According to a new study, new pesticides considered "safe for bees" could actually harm these vital pollinators if they are combined with other crop chemicals.
Since many substances harmful to bees have been banned in the UK and in the rest of Europe, the pressure to find substitutes has increased.
However, experts have expressed concern that some of these pesticides may have their own side effects.
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Although flupyradifurone is marketed as a safer insecticide, it has the same mode of action and properties as neonicotinoids, the banned chemicals because of their link to the global decline of bees.
Sold by Bayer under the Sivanto brand, the product is already available in the United States, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands, but not in the United Kingdom.
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1/8 Davos 2019: David Attenborough warns against the future of civilization, demanding "practical solutions" to fight climate change
Sir David Attenborough issued a stern warning about climate change to the companies gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we are doing now … will affect profoundly the few thousand years to come".
On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the public that business and politics needed to "find the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage.
"As a species, we are problem-solving experts, but we have not yet applied the problem with the attention it deserves.
"We can create a world with pure air and water, unlimited energy and fish stocks that will keep us going for a long time. a plan, "he said.
The broadcaster delivered his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, awarded by the forum to "outstanding cultural leaders".
AFP / Getty
2/8 At least 60% of wild coffee species are threatened with extinction by climate change and diseases
Two decades of research has revealed that 60% of the world's coffee species are endangered due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change.
The wild Arabica strain, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is one of the species now recognized as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival.
These results worry the millions of farmers around the world who depend on coffee survival to survive.
As the conditions of coffee growing harden, scientists predict that the industry will have to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains.
Alan Schaller
3/8 Warming Antarctic waters accelerates melting glaciers
The Antarctic Ice Sheet loses six times more ice every year than it did in the 1980s and the pace accelerates, as one of the studies has shown the most comprehensive on the effects of climate change on the continent.
A NASA-funded study found that more than half an inch had been added to sea level since 1979, but if current trends continue, the number of meters will increase in the future.
The international effort used aerial photographs, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s in 18 Antarctic regions to obtain the most comprehensive picture to date on the effects of climate change.
He found that between 1979 and 1990, Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of mbad each year.
Between 2009 and 2017, he lost an average of 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6 mm per decade to sea level, or about 14 mm since 1979, the study reveals
Nasa / Getty
4/8 Greater Manchester will ban fracking, paving the way for a confrontation with the government over a controversial sector
Greater Manchester must effectively ban fracking, opening the prospect of a new confrontation with the government over the controversial sector.
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham announced that the region's ten councils were to implement planning policies that create a "presumption" against shale gas drilling in their area.
Activists said the move was the latest sign that the trend was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of numerous legal battles across the country.
Critics of fracking say that this poses risks to the environment and health. Drilling at the UK's only operational fracking site, managed by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has been interrupted several times due to earthquakes.
But ministers support the industry and unveiled plans last year to accelerate the development of new drilling sites.
Ross Wills
5/8 Japan confirms its intention to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year
Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, an initiative that has provoked strong criticism from activists and the international community.
Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said his country would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume marine mammal hunting in Japanese waters.
However, he stated that the activity would be limited to the territory of Japan and the 200-mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts.
This means that controversial "scientific" voyages to Antarctica, during which Japanese ships have killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the Pacific Northwest, will be halted in 2019.
AP
6/8 COP24: Environment groups criticize "morally unacceptable" climate deal reached after summit of Poland
Diplomats from around the world reached a major climate deal after two weeks of UN talks in Poland.
But climate activists have warned against the deal – a set of rules on how to govern the 2015 Paris climate agreement – agreed between nearly 200 missing countries. ambition or clear promise to strengthen action for the climate.
Activists cautiously welcomed the elements of the plan, saying that "significant progress" had been made to ensure that each country's efforts to combat climate change could be measured and compared.
But environmental groups also sharply criticized the agreement, pointing out that it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing climate projects for countries in development.
The agreement on COP24, which aims to provide countries with firm guidelines on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after the end of talks.
