National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides

GOVERNMENT OF GIBRALTAR NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose of Action Plan .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 The Legal Context ........................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Health and environmental effects of pesticides ............................................ 3 2. Scope of the Plan ............................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Coverage .......................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Life-cycle ......................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Delivery of the Plan .................................................................................................... 5 3. Requirements and Objectives.................................................................................... 7 3.1 Training and certification ........................................................................................ 7 3.2 Sales of pesticides ....................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Information and Awareness-raising ................................................................... 9 3.4 Inspection of equipment in use............................................................................. 9 3.5 Specific measures to protect the aquatic environment and drinking water ...................................................................................................................................... 10 3.6 Reduction of pesticide use or risks in specific areas ................................ 11 3.7 Handling and storage of pesticides and treatment of their packaging and remnants ..................................................................................................................... 11 4. Integrated Pest Management.................................................................................. 12 5. Indicators ......................................................................................................................... 13 6. Long Term Strategy..................................................................................................... 14 Annex I .................................................................................................................................. 15 Annex II ................................................................................................................................ 16 1 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of Action Plan This is the Government of Gibraltar’s National Action Plan to meet the obligation on Member States under Council Directive 2009/128/EC establishing a framework for community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides. The objective of this National Action Plan is to meet the obligations on Member States under article 4 of Council Directive 2009/128/EC, and to adopt objectives, targets and control measures to reduce risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment in Gibraltar. 1.2 Background Pesticides are chemical or biological products which are intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating target pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance or spread disease. Pesticides therefore include products such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and weed killers all of which are used to protect plants. Pesticides which are subject to this plan, the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012, and Council Directive 2009/128/EC are those which are plant protection products as defined in Regulation EC no 1107/2009. Since Gibraltar does not have any agricultural production, 2 the development of a National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides is essentially applicable to the protection of amenity planting. This National Action Plan adopts the methods and criteria set out in schedule 1 of the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012, and also reflects the Government of Gibraltar’s priority to improve the local environment, to reduce any negative impacts caused by local activities, and to promote and encourage environmentally sustainable practices. The development of a National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides therefore introduces an environmental scheme through which the Government of Gibraltar is able to control and mitigate any harmful effects of pesticides on human health and the environment. 1.3 The Legal Context Council Directive 2009/128/EC relates to achieving the sustainable use of pesticides within Member States. The Directive provides a framework to achieve sustainable usage, specifically by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment, and by promoting the use of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques. Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 controls the marketing of plant protection products within the EU, and aims to harmonize, as far as possible, the overall arrangements for authorizing the use of plant protection products within the EU. The Regulation sets out rules and criteria for the approval of pesticide active substances, and for member state authorization of pesticide products. In addition, the regulation sets out guidance and rules in relation to data requirements, data evaluation, risk assessments, data protection and public access to information on pesticides. 3 The Directive was transposed into Gibraltar law by legal notice 2012/082 Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012. The Gibraltar Regulations cover the full extent of the Directive, but have been adapted so that they focus primarily on areas of the Directive that are applicable to Gibraltar. 