Regulatory
Action
The decline in honeybee populations has received increased attention from researchers and regulators. In 2007, the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council’s (NRC) “Status of Pollinators Committee” issued the findings of a two-year study detailing the serious problems facing the beekeeping industry, which was described as being in crisis mode. Since then Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other institutions have started collaborating, but environmentalists and beekeepers don't believe they are doing enough.
In 2011, EPA formed a Pollinator Protection workgroup within its Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC). Beyond Pesticides participates on this stakeholder group that provides input to EPA on pollinator protection related to the following themes: 1) initial science- based risk management approaches, including appropriate label restrictions and training; 2) development of information on state approaches and authorities; 3) transfer of lessons learned by various stakeholders to improve existing management practices; 4) continuing international communication; and, 5) other issues the agency wishes to bring to the work group’s attention.
Clothianidin Controversy
An internal EPA memo, leaked to the beekeeping community from an undisclosed source at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 2010, shines a spotlight on a key deficiency in the agency’s efforts to protect honeybees.
- EPA Memo, 11-2-2010 - EPA memo declaring core study unacceptable for registration.
- Letter to EPA, 12-08-2010 - Letter requesting removal of chemical by EPA from beekeepers and environmentalists. Also Press Release, Backgrounder, Available for Interviews.
- Listen to beekeeper Tom Theobald and Beyond Pesticides executive director Jay Feldman talk about the leaked EPA document.
- EPA rejects immediate action on pesticide toxic to bees. Read EPA's letter in response to the 12-08-10 letter from beekeepers and environmentalists, including Beyond Pesticides, requesting clothianidin cancelation.
- Read about more about clothianidin here.
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is leading the federal government response to CCD. In 2007, USDA established a CCD Steering Committee with representatives from other government agencies, and academia. EPA is also an active participant in the CCD Steering Committee. This committee is led by Agricultural Research Service and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Other members include EPA, APHIS, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Defense, Bee Alert Technology, Inc., Montana as well as Departments of Agriculture of Florida and Pennsylvania; Universities of Arizona State, North Carolina State, Illinois, and Montana.
In April 2007, ARS held a Colony Collapse Disorder Research Workshop that brought major bee scientists, industry representatives, extension agents, and others to discuss a research agenda and discern where more information is needed and the highest-priority needs for additional research projects related to CCD.
CCD Steering Committee: The CCD Steering Committee developed an action plan which outlines 1) survey and data collection; 2) analysis of samples; 3) hypothesis-driven research; and, 4) mitigation and preventative action.
The National
Institute of Food and Agriculture, NIFA (formerly
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)):
NIFA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), created
by Congress through the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. NIFA
replaced the former Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service (CSREES), which had been in existence since 1994. NIFA, which
helps fund state and local level research, education, and extension, has
spent an average of $1.7 million per year on honey bee and pollinator
research with one third to one half of this funding spent on research
on honey bee health. NIFA has provided significant intramural and extramural
funding for research that is making use of the honey bee genome, including
an NRI-funded grant that resulted in the creation of a genome-wide map
in late 2006, obtained by a custom designed microarray. ARS researchers
are using the microarray to perform studies relevant to bee-associated
microbes that may be causing CCD.
NIFA and ARS also have facilitated several extension and outreach efforts to inform the public of CCD research findings and updates. These include the maintenance of several Web sites, such as the ARS Web site to answer general questions about CCD, the CCD Coordinated Agricultural Project Web site outlining the objectives and aims of the project, and the Honey Bee Health Community of Practice on eXtension Web site (University of Tennessee).
EPA Office of Pesticide Programs
EPA‘s role in the federal response to CCD is to keep abreast of and help advance research investigating pesticide effects on pollinators. The agency is also an active participant in the CCD Steering Committee.
EPA’s conventional approach to protecting pollinators when registering a pesticide has been to: require studies to determine the toxicity of a compound, and use pesticide labeling to require measures to reduce risk. EPA requires toxicity studies that look at the acute (short-term) effects of a pesticide on individual bees when they come into contact (dermal) with pesticide residue. The agency also relies on bee-kill incident reports from government, industry, and public sectors to help us understand the effects of pesticides on bees. EPA may also require long-term studies if a pesticide appears to be very toxic to bees.
However too often is the case where the agency allows pesticides to be used in the environment without data pertinent to the chemical’s effect on these sensitive species. Even though the agency claims that there is no data demonstrating that an EPA-registered pesticide has caused CCD, the evidence is mounting the EPA-registered pesticides play an important role in CCD, especially neonicotinoid pesticides.
Pesticide Labels:
EPA continues relying on pesticide product labels that the agency believes reduce risk by reducing potential exposure. The agency states, label’s use directions can reduce the potential for bee exposures by providing instructions on exactly how, when, and where the product can be applied. However label instructions are often vague and unrealistic. Product labels cannot prevent drift, or reduce residues on pollen, nectar and flowers which expose bees to the toxic chemicals.
Pollinator Protection Strategic Plan:
EPA established a multidisciplinary team, the Pollinator Protection Team (PPT), which includes staff from the various scientific and regulatory divisions within EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs as well as staff from EPA’s regional offices and the Office of General Counsel. This multidisciplinary team is tasked with exploring possible approaches, tools, and resources for reducing the potential risks of pesticides to pollinators and with developing a strategic plan that will guide its future work and direction.
New Web-based Portal for Reporting Bee-Related Incidents:
After learning from beekeepers about pesticide incidents that were never reported to EPA, the agency worked with the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), to develop a new Web-based portal for beekeepers to report incidents. Information from these reports helps identify bee kills associated with the use of a specific pesticide or active ingredient. The reports of pesticide incidents can also help identify patterns that indicate a potential unreasonable adverse effect of a pesticide. In addition to reporting incidents through the NPIC portal, beekeepers now have the option of also reporting incidents directly to the Office of Pesticide Programs.
North American
Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC):
In 2009, EPA hosted the annual NAPPC International Conference. At the
conference, EPA
and NAPPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (PDF) that signifies
our cooperative relationship and shared objectives. EPA staff serve on
various NAPPC task forces, including the Pesticide Task Force, which is
developing brochures
on the safe use of pesticides to protect pollinators. EPA will work
with NAPPC and its many other partners to develop materials in support
of continuing education to be used by states in recertifying licensed
pesticide applicators.
Other EPA
Activities:
EPA has hosted several and provided presentations at conferences and committee
meetings. Most recently, in May 2010, EPA
and the French Food Safety Agency made a joint presentation (PDF)
to the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Europe (SETAC
Europe) regarding uncertainties in risk assessment for insect pollinators.
In July 2010, at the International
Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy at the Pennsylvania
State University, EPA presented their efforts to protect pollinators.
The agency has also issued annual grants awarded focused on pollinator work. EPA scientists are members of the Colony Loss Network, a global network of scientists, beekeepers, and industry members from 49 countries working to identify the factors causing severe colony losses.
Legislative Action
The 2008 Farm Bill [Section 7204 (h)] authorized funding for research and grants for pollinator protection, for honey bee and CCD research. It also mandates the USDA to submit an annual report describing the progress made in investigating the cause or causes of CCD and finding appropriate strategies to reduce colony loss.