Reuters
7/8 "Unprecedented changes" are needed to end global warming while a UN report reveals that islands are starting to disappear and coral reefs are dying
Greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by the year 2030 to avoid a global environmental disaster, including the total loss of each coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, concluded a historic report from the UN.
Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released this morning, warn of changes Huge and fast in the way everyone eats, travels and produces energy. at once.
The scientists behind the report said that there was something to be optimistic about, but they acknowledged the sad reality that countries are currently not on track to avert a disaster.
AFP / Getty
8/8 The three largest poaching cartels of African elephants exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments
DNA from mbadive ivory shipments was used to identify the three most important wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of the African elephant poaching epidemic.
Ivory tends to be shipped in bulk around the world from African ports. Scientists used genetic evidence from intercepted batches to reveal their origins.
Led by Dr. Samuel Wbader of the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments in three cartels operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Togo.
The evidence gathered by Dr. Wbader has already helped to condemn King Ivory Feisal Mohamed Ali's team leader, and as his team mixes at the critical points between two shipments, it intends to step up the prosecution of other smugglers among the most prolific of the continent.
Art Wolfe
1/8 Davos 2019: David Attenborough warns against the future of civilization, demanding "practical solutions" to fight climate change
Sir David Attenborough issued a stern warning about climate change to the companies gathered in Davos, telling them that "what we are doing now … will affect profoundly the few thousand years to come".
On the eve of this year's World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the public that business and politics needed to "find the practical solutions" needed to prevent environmental damage.
"As a species, we are problem-solving experts, but we have not yet applied the problem with the attention it deserves.
"We can create a world with pure air and water, unlimited energy and fish stocks that will keep us going for a long time. a plan, "he said.
The broadcaster delivered his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, awarded by the forum to "outstanding cultural leaders".
AFP / Getty
2/8 At least 60% of wild coffee species are threatened with extinction by climate change and diseases
Two decades of research has revealed that 60% of the world's coffee species are endangered due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change.
The wild Arabica strain, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is one of the species now recognized as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival.
These results worry the millions of farmers around the world who depend on coffee survival to survive.
As the conditions of coffee growing harden, scientists predict that the industry will have to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains.
Alan Schaller
3/8 Warming Antarctic waters accelerates melting glaciers
The Antarctic Ice Sheet loses six times more ice every year than it did in the 1980s and the pace accelerates, as one of the studies has shown the most comprehensive on the effects of climate change on the continent.
A NASA-funded study found that more than half an inch had been added to sea level since 1979, but if current trends continue, the number of meters will increase in the future.
The international effort used aerial photographs, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s in 18 Antarctic regions to obtain the most comprehensive picture to date on the effects of climate change.
He found that between 1979 and 1990, Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of mbad each year.
Between 2009 and 2017, he lost an average of 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6 mm per decade to sea level, or about 14 mm since 1979, the study reveals
Nasa / Getty
4/8 Greater Manchester will ban fracking, paving the way for a confrontation with the government over a controversial sector
Greater Manchester must effectively ban fracking, opening the prospect of a new confrontation with the government over the controversial sector.
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham announced that the region's ten councils were to implement planning policies that create a "presumption" against shale gas drilling in their area.
Activists said the move was the latest sign that the trend was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of numerous legal battles across the country.
Critics of fracking say that this poses risks to the environment and health. Drilling at the UK's only operational fracking site, managed by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has been interrupted several times due to earthquakes.
But ministers support the industry and unveiled plans last year to accelerate the development of new drilling sites.
Ross Wills
5/8 Japan confirms its intention to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year
Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, an initiative that has provoked strong criticism from activists and the international community.
Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said his country would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume marine mammal hunting in Japanese waters.
However, he stated that the activity would be limited to the territory of Japan and the 200-mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts.
This means that controversial "scientific" voyages to Antarctica, during which Japanese ships have killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the Pacific Northwest, will be halted in 2019.