1.4 Health and environmental effects of pesticides Frequent exposure to pesticides can result in acute and delayed health problems. Health issues related to pesticide exposure depend on factors such as the period of exposure, what type of pesticide is being used and what application equipment is being used. Health effects can therefore vary, resulting in minor effects such as:  Skin and eye irritation;  Nausea;  Fatigue;  Vomiting;  Difficulty breathing. Acute and delayed health effects from pesticide exposure can cause kidney and liver damage, cancer, effects to the nervous system and can contribute to reproductive problems. Such severe cases often arise from a prolonged exposure to pesticides. The use of pesticides also raises a number of environmental concerns. The main environmental impacts caused by pesticides arise mainly from large 4 scale use, such as in crop protection which involves application techniques such as aerial spraying. In this respect, pesticides are one of the causes of water pollution, and also contribute to soil contamination. Pesticide use could reduce biodiversity, destroy habitats, reduce nitrogen fixation and threaten endangered species. Although pesticides are not used to such a large extent in Gibraltar, potential environmental impacts such as soil contamination and water pollution need to be addressed and avoided. 2. Scope of the Plan The National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides applies only to pesticides, which are plant protection products, and does not include biocides, which are chemical or biological control agents used to control unwanted pests (e.g. wood preservatives, insecticides and algaecides). However, it is anticipated that the scope of Council Directive 2009/128/EC will be extended to cover biocide products. This plan covers measures to protect the health and safety of persons using pesticides professionally and for home use, bystanders and the environment. 2.1 Coverage This National Action Plan covers the use of pesticides within Gibraltar. The Plan will apply to those areas within Gibraltar where pesticides are occasionally and regularly used and will take into account the frequency of usage, application techniques and equipment used, and the types of pesticides that are used. Because many pesticide products are imported into Gibraltar, this National Action Plan will ensure that both users and distributors locally use only products that are approved by the 5 Government of Gibraltar’s Competent Authority, the Department of the Environment. This National Action Plan will essentially cover pesticides used for plant protection in planted and green areas throughout Gibraltar, as well as the Botanic Gardens. Requirements and objectives of this plan will mainly target professional users, distributors and advisors such as horticultural contractors and other organisations which use pesticides within their operational capacity. 2.2 Life-cycle This plan covers all stages of the pesticide life-cycle that are relevant to the requirements of Council Directive 2009/128/EC. It therefore includes legislative and other controls on the use of pesticides and on pesticide residue caused by degradation and disposal. The plan also takes into account the health and environmental impacts of pesticides to protect the health of people (those applying the pesticide, other workers, bystanders etc.) and the environment (water and aquatic biodiversity). 2.3 Delivery of the Plan The Plan will be managed by the Government of Gibraltar’s Competent Authority, the Department of the Environment. Although the plan will be managed by the Department, it can only be delivered through a working partnership with various stakeholders mainly consisting of horticulturalists, and other organisations that may use pesticides locally. This National Action Plan will endeavour to achieve high standards of human and environmental protection against potential risks posed by 6 pesticides, whilst maintaining the effective control of pests, weeds and diseases. Specifically, this plan aims to:  Protect users and workers by minimising exposure to pesticides;  Protect bystanders by minimising exposure, especially from spray operations;  Reduce water pollution caused by pesticides;  Reduce the impact of pesticides on biodiversity;  Establish ‘best practice’ in the use of pesticides in the amenity sector;  Work with users of pesticides and other stakeholders to develop and implement this National Action Plan. All pesticide users, especially professional users, will have a key role to play in ensuring the success of this National Action Plan. Reducing the impacts and risks from pesticides on human health and the environment will therefore require the user to:  Adopt an integrated approach that draws on all available techniques to tackle pests, weeds and diseases;  Comply with all relevant Regulations and record keeping requirements for pesticides;  Comply with any Codes of Practice for using pesticides;  Support the measures in this plan that are relevant to them 7 3. Requirements and Objectives The Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012 outline all requirements and criteria that need to be complied with by users of pesticides. This section will summarise the main requirements and objectives of the Regulations which will be implemented through this National Action Plan. 3.1 Training and certification Understanding the potential hazards of using and handling pesticides is essential in order to safeguard users, bystanders and the environment. This National Action Plan will therefore ensure that professional users, advisors and distributors have access to