More than 40% of insect species are in decline worldwide, deplore this Tuesday the NGO Friends of the Earth Europe and the Heinrich Böll Institute. These organizations publish an Atlas of Insects (accessible here) denouncing the use of pesticides.
The two organizations call for an 80% reduction in the use of synthetic pesticides by 2030 in the European Union, with a "just transition for farmers". The Atlas of Insects highlights, for example, that one in 10 of the world's butterflies and bees is threatened with extinction in Europe. At the same time, he denounces the fact that non-organic farms use more than 4 million tonnes of chemical pesticides every year worldwide.
More facts & figures in our #InsectAtlas
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Strengthening European commitments
On May 20, the European Commission presented two new strategies for biodiversity and the quality of European food, and proposed to halve the use of pesticides by 2030.
But according to the NGOs, this commitment, which has yet to be discussed by the European Parliament and the member states, is far from sufficient. "The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must be reshaped in order to finally make a tangible and decisive contribution to agriculture that respects insects and the climate," said Barbara Unmüssig, president of the Heinrich Böll Institute, quoted in the press release.
"Direct aid to large areas which only benefit a few large farms must be redirected to support small-scale agriculture, viable from an environmental and social point of view," she adds.
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