AP
6/8 COP24: Environment groups criticize "morally unacceptable" climate deal reached after summit of Poland
Diplomats from around the world reached a major climate deal after two weeks of UN talks in Poland.
But climate activists have warned against the deal – a set of rules on how to govern the 2015 Paris climate agreement – agreed between nearly 200 missing countries. ambition or clear promise to strengthen action for the climate.
Activists cautiously welcomed the elements of the plan, saying that "significant progress" had been made to ensure that each country's efforts to combat climate change could be measured and compared.
But environmental groups also sharply criticized the agreement, pointing out that it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing climate projects for countries in development.
The agreement on COP24, which aims to provide countries with firm guidelines on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after the end of talks.
Reuters
7/8 "Unprecedented changes" are needed to end global warming while a UN report reveals that islands are starting to disappear and coral reefs are dying
Greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by the year 2030 to avoid a global environmental disaster, including the total loss of each coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, concluded a historic report from the UN.
Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released this morning, warn of changes Huge and fast in the way everyone eats, travels and produces energy. at once.
The scientists behind the report said that there was something to be optimistic about, but they acknowledged the sad reality that countries are currently not on track to avert a disaster.
AFP / Getty
8/8 The three largest poaching cartels of African elephants exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments
DNA from mbadive ivory shipments was used to identify the three most important wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of the African elephant poaching epidemic.
Ivory tends to be shipped in bulk around the world from African ports. Scientists used genetic evidence from intercepted batches to reveal their origins.
Led by Dr. Samuel Wbader of the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments in three cartels operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Togo.
The evidence gathered by Dr. Wbader has already helped to condemn King Ivory Feisal Mohamed Ali's team leader, and as his team mixes at the critical points between two shipments, it intends to step up the prosecution of other smugglers among the most prolific of the continent.
Art Wolfe
But its similarity to neonicotinoids has led some scientists and campaign groups to question its status as "safe bees", especially after the European Union's decision to approve it in 2015.
In the new study, scientists at the University of California at San Diego evaluated what had happened when bees had been exposed to realistic doses of flupyradifurone in combination with a common fungicide.
They discovered that the double action of these chemicals led to abnormal behavior and death of many bees tested, workers leaving the nest to feed on crops were more likely to feel the effects.
Their work, published in the journal Acts of the Royal Society B was partially funded by the Avaaz campaign group, which played a major role in efforts to ban neonicitinoids.
It comes after previous work found that another chemical presented as a substitute for harmful chemicals for bees, sulfoxaflor, was linked to bee colony disruption.
After the EU had authorized both sulfoxaflor and flupyradifurone in 2015, the Pesticide Action Network campaign group said the two chemicals were so similar to neonicitinoids that it was wrong to consider them separately.
Dr. David Spurgeon, ecotoxicologist at the Center for Ecology and Hydrology, who did not participate in the study, pointed out the difficulty of ranking a pesticide in the "safe" category. for bees.
He added that without a complete understanding of the genetics of each bee species, it would be difficult to eliminate the adverse effects.
"Without this knowledge, it would be difficult to say that something is totally" bee "for all species as such," he said.
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Dr. Spurgeon noted that previous work at the center had revealed that neonicotinoids were cooperating with fungicides to cause damage, and that it would be "not surprising" that something similar would happen with these new chemicals.
Scientists behind the new research said their work has revealed the need for more detailed risk badessments that consider interactions between different chemicals in the environment.
A spokesman for Bayer said L & # 39; Independent : "Sivanto is one of the latest innovations that reinforces our commitment to bee health and has been approved by governments around the world for its effectiveness in protecting crops from harmful pests without risk for colonies of honey and bumblebees as indicated.
"We are well aware of the principle underlying the observations reported by the new research (synergistic effects of certain fungicides, increasing the toxicity of certain insecticides)." We have put in place restrictions for the use of FPF with fungicides azoles to avoid this type under practical conditions of use ".