Auteur: Henk Tennekes

Fast 80 der rund 200 in der Schweiz brütenden Vogelarten laufen Gefahr, aus der Schweiz zu verschwinden

Für gefährdete Vogelarten haben sich die Lebensbedingungen in der Schweiz in den letzten 20 Jahren mehrheitlich verschlechtert. Dies zeigt der Swiss Bird Index (SBI), den die Schweizerische Vogelwarte Sempach erstellt hat. Fast 80 der rund 200 in der Schweiz brütenden Vogelarten sind auf der Roten Liste. Sie laufen damit Gefahr, aus der Schweiz zu verschwinden. Der SBI, den die Vogelwarte für diese gefährdeten Arten erstellt hat, zeigt, dass sich die Situation seit der erstmaligen Erhebung 1990 nicht verbessert hat.

1,300 Bird Species Are Threatened With Extinction

Conservationists are alarmed by the increasing number of birds under threat due to the damage being done to the earth’s ecosystems. The most recent assessment for the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List for endangered birds revealed that no less than 1,300 species are threatened with extinction. It means that if nothing is done, more than 1,000 species could disappear; disturbing and damaging the natural environment.

Moria delle api: gli insetticidi altererebbero il loro DNA

Moria delle api. Gli insetticidi si trovano nuovamente sotto accusa. Un nuovo studio pone in correlazione la morte diffusa delle api all’impiego di pesticidi. Mentre gli Stati Uniti hanno negato la connessione tra declino delle api e impiego di pesticidi tossici, la Commissione Europea ha proposto una messa al bando temporanea di tre neonicotinoidi, in attesa di nuove conferme scientifiche sulla loro effettiva azione negativa nei confronti delle api. Una ricerca condotta di recente presso l’Università di Nottingham ha dimostrato che una determinata categoria di insetticidi è in grado di provocare alterazioni del DNA delle api. Lo studio mostra una chiara correlazione del fenomeno con l’insetticida imidacloprid. I risultati delle ricerche sono stati pubblicati sulla rivista PlosOne.

Neonicotinoidi, l’Italia attua la prima parte del regolamento europeo

Con notevole tempismo, le autorità italiane hanno attuato la prima parte del Regolamento 485/2013/UE del 24 maggio scorso, che aveva pesantemente limitato le autorizzazioni di agrofarmaci contenenti i neonicotinoidi clothianidin, thiamethoxam e imidacloprid. Il decreto 25 giugno 2013 ha infatti revocato sette agrofarmaci a base di clothianidin o imidacloprid e ne ha limitati altri cinque, a base di imidacloprid o thiamethoxam, cancellandone l’impiego su colture considerate attrattive per le api (nel caso specifico mais, girasole, cotone, frumento e orzo). Il provvedimento, che interessa solamente prodotti utilizzati in concia e granulari per i trattamenti al terreno, è entrato in vigore lo scorso 1° luglio e consentirà l’utilizzo delle scorte attualmente in commercio sino al 30 novembre 2013.

Blootstelling van bijenlarven aan een zeer lage dosis imidacloprid verlaagt de levensverwachting

Britse onderzoekers hebben aangetoond dat het voor alle insecten schadelijke neonicotinoide insecticide imidacloprid veranderingen in de activiteit van het DNA van bijen veroorzaakt. De studie van de groep van professor Reinhard Stöger op de Universiteit van Nottingham stelde bijen en larven bloot aan een zeer lage dosis imidacloprid. Slechts twee op een miljoen deeltjes hadden al een invloed op de genen van bijen en larven. Gifafbrekende genen moesten harder werken, terwijl ook stukjes DNA die de energiehuishouding regelden meer activiteit vertoonden. Het is bekend dat dergelijke veranderingen een negatief effect hebben op de levensverwachting van insecten. Reinhard Stöger: “Larven kunnen zich nog steeds ontwikkelen onder invloed van imidacloprid, maar dat proces is niet meer stabiel. Als er nog andere factoren zoals ziektes en slecht weer bij komen, dan wordt de kans op ontwikkelingsstoornissen veel groter.”

EFSA Guidance Document on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked by the European Commission (EC) to develop a Guidance Document on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees. The Guidance Document is intended to provide guidance for notifiers and authorities in the context of the review of plant protection products (PPPs) and their active substances under Regulation (EC) 1107/2009. The scientific opinion on the science behind the development of a risk assessment of plant protection products on bees (Apis mellifera, Bombus spp. and solitary bees) (EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Poducts and their Residues (PPR), 2012a) provided the scientific basis for the development of the Guidance Document. The process of the development of the Guidance Document follows the methodology of definition of specific protection goals (SPGs) as outlined in the scientific opinion of EFSA‘s Plant Protection Products and their Residues Panel (EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR), 2010). The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health was consulted for the appropriate levels of protection (e.g. to make choices on the magnitude of effects, duration of effects and exposure percentiles). The Guidance Document suggests the implementation of a tiered risk assessment scheme with a simple and cost-effective first tier to more complex higher tier studies under field conditions. Each of the tiers will have to ensure that the appropriate level of protection is achieved. More detailed guidance on specific aspects of laboratory studies and higher tier risk assessments is given in the appendices. A need for test protocols for bumble bees and solitary bees was identified. Potential protocols are available in the published literature and first proposals are made in the appendices. It is important that fully validated test protocols are developed in future.

