Many European policies and regulations, including those relating to agrochemicals, incorporate ecosystem services (ES) concepts. These are mirrored in US policies, such as the Conservation Innovation Grants program in the 2014 Farm Bill. A benefit of a holistic ES approach would be the sustainable use of pesticides; however, the concepts are yet to be clearly translated into practical tools for decision making.Pesticides are applied for crop protection with the aim of maximising the harvest, providing food for us and an income for the farmer. Traditional pesticide risk assessment includes a thorough evaluation of the risks to the environment and is designed to be protective, although generally corresponding to worst cases. Policy decisions that rely on technical risk assessments are unlikely to have considered the risks and benefits of the product in a comprehensive way, nor of alternative pest control strategies including land use changes, which can in turn lead to unintended consequences for wildlife and communities.An ecosystem services approach allows policy makers to evaluate the crop as habitat for wildlife and wider services reflecting current and future land use and management practices. Through a series of case studies, the authors have developed and evolved a framework that embeds the ecosystem services approach into a tool that puts potential environmental risks and benefits into context by comparing these with the cultures and traditions of farming and economic prosperity. The framework is based on internationally accepted The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). It allows spatial assessments to be scalable and can be used to inform discussions between scientists and policy makers on the consequences for the environment and socio-economics of regulatory decisions. The poster will include lessons learned from the case studies undertaken so far

Ecosystem services in pesticide regulation: Strengthening the link between decision-making and agricultural needs

248th National Meeting (2014)

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