"UM : Science" [S01-ep22]: Pesticides: What Impact Do They Have on Biodiversity?

[Podcast] - Published on May 27, 2022 in Entrepreneurship, Science and Society

This week on *A l’UM * science, Wilfried Sanchez, deputy scientific director atIfremer, joins us to present the findings of the joint INRAE-Ifremer scientific assessment on the impact of plant protection products on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Today we’re taking you to the root causes of biodiversity loss—if we can even still call it “loss,” given that the numbers themselves point to a collapse. In 2021, the National Museum of Natural History,the French Office for Biodiversity, and the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) reported a decline of approximately 30% in bird populations in France over the course of just 30 years. That same year, the CNRS, through Philippe Grandcolas, director of the Institute of Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity, spoke in an interview of “the insect apocalypse,” with population declines of up to 80% in certain regions of France. The same trend was observed for amphibians, with 32% of species threatened; meanwhile, the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) stated in 2021 that at least one-third of mammal species were also endangered.

We know the causes of this erosion—we know them very well, in fact—since they stem from our own human activities, foremost among which is the massive use of plant protection products. Each year, between 55,000 and 70,000 metric tons of active plant protection ingredients are sold and used in France. In 2020, the ministries of the environment, agriculture, and research commissioned INRAE and IFREMER to conduct a study on the impact of pesticides on biodiversity and ecosystem services, from the areas where they are applied to the marine environment.

Unsurprisingly, this report, presented on May 5, confirms that all terrestrial, aquatic, and marine environments are contaminated by these products. We’ll discuss this in detail with our guest, Wilfried Sanchez, deputy scientific director of the French Institute for Marine Research and Exploitation ( Research ), known as Ifremer to those in the know.

Recommended reading:

Impacts of Plant Protection Products on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Results of the INRAE-Ifremer Joint Scientific Assessment – Ifremer Press Release
Summary of the Collective Expert Report (14 pages)