1. University of Torino RURAL AND ECOLOGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT: SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES Paola Colla Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the agro-environmental sector (AGROINNOVA) - University of Torino, Italy

2. University of Torino Summary of contents Introduction Introduction European Policy context: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) European Policy context: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) European Environmental policy: 6 th EAP European Environmental policy: 6 th EAP Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Sustainable Use Directive 2009/128/EC Sustainable Use Directive 2009/128/EC Plant Protection Products Directive 91/414/EEC, its Review Process and new PPP Regulation 1107/2009 Plant Protection Products Directive 91/414/EEC, its Review Process and new PPP Regulation 1107/2009 AGROINNOVA case study: LIFE+ SustUse Project AGROINNOVA case study: LIFE+ SustUse Project Concluding remarks Concluding remarks

3. University of Torino Introduction (1) Pesticides are active substances and products that have the inherent potential to kill or control harmful or unwanted organisms – such as pests and weeds. They can be used in agriculture or to control the growth of plants on non-agricultural surfaces (plant protection products), or for other purposes (biocidal products).

4. University of Torino Introduction (2) However, because of their intrinsic properties, pesticides can be harmful to non-target organisms and can have unwanted adverse effects on human health and the environment. Pesticides improve or safeguard agricultural yields and the quality of agricultural products. Plant protection products also play an important role in meeting plant health requirements and allowing international trade in agricultural products.

5. University of Torino Threats to human health and the environment Risks to human health When the degree of exposure exceeds the levels considered to be safe. Direct exposure (in pesticide production process, in pesticide use by operators). Indirect exposure (by consumers, residents and bystanders). Risks to the environment Through misuse of pesticides, including overuse, chemical substances may end up contaminating water, air and soil, with adverse effects on plants and wildlife (loss of biodiversity). Plant protection products may pollute soil, surface water and ground water

6. University of Torino EUROPEAN POLICY CONTEXT Existing policies on pesticides were first introduced at EU level in 1979 and have evolved culminating in the adoption of Dir. 91/414/EEC concerning the plant protection products on the market: all pesticides need to be evaluated and authorized before they can be placed on the market. Until 2009 legislation scarcely addressed the use-phase. Other policies affecting the use of pesticides: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); the Water Framework Directive (WFD); Reg. EC No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels (MRLs) of pesticides in food and feed; the Waste Framework Directive and the Directive on hazardous waste.

7. University of Torino Sustainability measures within CAP policy (1) Environmental concerns have been integrated into the various regulations which make up the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) since the mid 1980s. Today the CAP includes measures that help promoting the sustainability in the use of plant protection products and in particular: cross compliance and agri-environmental measures.

8. University of Torino Sustainability measures within CAP policy (2) Cross-compliance basic standards Cross-compliance is a mechanism that links direct payments to compliance by farmers with basic standards concerning the environment, food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare, as well as the requirement of maintaining land in good agricultural and environmental condition. It represents the “baseline or “reference level”. voluntary basis Agri-environment measures provide payments to farmers who subscribe, on a voluntary basis, to environmental commitments related to the preservation of the environment and maintaining the countryside. Agri-environment payments encourage farmers to adopt agricultural activities or levels of production intensity that deliver positive environmental outcomes, while not being necessarily the first choice from the point of view of profitability.

9. University of Torino European Environmental Policy: 6 th EAP (1) The 6 th Environment Action Programme (2002 – 2012) sets out the framework for environmental policy- making in the European Union. The 6th EAP promotes full integration of environmental protection requirements into all Community policies and actions and provides the environmental component of the Community's strategy for sustainable development. Ii identifies 4 priority areas and calls for the development of seven Thematic Strategies.

10. University of Torino European Environmental Policy: 6 th EAP (2) 4 PRIORITIES Climate Change Nature and biodiversity Marine Environment Soil Environment and Health Air SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES Urban Environment Natural resources and waste Waste Recycling Natural resources 7 THEMATIC STRATEGIES

11. University of Torino Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Adopted on 1 July 2002 [COM (2002) 349], the Communication identifies and analyses a number of objectives and possible solutions: minimizing the hazards and risks to health and environment from the use of pesticides through national plans (best practices in river basin management, specific protection of sensitive areas, general ban of aerial spraying,..); improved controls on the use and distribution of pesticides; application of the substitution principle; encouraging low-input or pesticide-free crop farming.

