CleanRegion
Policies on pesticide use by local and regional authorities
Policies on pesticide use by local and regional authorities vary
very much between countries and regions involved in the project.
In Denmark, the application of the herbicide glyphosate on hard surfaces has been
banned by national law because of the risk of leaching to the ground water. In
addition, Danish municipalities, counties and the state have entered into a
voluntary agreement not to use pesticides in urban areas. In Germany, there are
also severe restrictions to the use of glyphosate, but some authorities approve
specific application techniques. Swedish national law allows the use of certain
herbicides, but some municipalities have implemented stricter policies. In other
countries chemical weed control is still the standard practice in many communities.
The project will address the need for decision makers to exchange experiences and
views of the policies in place, to get a better understanding of the background
for the policies and to learn more about alternative possibilities for control.
A first exchange of experiences was made at a partner meeting in April 2005, and a
larger conference with external expert is planned to be held in 2006.
Below you can view the presentations from the Policy Conference held in Wageningen 25th April 2006:
Inventory of policies on pesticide use by local and regional authorities in the 7 project countries (DE, DK, FI, LV, NL, SE, UK), Palle Kristoffersen + co-authors
Handling the risk of drinking water pollution by pesticides, Job Verheijden, Dutch waterworks RIWA
Weed control in the public area: combining environmental and economical targets, Corné Kempenaar, PRI Wageningen
Approach of legislation and stimulation by Water Board Vallei & Eem, Wessel Doorn and Frans van Baardwijk, Water Board Vallei & Eem
Approach of legislation by Water Board Zuiderzeeland, Joan Meijerink, Water Board Zuiderzeeland
Experiences and policies regarding the use of acetic acid and salt for weed control, David Hansson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
How pesticides used on hard surfaces end up in drinking water, Wim H.J. Beltman, Wageningen University Research
Environmental risk from using glyphosate on hard surfaces, Carmel Ramwell, Central Science Laboratory, UK
For further information contact
Bo Melander