Pesticides and the environment: taking stock, looking ahead
Environmental risk assessment (ERA) was embedded in EU pesticide legislation 25 years ago. More than 150 pesticide specialists from around the world gathered in Parma to discuss the scientific developments triggered by the introduction of Council Directive 91/414/EEC in 1991 and to debate the way forward for ERA of pesticides in the coming years.
The conference, “Environmental risk assessment of pesticides: 25 years of scientific advancements”, organised by EFSA, examined a range of issues in a programme that stretched over one and a half days.
Delegates discussed the progress made in the regulation of pesticides in the EU, advances in guidance and assessment methodologies, as well as new challenges and emerging trends. The final session included a lively roundtable discussion on the value of landscape-based risk mapping in ERA.
Jose Tarazona, Head of EFSA’s Pesticides Unit, closed the meeting by congratulating delegates for the high quality of the discussions and said: “We started with the challenges and achievements of the past and have now shared thoughts and ideas that can hopefully inspire our work over the next 25 years.”
Presentations
EU regulatory framework of pesticides: from Directive 91/414/EEC to Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009
Peer review of active substances in the EU
Regulatory environmental risk assessment of pesticides: past, present and future
ERA: current assessment and methodologies – an industry view
Pesticide ERA: environment unprotected?
Member State experience with assessment methodologies: aquatic compartment
UK experiences of conducting pesticide ERA for the terrestrial compartment
Member State experience with soil exposure methodologies
Harmonising ERA of pesticides: OECD development of test guidelines and methodologies
Opinions of consultants on risk assessment procedures
What can we learn from landscape eco(toxico)logy for regulatory ecological risk assessment?
Historical perspectives on landscape-based pesticide assessments in the US over the last 25 years
Landscape-scale simulation for terrestrial population modelling and ERA
Landscape and climate parameters for the mapping of pesticide ERA