Beleid en debat

Agricultural systems are drivers of global environmental degradation. Insecticides, in particular, are highly biologically active substances that can threaten the ecological integrity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite widespread insecticide application to croplands worldwide, no comprehensive field data-based evaluation of their risk to global surface waters exists. Our data show, for the first time to our knowledge at the global scale, that more than 50% of detected insecticide concentrations (n = 11,300) exceed regulatory threshold levels. This finding indicates that surface water pollution resulting from current agricultural insecticide use constitutes an excessive threat to aquatic biodiversity. Overall, our analysis suggests that fundamental revisions of current regulatory procedures and pesticide application practices are needed to reverse the global environmental impacts of agrochemical-based high-intensity agriculture.

Although the Everglades National Park is no longer subject to hunting, the unnatural distribution and quality of water has contributed to the decline of several bird species devaluing the park’s association with 350 different species of feathered creatures. “While a few species seem to be rebounding, others, such as the roseate spoonbill, are continuing their downward spiral,” said Larry Perez, a member of the South Florida Natural Resources Center’s Science Communications Outreach, the largest science center of the National Park Service.The most drastic and recent drop of all is that of the roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). With the worst drop in breeding season in Florida Bay in over 40 years, the species is disappearing. Florida Bay takes up one-third of the Everglades. As wading birds, like the popular ibis of the Everglades, these animals have long legs for wading in the water to catch their fish. In the shallow water, the spoonbill lowers its partially opened bill and snaps it shut once a small fish or source of food has triggered its sensitivity. Fish are no longer concentrated in small shallow pools, leaving the spoonbills and other wading birds hungry and fending for survival.

Their song is one of the most unique and recognizable in the bird world. They are the state bird of North Dakota and similarly honored in five other states. And they are vanishing from the landscape. The western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) no longer makes common appearances atop fence posts where they have perched for decades, almost always emitting their unmistakable flute-like call. It is a sound like none other heard on the prairie. So distinctive is the call of the western meadowlark that it would be hard to find anyone who grew up in North Dakota who couldn't recognize the melodious and lengthy tune of the colorful bird. Now, sadly, the remarkably pure sound is becoming rarer and rarer each year. It is a lasting and disturbing trend that increases the possibility that a growing number of North Dakota residents may be denied hearing what just a few short years ago seemed common for anyone spending time outdoors in the Peace Garden State. "Western meadowlarks have declined significantly in the last 10 to 15 years. Our breeding survey data shows that," said Ron Martin of Minot. "That's the iconic sound of the North Dakota prairie." Martin is a long-time birder who has earned regional and national recognition for his expertise. He has participated in numerous surveys, including regularly covering five of 44 standardized observation routes in North Dakota under the supervision of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Anlässlich des Internationalen Tages der Artenvielfalt warnt der NABU NRW vor dramatischen Entwicklungen bei der artenreichsten Tiergruppe der Insekten. Untersuchungen auf regionaler Ebene zeigen einen über die vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten eingetretenen Verlust bei der heimischen Artenvielfalt. So sind nach aktuellen Auswertungen im Großraum Krefeld inzwischen mehr als 60 Prozent der Hummelarten ausgestorben. Ähnlich sieht es in der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf bei den Tagfaltern aus, wo 58 Prozent der Arten schon verschwunden sind. „Um auf das Artensterben aufmerksam zu machen, müssen wir nicht mehr auf den Regenwald verweisen – es passiert vor unserer Haustür“, sagt NABU-Landesvorsitzender Josef Tumbrinck. Nach Erhebungen von Insektenkundlern geht aber nicht bloß die Zahl der Insektenarten dramatisch zurück, sondern auch die Gesamtmenge aller an einem Ort vorkommenden Fluginsekten. An unterschiedlichen Standorten hat der Entomologische Verein Krefeld über standardisierte Methoden die Insekten in den vergangenen drei Jahren erfasst und mit Untersuchungsergebnissen von vor 15 bis 25 Jahren verglichen. Hierbei zeigten sich dramatische Verluste von bis zu 70 bis 80 Prozent der Biomasse von Fluginsekten. Einige dieser Vergleichsmessungen liegen zudem auch noch in Schutzgebieten.

