Regulatory processes surrounding the risk assessment of microbial pesticides for pollinators

Abstract

Protecting pollinators from potential negative effects of pesticides is one of the roles of the regulatory agencies for plant protection products world-wide. However, traditional toxicity testing and regulatory frameworks may not be fit for purpose where microbial plant protection products are concerned. A working group of the ICPPR Bee Protection group is developing a white paper examining these issues. Here we summarize the current state-of-affairs and outline potential future activities intended to bring testing and risk assessment for microbial pesticides more into line with the overall goal of determining where potential risks may lie. Note that this chapter is summarized from a white paper in development on this topic by the ICP-PR (International Commission on Plant-Pollinator Relationships) working group on Microbial and Bees.