A conceptual framework for landscape-based ERA of pesticides

A landscape-based Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) framework, proposed by the European partnership for the assessment of risks from chemicals (PARC), offers more realistic predictions for the effects of pesticides.

Plant protection products (PPPs) are pesticides used for the protection of crops and other plants from threats such as pests and diseases. Many PPPs pose a threat to biodiversity and human health.

That’s why Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is a mandatory and much needed component of the authorisation process for PPPS. However, current regulatory assessments have difficulties in capturing the effect of multiple PPPs combining an accumulating and the exposure across fields, crops and seasons.

The European partnership for the assessment of risks from chemicals (PARC), with contributions from TerraChem partner UBA (German Environment Agency), has worked out a conceptual framework for landscape-based Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) that delivers predictions on the effects of PPPs that are more adapted to the field reality. These insights are important for both regulatory decision-making and our understanding of how PPPs contribute to environmental stress.

Click here to read the full article on the conceptual framework in Environment International.