Regulation of biological weed control agents in Europe: results of the EU Policy Support Action REBECA

摘要

Biological weed control uses invertebrate biological control agents (IBCAs) as well as plant pathogens. Unlike North America, Australia and New Zealand, Europe has no central agency responsible for an environmental risk assessment (ERA) prior to the introduction of exotic IBCAs, and no classical biological control agents for weed control have been released in Europe. However, many exotic and native insect and mite species are currently used in European horticulture. Since the establishment in Europeof the exotic coccinelid Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) and concerns about potential displacement of indigenous coccinelids, proposals and guidelines for the regulation of IBCAs have been prepared. The European Union (EU) Policy Support Action Regulation forBiological Control Agents (REBECA) has contributed to the development and harmonization of guidelines and implementation of regulation procedures. However, regulation is organized on a national level. For progress in biological weed control, a well-recognized and knowledgeable European-wide organization dealing with the risk assessment and authorization of IBCA is urgently needed. Microbial weed control agents and products of natural origin have to be registered following the rules of the EU directive91/414, which treats such biological control agents (BCAs) almost like synthetic chemical plant-protection products. REBECA has reviewed current legislation and guidance documents and made proposals for alternative, less bureaucratic and more efficient regulation procedures maintaining the same level of safety for human health and the environment but accelerating market access, increasing the availability of BCAs and lowering registration costs. Information on the progress of the REBECA Action is available on-line (www.rebeca-net.de). In Europe, the current expertise on risk assessment of biological weed control agents is limited to a few experts. A lack of knowledge at the level of regulation authorities will result in exaggerating risks and implementation of unnecessary regulation. It is therefore recommended to start a dialogue between weed control scientists and regulation experts immediately in order to prepare the ground for the use of biologicals in weed control in Europe.