Europe Plans Major Pesticide Cut
29 October 2007 The Parliament’s environment committee is urging that firm pesticide reduction targets be set to cut pesticide use by 25% in five years, and by 50% within a decade.
Hiltrud Breyer, a German Green member of Parliament, said that Europe accounts for one-quarter of the world’s pesticide consumption, but only 4% of the world’s agricultural land. Breyer, who prepared the environment committee’s official stance, is also pushing for more stringent measures of water protection, such as a law that no pesticides can be used within 10 meters of water courses.
Johannes Blokland, a Dutch Parliament member, said that such a buffer zone "would mean 35% of farming land could not be sprayed" in the Netherlands, because so many farms are near water courses.
The European Commission also has suggested splitting Europe into three zones — the north, center, and south — for regulating pesticides based on climatic conditions.
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