Canadian Forest Service Publications

Conclusions of the worldwide integrated assessment on the risks of neonicotinoids and fipronil to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. 2015.Van der Sluijs, J.P.; Amaral-Rogers, V.; Belzunces, L.P.; Bijleveld van Lexmond, M.F.I.J.; Bonmatin, J-M.; Chagnon, M.; Downs, C.A.; Furlan,L.; Gibbons, D.W.; Giorio, C.; Girolami, V.; Goulson, D.; Kreutzweiser, D.P.; Krupke, C.; Liess, M.; Long, E.; McField, M.; Mineau, P. ; Mitchell, E.A.D.; Morrissey, C.A.; Noome, D.A.; Pisa, L.; Settele, J.; Simon-Delso, N.; Stark, J.D.; Tapparo, A.; Van Dyck, H.; van Praagh, J.; Whitehorn, P. R.; Wiemers, M.D. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 22:148-154.

Year: 2015

Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Catalog ID: 35570

Language: English

Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)

Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-3229-5

† This site may require a fee

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Plain Language Summary

This is the summary and conclusions paper for the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) of Systemic Pesticides series of papers in Environmental Science and Pollution Research. The WIA is a comprehensive literature review and synthesis on environmental risks associated with the use of the systemic insecticides, neonicotinoids and fipronil. David Kreutzweiser is a research scientist at NRCan, CFS and is a participant and author in the WIA. This synthesis shows that the present scale and patterns of use combined with the systemic, toxic, and persistent nature of these insecticides, pose high risks of widespread contamination of soils, water, wetlands, and plants. There is a growing body of evidence showing that this contamination poses a high risk of ecological impacts. This synthesis of the WIA shows that there are serious environmental risks beyond the issue of honeybee decline. The paper also identifies a number of critical information gaps in the published literature that preclude a full environmental risk assessment at this time. Given the growing body of evidence indicating adverse effects, the authors recommend that regulatory agencies apply principles of prevention and precaution by tightening regulations and limiting the use of these systemic insecticides. Policy implications to the NRCan are minimal. There is one neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, registered for forestry in Canada, but the use of imidacloprid in forest pest control is currently very limited and therefore the environmental exposure and risk from the forestry use of this neonicotinoid in Canada is negligible.