The autumn darter -- a species of red dragonfly -- is making it onto the "red list" of endangered species in many local municipalities in Japan. The data point to a possible link with the use of pesticides. According to the Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J), the autumn darter (Sympetrum frequens) has been confirmed as being on endangered species lists in the six prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo, Mie, Toyama, Nagasaki and Kagoshima. Their numbers have dropped dramatically from the late 1990s onward. According to Tetsuyuki Ueda, an animal ecology expert and professor emeritus at Ishikawa Prefectural University, autumn darters were confirmed to have emerged from their chrysalises at 80 percent of rice paddies in the prefecture in 1989, while the figure was down to 19 percent in 2009. Tests found that using neonicotinoid insecticides, which have become widespread since their emergence in the 1990s, led to a 70-percent drop in the autumn darter's eclosion rate than when such insecticides were not used.

A UK Government study by their agency Fera has been published today. The study contains three key results, it shows:-
• A clear relationship across regions between imidacloprid use (the commonest neonicotinoid used during the period of the study) and overwintering honeybee colony losses. • Neonicotinoid seed treatments (mainly imidacloprid) on Oilseed rape did not produce a consistent yield benefit - positive in three years, negative in one and no overall effect.
• Neonicotinoid use reduced insecticide spray use in the autumn only if the initial use of the neonicotinoid was ignored, but appeared to increase insecticide sprays the following spring – net effect circa 0.75 more insecticide uses per hectare. Government has been aware of this statistical link between imidacloprid use and honeybee colony loss since early 2013 – the minutes of their own Advisory Committee on Pesticides of 29th January 2013 contain extensive discussion about a “prepublication” analysis that revealed that once regional differences had been accounted for 7-8% of honeybee colony loss was associated with imidacloprid use “there was a clear signal from imidacloprid use despite this ‘noise’, from other factors”.

Butterflies including gatekeepers, large skippers, small coppers and small tortoiseshells are in severe decline on agricultural land, while breeding farmland bird populations hit their lowest recorded level in England in 2013, having more than halved since 1970. Breeding farmland birds and butterflies are declining in both the long and short term, while woodland birds and butterflies have also seen numbers fall in past decades. In 2013, breeding woodland birds in England reached their lowest recorded level, more than a quarter (28%) below 1970 levels. Butterfly populations have tumbled by almost a half (48%) since 1990.

Canada is home to billions of birds belonging to some 451 regularly occurring native species that raise their young or spend their non-breeding seasons in this vast and varied country. Increasingly, these birds face many threats here and elsewhere. On average, Canadian breeding bird populations have decreased 12% since 1970 when effective monitoring began for most species. Some groups, such as grassland birds, aerial insectivores and shorebirds, are showing major declines. Aerial insectivores—birds that catch insects in flight—are declining more steeply than any other group of birds. Some formerly very common species like the Barn Swallow and Chimney Swift have declined to less than a quarter of their 1970-level populations.

Farmland bird populations both in Ireland and across Europe are at their lowest levels since records began, new figures from BirdWatch Ireland and BirdLife Europe reveal. The Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme has compiled population figures for 145 common and widespread bird species in 25 European countries between 1980 and 2009. Amongst those species covered, farmland birds are the most threatened group, with 20 out of 36 species in decline, and overall numbers at an all-time low, down by 48% since 1980. Some of the species that have declined the most over the last three decades across Europe include familiar farmland birds like Grey Partridge (–82%), Skylark (–46%), Linnet (–62%) and Corn Bunting (–66%). Ian Burfield, European Science and Data Manager for BirdLife Europe, said: “These shocking new figures confirm that farmland birds have halved in number across Europe since 1980. While the rate of decline may have slowed in recent years, it’s clear that attempts to halt the loss have been insufficient, and that massive efforts are needed to reverse the trend.”