12. University of Torino Schematic representation of the EU policy on pesticides (1) Placing on the market Reg. EC 1107/2009 repealing Dir. 91/414/EEC Use Dir. 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides Residues Reg. 396/2005 on MRL Waste Framework Directive

13. University of Torino Schematic representation of the EU policy on pesticides (2) Reg. 1107/2009 on placing on the market of PPP Dir. 2009/128 on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Reg. 1185/2009 concerning statistics on pesticides Machinery Directive 2009/127/EC

14. University of Torino Dir. 2009/128/EC – National Action Plans Member States shall adopt National Action Plans to set up their quantitative objectives, targets, measures and timetables to reduce risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and to encourage the development and introduction of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques in order to reduce dependency on the use of pesticides […] (Art.4)

15. University of Torino Dir. 2009/128/EC – Integrated Pest Management Promotion of low pesticide-input pest management, notably IPM and organic farming; establishment or support of necessary conditions for the implementation of IPM (tools for pest monitoring, for decision-making and advisory services); general principles of IPM implemented by all professional users by 1 January 2014. (Art. 14)

16. University of Torino Dir. 2009/128/EC – Other measures Access to training for professional users, distributors and advisors (Art. 5). Reduction of pesticide use or risks in specific areas (Art. 12). Prohibition of aerial spraying with derogation possibility (Art. 9). Regular inspection of application equipment in professional use >> certification.

17. University of Torino Review programme of existing pesticides (1) The evaluation, marketing and use of pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides etc.) in plant protection in the Community was regulated under Council Directive 91/414/EEC. This Directive lays out a comprehensive risk assessment and authorisation procedure for active substances and products containing these substances. Each active substance has to be proven safe in terms of human health, including residues in the food chain, animal health and the environment, in order to be allowed to be marketed.

18. University of Torino Review programme of existing pesticides (2)

19. University of Torino The Plant Protection Products Regulation (Reg. EC 1107/2009) [The PPPs regulation will apply from 14 June 2011, replacing Dir. 91/414/EEC] The Regulation lays down approval criteria for active substances. The new Regulation is based on a markedly different approach. Under Directive 91/414/EEC decisions are based on a comprehensive risk assessment; approvals take into account not only hazard (toxicity), but also risk (whether or not there is any risk from the exposure to the product, depending on how it is used, when, where, how frequently, etc.). Under Regulation 1107/2009, decisions on the approval of pesticides are based on “hazard- based cut-off criteria”; these consider only the intrinsic chemical properties of a pesticide (i.e. hazard, but not risk).

20. University of Torino Reg. 1107/2009 – Cut-off criteria Substances will not be permitted for use (cut off) if they are classified as: Category 1 or 2 mutagens; Category 1 or 2 carcinogens or reproductive toxins unless exposure is “negligible”; Endocrine disruptors which may cause adverse effects unless exposure is “negligible”; Persistent Organic Polluters (PoPs); Persistent – Bio accumulative – Toxic (PBT); Very persistent – very Bio – accumulative (vPvB).

21. University of Torino Reg. 1107/2009 – Candidates for substitution Some substances may be approved, but classified as candidates for substitution. These are substances that may subsequently be eliminated when safer alternatives become available. Substances categorised as “for substitution” can be approved for up to seven years, and this authorisation is renewable. Furthermore, if they are needed for resistance management, they may remain on the market even if there is an available alternative.

22. University of Torino Reg. 1107/2009 – Low risk substances They have a longer period of approval (15 years instead of 10 years), a separate list and separate criteria for approval may be set in the future.

23. University of Torino AGROINNOVA experiences in promoting the sustainable use of pesticides Basic and applied research: biology and epidemiology of pathogens of economically important crops, development and implementation of sustainable crop protection strategies, biotechnological application for crop and environment protection. Basic and applied research: biology and epidemiology of pathogens of economically important crops, development and implementation of sustainable crop protection strategies, biotechnological application for crop and environment protection. Technology transfer: in Italy through its Phytopathological Diagnostic and its Centre for Agrochemicals Efficacy Evaluation to carry out official tests for agrochemical registration. In developing countries involved in the transfer of technology in the field of sustainable agriculture. Technology transfer: in Italy through its Phytopathological Diagnostic and its Centre for Agrochemicals Efficacy Evaluation to carry out official tests for agrochemical registration. In developing countries involved in the transfer of technology in the field of sustainable agriculture. Technical support to policy-makers: from 1994 the Centre supports the Italian Ministry for the Environment. Technical support to policy-makers: from 1994 the Centre supports the Italian Ministry for the Environment.

