The UK Government is delivering on its promise to “ban toxic bee-killing pesticides and ending the long-term decline of our wildlife,” according to Environment Minister, Emma Hardy.
The government has unveiled the next steps it plans to take that will lead up to a complete ban on the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.
Although these pesticides are banned from general use in the UK, the previous government authorised the use of neonicotinoids every year for the last four years in England through a process known as emergency authorisation.
Bee risk
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) neonicotinoids are “extremely toxic to pollinators”.
It has highlighted that doses that are not directly fatal to bees can cause cognitive problems impacting foraging abilities and the productivity of hives.
The chemicals can also persist in the soil creating a further risk to bees.
Defra also stated that bees and other pollinators are “crucial to the agricultural economy” with the economic benefits of pollination to crop production in the UK estimated at £500 million annually.
The government has now set out the next steps it will take to ban neonicotinoids, including identifying legislative options that would legally prevent the future use of three specific pesticides – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam.
Environment Minister Emma Hardy said: “A healthy environment is vital to our food and economic security.
Protecting bees by stopping the use of damaging neonicotinoids is an important step in supporting the long-term health of our environment and waterways, and our farming sector.”
The latest update on the government’s key election pledge to ban these pesticides comes ahead of the publication of a new UK National Action Plan (NAP).
It has also said its commitment to farmers “remains steadfast and we are fully committed to supporting farmers to protect their crops in more sustainable ways”.
According to the government there has already been “progress in this space”, including research into new virus-resistant varieties of sugar beet and new alternative pesticide sprays.
