The collection of signatures in support of the European campaign ‘Let’s save the bees! Protection of biodiversity and improvement of insect habitats in Europe‘. The European Citizens’ Initiative, which we previously reported on, moves from a premise that is all too obvious to be further ignored.
‘We need insects for our ecosystems and to ensure food security. Commission to adopt legislation to preserve and improve insect habitats as indicators of a pristine environment’.
Save the bees, the European citizens’ initiative
One million signatures must be collected in at least 7 member countries by September 2020. It is therefore crucial for each person to take action. Simply fill out the appropriate form with your details – at http://salviamoleapi.org/ – and invite your contacts to do the same.
The initiative aspires to achieve a dutiful reform of European policy on agrotoxics, under the banner of the precautionary principle, which has been completely lost track of. And it is useful to remember in this regard the ‘sentinel’ role that bees have always played as indicators of the health of the environment. So, too, of those who inhabit it.
We call on the European Commission to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and implement a policy capable of remedying it, through research activities and regulatory measures. In particular, one must:
– ‘identify alternatives, including technological solutions to reduce pesticide use,
– Ban harmful pesticides without exception and reform eligibility criteria,
– Promote the structural diversity of agricultural landscapes,
– Effectively reduce fertilizers (e.g., Natura 2000 project),
– Effectively establish conservation areas (e.g. Water Framework Directive),
– intensify research and monitoring and improve education.’
Neonicotinoid alert
Neonicotinoids are the first pesticides to be called for a total ban. These molecules-as recent scientific studies show-have deadly effects on the entire ecosystem. In addition to being 10,000 times more harmful to pollinating insects than other pesticides. They attack the central nervous system of bees, butterflies and other species, causing paralysis, disorientation, reproductive damage and vulnerability to disease. In a word, extinction.
‘On April 27, 2018, the European Union approved a permanent ban on three bee-damaging insecticides https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/progresso/neonicotinoidi-l-ue-ne-vieta-tre neonicotinoids: imidacloprid and clothianidin from Bayer and Syngenta’s thiamethoxam. However, their use remains permitted within permanent greenhouses. In addition, the use of other neonicotinoids is still allowed: acetamiprid, thiacloprid, sulfoxaflor and flupyradifuron, and other substances such as cypermethrin, deltamethrin and chlorpyrifos, all insecticides that are potentially dangerous to bees and other pollinating insects‘. (Greenpeace)
The destruction of apiary colonies then reverberates throughout the food chain, first involving birds and their predators. Already, a quarter of Europe’s wildlife is at risk of extinction, half of all natural sites are in ecologically unfavorable condition, and ecosystem services that depend on biodiversity are deteriorating.
The Save the Bees! campaign is promoted by a network of 90 organizations in 17 different European countries, with the support of organic farmers.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