Positive associations between preconception pesticide exposure and risk of childhood brain tumors

Previous research has suggested positive associations between parental or childhood exposure to pesticides and risk of childhood brain tumors (CBT). This Australian case–control study of CBT investigated whether exposures to pesticides before pregnancy, during pregnancy and during childhood, were associated with an increased risk. Cases were recruited from 10 pediatric oncology centers, and controls by random-digit dialing, frequency matched on age, sex, and State of residence. Exposure data were collected by written questionnaires and telephone interviews. Data were analyzed by unconditional logistic regression. The odds ratios (ORs) for professional pest control treatments in the home in the year before the index pregnancy, during the pregnancy, and after the child’s birth were 1.54 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 2.22), 1.52 (95 % CI: 0.99, 2.34) and 1.04 (95 % CI: 0.75, 1.43), respectively. ORs for treatments exclusively before pregnancy and during pregnancy were 1.90 (95 % CI: 1.08, 3.36) and 1.02 (95 % CI: 0.35, 3.00), respectively. The OR for the father being home during the treatment was 1.79 (95 % CI: 0.85, 3.80). The OR for paternal occupational exposure in the year before the child’s conception was 1.36 (95 % CI: 0.66, 2.80). ORs for prenatal home pesticide exposure were elevated for low- and high-grade gliomas; effect estimates for other CBT subtypes varied and lacked precision. These results suggest that preconception pesticide exposure, and possibly exposure during pregnancy, is associated with an increased CBT risk. It may be advisable for both parents to avoid pesticide exposure during this time.

The Same Chemicals Induce Different Neurotoxicity When Administered In High Doses for Short Term or Low Doses for Long Term to Rats and Dogs

Dose- and term-dependent differences in the location and nature of brain lesions induced in rats and dogs by 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD), misonidazole, clioquinol, and acrylamide are reported. Subchronic neuropathies (“distal axonopathy”) were induced by low-dose administration of these neurotoxicants and at high doses, lesions caused by acute or subacute neurotoxicity were found in the central nervous system (CNS). In rats, 2,5-HD induced extracellular edema, nerve cell degeneration, and axonal degeneration in the cerebellar and vestibular nuclei. Similar lesions were observed in misonidazole-treated dogs and clioquinol induced nerve cell degeneration in the hippocampus and malacia in the piriform lobes of these animals. In rats, acrylamide induced degeneration of Purkinje cells. Although the mechanism(s) underlying the differential neurotoxicity of high and low doses of these neurotoxicants remains unclear, we suggest certain biochemical mechanisms, cytotoxic edema and excitotoxicity, as factors in the production of such lesions after high-dose treatment.

Kameroverleg van 1 juli 2013 over duurzame gewasbescherming

De vaste commissie voor Economische Zaken en de vaste commissie voor Infrastructuur en Milieu hebben op 1 juli 2013 overleg gevoerd met staatssecretaris Dijksma van Economische Zaken en staatssecretaris Mansveld van Infrastructuur en Milieu over:
– de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken d.d. 14 mei 2013 houdende de Aanbieding van de Nota “Gezonde Groei, Duurzame Oogst”(27858, nr. 146);
– de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken d.d. 5 december 2012 inzake Verbetering naleefbaarheid en handhaafbaarheid gewasbeschermingsmiddelengebruik (27858, nr. 137);
– de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische zaken houdende de Aanbieding Integriteitscode van het College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden (Ctgb) (27858, nr. 139);
– de brief van de staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken d.d. 12 februari 2013 inzake de Voortgang van de verbetertrajecten bij het Ctgb (27858, nr. 142)
– de brief van de staatssecretaris van Infrastructuur en Milieu d.d. 18 juni 2013 inzake het Onderzoeksrapport van Pesticide Action Network (Pan Europe) (27858, nr. 160).
Van dit overleg brengt de commissie bijgaand geredigeerd woordelijk verslag uit.

Landwirtschaftsausschuss beschloss Verbot von Neonicotinoiden

Der Landwirtschaftsausschuss hat sich am Mittwoch auf ein neues Pflanzenschutzmittelgesetz zum Schutze der Bienen geeinigt. Der Initiativantrag wurde von den Abgeordneten der beiden Koalitionsparteien SPÖ und ÖVP gemeinsam mit den Grünen und dem BZÖ beschlossen und betrifft sowohl das Verbot der Neonicotinoide wie auch von Glyphosatanwendungen. Ebenso soll es künftig untersagt sein, Herbizide im Lebensmittelhandel oder ohne Beratung über Selbstbedienung anzubieten. Am kommenden Freitag soll das Gesetz im Nationalrat abgesegnet werden. Das künftige Gesetz zum Beizverbot von heimischem Getreide mit Neonicotinoiden ist zwar nicht das anvisierte Totalverbot, doch ein äußerst weitreichendes. “Wir haben 95 Prozent geschafft, an den offenen Punkten werden wir weiter arbeiten”, sagte Wolfgang Pirklhuber, Landwirtschaftssprecher der Grünen. Das Verbot der Sikkation von Getreide, also dem künstlichen Trocknen, nannte er als besonders wichtigen Schritt.