Europe
June 8, 2009
Source:
http://www.endure-network.eu/about_endure/all_the_news/expert_group_seeks_to_speed_ipm_in_europe
 ENDURE
assistant coordinator Marco Barzman (INRA, France), pictured
right, and Silke Dachbrodt-Saaydeh (Julius Kuehn Institute
(JKI), Germany) took part in the first meeting of the European
Commission’s expert group on the Thematic Strategy on the
sustainable use of pesticides in Brussels, Belgium, in June.
They presented the ENDURE project and addressed the topic of how
research projects can support policy and Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) implementation, as the first meeting of the
80-strong group got underway. The group, whose composition will
change according to the subject under discussion, is scheduled
to meet once or twice a year.
The Thematic Strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides is
one of seven that are being developed by the European
Commission’s Sixth Environment Action Programme (EAP), with the
others covering areas such as air, the marine environment, soil
and natural resources. Thematic strategies are designed to
modernise European Union environment policy making and take a
broader, more strategic approach than was the case previously.
The Thematic Strategy accompanies the Framework Directive on the
sustainable use of pesticides and emphasises the importance of
Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which will have to be
encouraged by Member States and included in their National
Action Plans.
At the meeting, members got the chance to examine the final
report drawn up by JKI on behalf of the consultancy organisation
BiPRO, Development of guidance for establishing Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) principles (you can download the report below).
This scrutinises the eight general IPM principles discussed and
adopted by the European Parliament and Council:
- Measures for prevention
and/or suppression of harmful organisms
- Tools for monitoring
- Threshold values as a
basis for decision-making
- Non-chemical methods to be
preferred
- Target specificity and
minimisation of side effects
- Reduction of use to
necessary levels
- Application of
anti-resistance strategies
- Records, monitoring,
documentation and check of success
 In
addition, the report identifies a series of additional topics
(almost 30) in already existing national practice or in IPM
concepts of several international organisations. “It was found
that there are points strictly related to IPM and others which
deal only with IPM indirectly," says the report. "The latter are
most often complying with the provisions of the Framework
Directive on the sustainable use but do not provide necessary
actions for the professional user as such.”
Indeed, says the report, there is currently a lack of guidance
for farmers. “It could be observed up to now that most
countries/organisations tackle IPM not at a level of defined
principles to be applied by the professional user - this means
precisely defined necessary actions for the user - but at a
higher level, addressing policy makers…”
The report says the eight principles identified are a minimum
approach and it is essential that all the elements are applied
in an integrated way, as “only the combination and application
of all principles will lead to success.”
It further identifies several aspects which will be important
for the Commission in the successful implementation of IPM:
- Carry out continuous
training activities for professional users
- Make funds available
for advisers, both qualified and independent
- Raise awareness for
IPM at Community level; marketing must be promoted in
order to increase the value of IPM products; information
regarding the advantages and benefits obtained by IPM
programmes for the environment, farmers and consumers
must be provided to customers
- Carry out and support
research in this field, funds for research and
experimentation must be made available
- Have sufficient
personnel available in the countries to enable effective
IPM
- Have funds for
monitoring, forecasting and warning available
- Find ways to guarantee
funds for farmers adopting IPM measures.
The Commission's Directorate
General (DG) Environment has asked ENDURE to comment on and add
to the BiPRO report and this is currently being done. ENDURE is
due to report back by the end of August.
Chair of the meeting, Paul Speight, from DG Environment,
concluded that no ‘ideal’ National Action Plan exists but each
Member State will have to develop a plan adapted to its
particular situation. However, he noted, good examples already
exist in several Member States.
He added that training is a key aspect for making the
implementation of the Framework Directive a success and that
research projects such as ENDURE will deliver useful concrete
tools to facilitate the implementation of the Directive.
For more information
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