Abstract
Agrochemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers, have facilitated an unprecedented intensification of agriculture [1, 2]. However, the desired yield gains come at the cost of unwanted side effects on the environment. Pesticides have been demonstrated to contribute to the decline of non-target organisms, such as bees, birds and aquatic biodiversity [3,4,5], fueling the global biodiversity crisis. This runs contrary to global efforts to protect biodiversity and, in particular, also to the aims of the European Union’s (EU) pesticide regulation [6]. Consistent exceedances of regulatory thresholds [7] and revisions of authorizations of pesticides, such as of neonicotinoid insecticides in the EU by the Standing Committee on plants, animals, food and feed (PAFF Committee), also attest to deficiencies in regulatory pesticide risk assessment and management.
Highlights
Agrochemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers, have facilitated an unprecedented intensification of agriculture [1, 2]
Authorization along tiers To authorize a pesticide, risk assessment in the European Union (EU) [8], the United States of America (USA) [9] and most other countries, requires that the predicted environmental exposure concentration is below a concentration considered safe for non-target organisms (Fig. 1, for details see [10])
In the EU, in a first step of the risk assessment, this safe concentration is established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in cooperation with national agencies of the EU member states through a combination of:
Summary
Agrochemicals, such as pesticides and fertilizers, have facilitated an unprecedented intensification of agriculture [1, 2]. Authorization along tiers To authorize a pesticide, risk assessment in the EU [8], the United States of America (USA) [9] and most other countries, requires that the predicted environmental exposure concentration is below a concentration considered safe for non-target organisms (Fig. 1, for details see [10]).
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