Insect pollinator health

Insect pollinators are critically important in the environment, sustaining biodiversity A term used to describe the variety of living organisms existing in a specific environment. by providing essential pollination for a wide range of crops and wild plants. In view of the important ecological and economic value of bees, there is a need to monitor and maintain healthy bee stocks, not just locally or nationally, but globally.

As part of its mandate to provide scientific advice on risks along the food chain that may affect people, animals, plants or the environment, EFSA takes account of insect pollinator health in many areas across its remit. In addition, the Agency works together with partners and stakeholders on forward-looking initiatives that aim to further improve modelling and monitoring systems as well as the collection, sharing and analysis of relevant data to inform future regulatory risk assessments of multiple stressors in bees and other insect pollinators.

Latest

In December 2023, EFSA published a Technical Report on environmental scenarios for ApisRAM version 3, the honey bee colony model that simulates effects on individual bees and the colony from their  exposure Concentration or amount of a particular substance that is taken in by an individual, population or ecosystem in a specific frequency over a certain amount of time. to multiple stressors. In particular, ApisRAM assesses either single or multiple pesticides in interaction with other stressors and factors. Still under development, the model will make it possible to assess effects from exposure to more complex chemical mixtures, moving beyond the single crop/single  pesticide Substance used to kill or control pests, including disease-carrying organisms and undesirable insects, animals and plants. assessment approach to reflect the complexity of the environment in which bees live. This includes scenarios that represent the diversity of European environments in terms of risks for honey bees.

EFSA's role

EFSA has an important role to play in ensuring that healthy bee stocks are maintained in Europe, given its mandate to improve EU food safety and animal health and to ensure a high level of consumer protection. A number of the Authority’s Scientific Panels and Units contribute to this work, principally in the areas of pesticides, animal health and welfare and plant health, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), data collection and scientific assessment.

Central to this work are the assessments EFSA carries out on the environmental safety of pesticides and GMOs that manufacturers would like to place on the EU market. EFSA’s Pesticides Peer Review Unit is responsible for the peer review of risk assessments of active substances used in plant protection products. The dossiers submitted by applicants must contain comprehensive information on the potential risk to the environment posed by their products. The unit also carries out risk assessments of Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) of active substances in pesticides. These assessments take account of the potential effects of the substances on the environment in general and on non-target organisms such as bees.

EFSA’s Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR Panel) provides independent scientific advice on the risk assessment of plant protection products and their residues. This includes looking at risks to operators, workers, residents and consumers as well as the environment, including wildlife. One of the main activities of the PPR Panel, together with the Environment, Plants & Ecotoxicology The study of the adverse impacts of substances, particularly chemicals, in relation to the environment and public health. Unit, is to develop new or review existing guidance documents on the risk assessment of pesticides, including the development of risk assessment approaches, methodologies and models. The Panel may provide opinions on the effects of specific active substances used in plant protection products or on any generic issue related to the safe use of pesticides.

GMOs and derived food and feed products are subject to a risk analysis before they can be placed on the EU market. In this process, the role of the GMO Panel is to independently evaluate the risk assessments provided by companies and manufacturers and to give scientific advice to risk managers on any risks that GMOs may pose to human and animal health and the environment. The assessment covers several specific aspects of risk, one of which is the possible risk to “non-target organisms” such as bees.

In addition, each application for authorisation of a GM plant has to be accompanied by a Post-Market Environmental Monitoring ( PMEM Monitoring of the effects of a new product (e.g. a GM plant) following its release onto the market. This may reveal adverse effects which were not predicted in the risk assessment conducted prior to market release. It stands for post-market environmental monitoring.) plan demonstrating how the applicant will monitor the GM plant for possible adverse environmental effects after it has been placed lawfully on the EU market. The aim of PMEM is to identify possible unanticipated adverse effects on the environment which could arise directly or indirectly from cultivation of GM plants.

The Panel on Plant Health provides independent scientific advice on the risks posed by organisms which can cause harm to plants, plant products or plant biodiversity in the European Union. Every pest risk assessment includes the assessment of environmental risk, but to clarify and harmonise approaches in this area the Panel has published specific guidance on the environmental risk assessment of plant pests. EFSA’s work in the area of plant health is specifically relevant to bee health as some pests that are a threat to bees can be transported by, and live on, plants. The small hive beetle, for example, can live without bees, surviving on fruit and vegetables. It could therefore be introduced into the EU in consignments of such products.

The Panel on Animal Health and Welfare provides independent scientific advice on all aspects of animal diseases and animal welfare. Its work chiefly concerns food-producing animals, including honey bees.

EU framework

MUST-B project

In 2015, EFSA launched a major project to develop a  holistic approach An approach to risk assessment that takes into account the complexities of real life situations. to the risk assessment of multiple stressors in honey bees (MUST-B). This self-task The process whereby, during the course of its regular work, EFSA identifies an issue worthy of further consideration. was further formalised through a mandate received in 2018 by the European Parliament asking EFSA for a scientific opinion.

The MUST-B project has drawn on EFSA’s expertise in areas such as animal and plant health, data collection and analysis, modelling, pesticides and environmental risk, but also involved a range of experts and stakeholders from beyond EFSA. The project has been overseen by a working group (WG) made up of experts from a variety of scientific backgrounds. 

In 2021 the MUST-B WG delivered a scientific opinion on “A systems‐based approach to the environmental risk assessment of multiple stressors in honey bees” that considers not only cumulative and synergistic effects of pesticides but also issues related to the genetic variety of bees, pathogens, bee management practices, and colony environment. The approach consists of two core components: a monitoring system and a modelling system: ApisRAM.

In 2022, the newly composed MUST-B WG started working on a mandate to specifically support the implementation of ApisRAM through the selection of environment scenarios and the testing of the model.

EU Pollinator Hub

In 2017, the European Parliament requested that a new stakeholder discussion group on bee health data be created and facilitated by EFSA: the EU Bee Partnership (EUBP). Concluding that bee and pollinator health data is not interoperable and often fragmented, the EUBP set out to ensure data standardisation and accessibility through the transformation of isolated data into aggregated information. As a major milestone in these efforts, the EUBP in 2021 unveiled a new online data platform to improve the sharing of harmonised and standardised data on pollinators. 

Developed in a collaborative effort – under the lead of BeeLife European Beekeeping Coordination and supported by a grant from EFSA – the Prototype Platform brings together and visualises harmonised data related to bees and other pollinators. The ultimate goal is for the platform to become a hub that gathers all relevant information, knowledge and data collected by, and exchanged among, stakeholders on pollinator health and beekeeping. It will make relevant data accessible to end users such as citizens, beekeepers, beekeeping or farming associations, researchers, agencies and policymakers.

EFSA is financially assisting the transformation of the prototype platform into a fully operational tool: the EU Pollinator Hub. The collection and sharing of harmonised data on bees and pollinators from across Europe will also be central to the success of the framework developed by EFSA for environmental risk assessment of multiple stressors in bees under the MUST-B project.

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