show that they are still being manufactured here, and corporations like Bayer export thousands of tons - to countries with weak controls, of all places.


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Bee on a Dandelion: "Rapidly Growing Evidence"

Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa

Thiamethoxam, Imidacloprid, Clothianidin - the use of insecticides containing these active ingredients is largely prohibited in the EU.

According to studies, these so-called neonicotinoids are highly toxic to bees, for example, so that manufacturing companies such as Syngenta or Bayer crashed with their lawsuits against the ban.

The EU Commission considers the environmental impact to be so serious that it even wants to set more far-reaching rules: Member States should soon no longer even be allowed to import food containing traces of thiamethoxam or clothianidin.

At the same time, the funds will continue to be produced in Europe - and thousands of tons of them will be exported.

In particular to states that are suspected of only laxly controlling its use.

This is shown by reports from the Swiss human rights organization “Public Eye” and “Unearthed”, a research offshoot of Greenpeace Great Britain, which SPIEGEL has received.

Why is?

The so-called neonicotinoids are chemically similar to nicotine and are designed to kill insects by attacking their central nervous system and causing paralysis and death with very low doses.

more on the subject

  • To protect bees: EU Court of Justice confirms ban on insecticides

  • Insects: Plant protection cocktail harms bees

  • Miss Harvest: How Julia Klöckner became an agricultural lobbyistBy Michaela Schießl

These insecticides are absorbed by the plant, making it completely toxic to insects, including its roots, leaves, flowers, stems, nectar and pollen.

The agents do not necessarily have to be sprayed for this; seeds coated with the substances are also used.

In this case, the plant will absorb the agent while it is growing.

The substances are readily soluble in water and have a long service life in the environment.

They are difficult to biodegrade, accumulate in the soil and can find their way into surrounding lakes, rivers and the groundwater.

What is the problem?

Many studies show that these insecticides not only kill pests, but also harm bees, which are essential for the pollination of crops.

In particular, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said there was "rapidly growing evidence" that "existing pollution" from these neonics had "far-reaching harmful effects on bees and other beneficial insects."

Three out of four crops grown worldwide depend on pollinating insects, and the FAO warns that the decline in bee and insect populations poses a threat to "global food security and nutrition."

Since 2018, Thiamethoxam, Imidacloprid, Clothianidin have therefore been almost completely banned for outdoor use in the EU (and Great Britain) - even if exemptions are repeatedly granted, including by the Managing Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner.

What the investigation has shown

  • Since September 2020, companies and countries that want to export the neonicotinoids thiamethoxam, imidacloprid and clothianidin have had to warn the importing countries in advance if they supply pesticides that are banned or severely restricted in their own operations.

  • "Public Eye" and "Unearthed" have achieved the publication of this information for the months of September, October, November and December 2020.

    During these four months, the EU member states submitted export declarations for 3859 tonnes of banned neonicotinoid-based pesticides containing 702 tonnes of the active ingredients thiamethoxam, imidacloprid or clothianidin.

  • More than 90 percent of these exports went to low- and middle-income countries, where experts say regulation tends to be weaker and highly hazardous pesticides are the most likely to pose serious health or environmental risks.

  • Almost half of the exports went to Brazil, which is also due to a delivery of 2.2 million liters of the Syngenta pesticide Engeo Pleno S from Belgium.

    This insecticide contains the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, which is banned in the EU.

    It is Syngenta's best-selling insecticide in Brazil and its main market is its extensive soybean plantations.

  • At 92 percent, the vast majority of EU exports of neonicotinoids banned here were reported by subsidiaries of Syngenta, the Swiss-based and Chinese-owned multinational agricultural technology group, or its German counterpart Bayer.

  • Germany declared 51 exports containing 97 tonnes of neonicotinoids banned in Europe.

What the EU is up to

In its chemicals strategy for sustainability published in October 2020, the EU Commission committed itself to ensuring that dangerous chemicals that are banned in the European Union will not be manufactured for export.

In addition, the EU considers the harmful effects of the funds to be so serious that it plans to stop imports of all food and agricultural products that contain detectable traces of thiamethoxam or clothianidin.

"Public Eye" quotes an official from the EU Commission in the report as saying: "We know that some active ingredients from the group of neonicotinoids are particularly toxic to bees and contribute significantly to the decline in pollinator populations.

This is the case even when they are used outside EU borders, and we would not consider it acceptable that the production of foods intended for importation into the EU could have serious adverse effects on pollinator populations on a global basis Level leads or represents such a danger. "

What Syngenta, Bayer and the federal government are saying

According to the two non-governmental organizations, all countries and companies named in the export notes had the opportunity to review the data and comment.

Most therefore refused to comment on exact numbers.

Syngenta wrote, “Our products are safe and effective when used as directed.

Wherever we operate, we do so in full compliance with local laws and regulations. ”Pollinators play a vital role in agriculture, so protecting their health is important.

more on the subject

  • Bees and insecticides: "No all-clear, on the contrary"

  • Endangered bees: ECJ allows national ban on insecticides

  • Pesticide business: How Bayer and BASF cash in poison in poor countriesBy Nils Klawitter

Bayer points out that neonicotinoids are "an important tool for farmers" and that "regulatory authorities worldwide have confirmed the safe use of these products after careful examination."

The group is committed to "safe and sustainable use" of its products and "the mere fact that a plant protection product is not approved or banned in the EU says nothing about its safety," the products are allowed in other countries.

The Federal Environment Ministry said: "The Federal Government welcomes the announcement by the European Commission that it will deal with the question of the export ban on chemicals in the EU and looks forward to specific proposals from the Commission."

However, since the discussions with the member states were still ongoing, they would not go into any further detail.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-11-18

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