11th International Symposium Hazards of Pesticides to Bees

Hazards of pesticides to bees Honey bees, environment, risks and hazards, pesticides and neonicotinoïds, bee decline and colony collapse disorder, bumble bees and wild bees, pollinators… There is an intense public interest into these matters in Europe and outside, with many publications on television, in newspapers and in scientific papers. It is good to note so much interest in the subject of our discussions. Indeed, nearly everybody is involved in some way. The gardens, the flowers and the apples touch everybody. Even Mr. Einstein is being cited. The protection of bees and other pollinators is important, while protection from pesticide effects are a first priority. But how? It needs, more than anything else, scientific understanding and then understanding-based measures. Scientific considerations and arguments are at the base of all protection. It is here that the ICPBR symposia are important. It is here that nearly all experts on bee protection from pesticides in Europe meet and exchange their views and discuss. It is here that new developments and suggestions come up, to be elaborated further into legislation and official regulations by national authorities, by OECD and EPPO, by EFSA and the European Commission and European Parliament. Developing shared understanding and shared protection measures is not easy. Good scientific studies and arguments are the only way. The Bee Protection Group of the ICPBR is eager to promote and enable this way in its series of symposia. This Wageningen symposium was the 11th symposium of its kind since the start in 1980, and it will continue with a 12th symposium in 2014 in Ghent, Belgium. The ICPBR has been renamed in 2012 to ICPPR: International Commission for Plant – Pollinator Relationships, in order to cover its widened scope.