appropriate training by bodies approved by the Competent Authority. Training courses are offered by vocational education organisations such as City and Guilds, where a Certificate of Competence in the Safe Use of Pesticides is awarded upon satisfactory completion. The Competent Authority will accept equivalent certificates that have been awarded in other Member States, and will also ensure that distributors, advisors and professional users obtain certificates which, as a minimum, provide evidence of sufficient knowledge and training. Since all pesticide products are imported, a system of certification will also enable HM Customs to ensure, as far as possible, that any imported pesticides are destined to a professional user that has sufficient knowledge and training. A system to certify professional users will be established and implemented by the Competent Authority in collaboration with all 8 stakeholders. Annex III provides some information regarding importation of pesticides in Gibraltar. In accordance with the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012, the Competent Authority will ensure that no person shall use any pesticide authorised for professional use unless they:  Hold a specified certificate; or  Work under appropriate supervision 3.2 Sales of pesticides This National Action Plan acknowledges the importance of the responsibility that distributors have towards their customers, especially where pesticide products are sold to non-professional users. The Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012 requires that all distributors of pesticides provide adequate information to customers as regards pesticide use, health and environmental risks and safety instructions to manage those risks for the product in question. However, this applies only to pesticide products for professional use. Such products are not sold in Gibraltar, but are imported for commercial use. Pesticides that are sold in Gibraltar are normally aimed for the non professional user for home gardening purposes, for instance. In this respect, the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012 can exempt such distributors from providing such information to customers only if they do not offer for sale pesticide products classified as toxic, very toxic and carcinogenic. Nevertheless, the Competent Authority 9 will recommend that distributors selling pesticides to non-professional users should at least ensure that the product they are selling contains some instruction that mentions some of the basic health and environmental impacts of pesticides. 3.3 Information and Awareness-raising Measures will be established to inform the general public, to promote and facilitate information, awareness raising programmes and to provide accurate information regarding pesticides. This will particularly emphasise the risks and potential effects for human health that arise from the use of pesticides, most especially by non-professional users. There will also be a system in place for the gathering of information on pesticide acute poisoning incidents, especially for workers that are regularly exposed to pesticides. 3.4 Inspection of equipment in use The Competent Authority will carry out an inspection of pesticide application equipment at regular intervals, or designate a separate entity to do so. The interval between inspections is included in section 8 (7) of the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012, and states that this shall not exceed five years until 2020 and shall not exceed three years thereafter. The Competent Authority will also ensure that pesticide application equipment has been inspected at least once by 16th December 2016. The Competent Authority will also apply, at its own discretion, different timetables and inspection intervals to pesticide application equipment not used for spraying, handheld equipment and knapsack sprayers and to any additional application equipment that represent a low scale of use. 10 Professional users shall also be required to conduct regular calibrations and technical checks on pesticide application equipment in accordance with appropriate training they will have to undergo. Additionally, under Section 8 (9) (b) of the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012, the Competent Authority may exempt from inspection handheld pesticide application equipment or knapsack sprayers, which represent a low scale of use. Section 20 of the Environment (Sustainable Use of Pesticides) Regulations 2012 states that any boom spraying or aerial spraying application of pesticides is strictly prohibited in Gibraltar. 3.5 Specific measures to protect the aquatic environment and drinking water Appropriate measures will be adopted, where necessary, to protect the aquatic environment from the use of pesticides. These measures shall include:  Giving preference to pesticides that are not classified as dangerous for the aquatic environment in accordance with Directive 1999/45/EC, nor containing priority hazardous substances as set out in Article 16(3) of Directive 2000/60/EC;  Giving preference to the most efficient application techniques;  Use of mitigation measures which minimise the risk of offsite pollution caused by drain-flow or run-off;  Reduce as far as possible applications on or along roads and very permeable surfaces. 11 Water is currently tested for pesticides in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters under provisions in the Water Framework Directive. 3.6 Reduction of pesticide use or risks in specific areas The Competent Authority will ensure that the use of pesticides is minimised or prohibited in certain specific areas. Such areas will include places used by the general public or by vulnerable groups as defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, such as public parks and gardens, sports and recreation grounds and children’s playground. 