Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, UK; European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Pesticides Unit, Via Carlo Magno 1A, 43126 Parma, Italy.
Curr Biol. 2023 Jan 23;33(2):R44-R48. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.002.
Intensive agriculture is reliant on pesticides to control crop pests, but these chemicals can have negative environmental consequences. This has resulted in repeated calls for pesticide risk assessments to be modified to better protect ecosystem services such as pollination. However, the pesticide licensing process is complex, and consequently there is often confusion between risk assessments where the environmental impact of pesticide use is considered, and risk management where licensing decisions are made. Using bees as a case study, we provide a roadmap for how pesticides are licensed for use in the European Union. By outlining the regulatory process, we highlight key data gaps that need to be addressed to generate a holistic approach to environmental risk assessment. Such an approach is vital to protect pollinators and wildlife more broadly from the unintended consequences of pesticide use.
集约农业依赖杀虫剂来控制作物害虫，但这些化学物质可能会对环境造成负面影响。因此，人们一再呼吁修改杀虫剂风险评估，以更好地保护授粉等生态系统服务。然而，杀虫剂许可程序很复杂，因此，在考虑杀虫剂使用的环境影响的风险评估和做出许可决定的风险管理之间，经常存在混淆。我们以蜜蜂为例，为如何在欧盟获得杀虫剂的使用许可提供了路线图。通过概述监管过程，我们强调了需要解决的关键数据差距，以制定综合的环境风险评估方法。这种方法对于保护传粉媒介和更广泛的野生动物免受杀虫剂使用的意外后果至关重要。