24. University of Torino CASE STUDY SustUse: An European project to make sustainable the Fumigants use The project Sustainable Use of chemical fumigants for the control of soil-borne pathogens in the horticultural sector is funded by LIFE+, the European financial instrument for the environment. LIFE+ support projects that improve the implementation of EU environmental legislation.

25. Project Objective The project aims to contribute to the implementation of the thematic strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides by demonstrating the environmentally sustainable use of chemical fumigants for the control of soil-borne pathogens in the horticultural sector in Italy, Greece and Poland. Duration 3 years, 2010 – 2012 Total budget of 2.628.355,91€ with an EU co-funding of 1.174.652,96 € University of Torino

26. The issue: Control of soil-borne pathogens University of Torino Soil-disinfestation is a practice used to control soil-borne pathogens in horticulture that includes the use of pesticides. Soil disinfestation has been based for years on the use of methyl bromide, whose phasing-out under the Montreal Protocol as ozone depleting substance has been subsequently enabled by the presence of alternative products, such as 1,3- dichloropropene, chloropicrin and methyl isothiocyanate generators. However the enforcement of European legislation on pesticides is reducing the number of chemical instruments available for the containment of soil-borne pathogens, and in the future will almost certainly constrain even further the choices available to all farmers because none of the fumigants available on the marketplace has passed the review process.

27. University of Torino The adoption of new approaches, based on high quality problem identification and on sustainable agricultural practices, becomes imperative. …Project Activities 1. 1. Analysis of pest constraints in target agro-ecosystems 2. Demonstration tests of best practices in soil-borne pest management methods in 24 participant pilot farms 3. Implementing non chemical practices of soil-borne pest management.

28. Non-chemical practices of soil-borne pest management to be tested in 24 participant pilot farms Grafting Biofumigation Compost Biocontrol agents Steam Soil Solarization Trichoderma spp Trichoderma spp. Brassica juncea Brassica juncea. University of Torino

29. Project Activities 4. Evaluating the qualitative and quantitative effects on crop production of different alternatives. 5. Conducing technical- economic assessments to indicate which environmentally sustainable approaches are also the most economically sustainable. 6. Establishing guidelines on the most sustainable use of fumigants. Provide know-how on using reduced dosages and lowering environmental impact and risk of worker exposure to fumigants without jeopardizing output.

30. University of Torino Project Activities 7. Training for growers, advisors and fumigators. 8. Dissemination: To develop strategies to make researchers’ finding accessible to wide audiences; to stimulate research programmes of relevance to farmers’ needs; to develop systems for the communication of farmers’ knowledge; to provide information that enable farmers to make informed decisions; National Action Plans to contribute to the definition of National Action Plans as outlined in the EU directive 2009/128/EC on sustainable use of pesticides.

31. University of Torino Project STRATEGY (1) DEMONSTRATION CHARACTER The project is not a research programme, but rather the development, demonstration and dissemination of lessons learnt by the past research developed by the partners. The sustainable use of fumigants, as a basilar IPM principle, is that the decision to apply external inputs are made locally, and they are site-specific for a defined agro-ecosystem, based on a complex interaction of variety of factors, including socio- economic infrastructures, climate, market, pathogens incidence. Innovative process whereby the base research produces a stream of information that is transferred to field operators, through local extensionists.

32. PARTICIPATORY APPROACH The involvement of local stakeholders and experts is crucial AGROINNOVA 24 PILOT FARMS PRODUCERSENTREPRISES BASE RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH OPERATORSCReSO FUMIGATORs ADVISORS Dow AgroSciences University of Torino Project STRATEGY (2)

33. University of Torino CONCLUDING REMARKS The enforcement of European legislation is reducing the number of chemical instruments available for plant protection. The adoption of new approaches, based on high quality problem identification and on sustainable agricultural practices, becomes imperative (IPM mandatory from 2014). The sustainable use of pesticides requires additional efforts in research and technology transfer (increased knowledge needs, integration of science with policy). Selection of plant protection methods should be made taking into consideration their sustainability: Local environment (climate, soil, natural resources, market, skills..) Local practices (crop and pest management..) Non chemical alternatives are long-term alternatives

34. University of Torino THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Paola COLLA Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the agro-environmental sector (AGROINNOVA), University of Torino Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, Centre of Competence for the Innovation in the agro-environmental sector (AGROINNOVA), University of Torino Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095 GRUGLIASCO (TO), Italy Tel. +39 011 6708703 Fax +39 011 6709307 paola.colla@unito.it