3.7 Handling and storage of pesticides and treatment of their packaging and remnants Necessary measures will be adopted to ensure that the following operations by professional users and distributors do not pose any risk towards human health or the environment:  Storage, handling, dilution and mixing of pesticides before application;  Handling of packaging and remnants of pesticides;  Cleaning of any equipment used after application;  Recovery or disposal of any pesticide remnants and their packaging. This National Action Plan will also ensure that any pesticide product that is available for use by non-professional users consist of low toxicity and ready-to-use formulations. Additionally, professional users of pesticides 12 must ensure that pesticides are properly stored in order to prevent any unwanted release. 4. Integrated Pest Management Necessary measures will be taken to promote, wherever possible, low pesticide-input pest management, giving preference to non-chemical methods. This will allow professional users to switch to practices and products that have the lowest possible risk to human health and the environment. The general principles for integrated pest management are set out in Annex III of Council Directive 2009/128/EC; however, these apply mainly to agricultural practices. Nevertheless, the general principles of integrated pest management do provide a general guidance for professional users to minimize any potential impacts of their use of pesticides by:  Using biological, physical and other non-chemical methods where possible;  Using pesticides that are specific as possible for the target;  Keeping the use of pesticides and other forms of intervention to the levels that are necessary, e.g. by reduced doses;  Monitoring harmful organisms properly and checking the success of the pesticide used to treat it;  Preventing the spreading of harmful organisms through hygiene measures (e.g. regular cleansing of application equipment);  Minimizing the use of pesticides in places deemed vulnerable, as set out in section 3.6 of this National Action Plan 13 5. Indicators Harmonised risk indicators shall be established by Member States. However, Member States may continue to use existing national indicators or adopt other appropriate indicators. The Competent Authority shall:  Calculate harmonised risk indicators by using statistical data collected in accordance with the European Union Legislation concerning statistics on pesticides together with other relevant data;  Identify trends in the use of certain active substances; and  Identify priority items, such as active substances or practices, which require attention or good practices that could be used as examples in order to achieve the objectives of the Directive to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment, and to encourage alternative approaches or techniques in order to reduce dependency on pesticides. 14 6. Long Term Strategy The Government of Gibraltar will review this National Action Plan every 5 years. The Department of the Environment will closely monitor and work with professional users of pesticides, ensuring that any new developments, measures, techniques and alternatives, that can reduce the dependency on pesticides and its impacts to human health and the environment, will be considered for future implementation in this National Action Plan. 15 Annex I The following table is a summary of pesticide products that are used in Gibraltar. Product name Type of pesticide Active ingredient Actril M Herbicide Phenoxy Bayer Crop Insecticide Chlorpyrifos Baythroid Insecticide Cyfluthrin Confidor 20 LS Insecticide Imidacloprid Fosdan 20 E Herbicide Organophosphates Gufos Insecticide Chlorpyrifos Kerb Flo Herbicide Propyzamide Mesurol 4 cebo Insecticide Methiocarb Nuprid Insecticide Imidacloprid Oxytril M Herbicide Bromoxynil Ronstar 2 G Herbicide Oxadiazon Roundup Energy Pro Herbicide Glyphosate Sapec Agro Insecticide Imidacloprid Senator Insecticide Imidacloprid Teldor Bayer Fungicide fenhexamid Tordon 101 Herbicide Picloram This information has been provided by the following professional users of pesticides in Gibraltar:  Eden Botanics Ltd  Greenarc Ltd  Gibral Flora Ltd  Master (Gib) Ltd  Wildlife (Gib) Ltd All of the products in the above table are applied using basic equipment consisting of handheld sprayers and knapsack sprayers. 16 Annex II All pesticide products that are used locally are not produced in Gibraltar and are therefore imported. The following tables and chart show the total amount of pesticides that were imported into Gibraltar (in kilos) from January 2011 to April 2012. These statistics have been compiled and provided by HM Customs Gibraltar. Year Month Net Weight (Kg) 2008 January 3,318.00 February 2,769.00 March 4,229.00 April 2,448.00 May 7,925.20 June 9,261.20 July 6,050.00 August 8,743.00 September 3,890.80 October 9,259.00 November 671.00 December 300.00 Total 58,864.20 2009 January 3,915.00 February 144.25 March 3,944.10 April 1,910.91 May 7,376.00 June 1,523.80 July 392.42 August 1,097.44 September 7,498.51 October 2,541.70 November 2.00 December 2,000.00 Total 32,346.13 17 2010 January 35.60 February 5,061.00 March 407.00 April 534.00 May 613.00 June 11,210.31 July 312.00 August 5,568.00 September 2,572.00 October 2,882.00 November 1,960.83 December 103.00 18 0.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 6,000.00 8,000.00 10,000.00 12,000.00 14,000.00 16,000.00 W e ig h t (K g ) Month Annual importation of pesticides (Kg) 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012