Terra Viva Verona: Call to restrict neonicotinoids

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used

insecticides in the world. They are applied

to a broad range of food, energy, and ornamental

crops, and used in domestic pest control.

Because they are neurotoxins, they are highly

toxic to insects , a group of organisms that

contains the majority of the described life on Earth,

and which includes numerous species

of vital importance to humans such as pollinators

and predators of pests .

Neonicotinoids have proved to be highly persistent in the environment, such that substantial residues

are commonly found in soils, wildflowers, streams, and lakes. One recent study found

neonicotinoids in 75% of honey samples collected from around the world.

Hundreds of independent scientific studies have been performed to assess their impacts

on beneficial organisms such as bees, aquatic insects, butterflies, and predatory beetles.

It is the view of the undersigned scientists that the balance of evidence strongly suggests that these

hemicals are harming beneficial insects and contributing to the current massive loss of global

biodiversity. As such, there is an immediate need for national and international agreements

to greatly restrict their use, and to prevent registration of similarly harmful agrochemicals in the future.

On 28 April, the European Parliament voted for a complete and permanent ban on all outdoor uses

of the three most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides (7). With the partial exception

of the province of Ontario, Canada (8), governments elsewhere have failed to take action.

Failure to respond urgently to this issue risks not only the continued decline in abundance

and diversity of many beneficial insects, but also the loss of the services they provide

and a substantial fraction of the biodiversity heritage of future generations.

Supplementary Material