Information on pesticides and civil society participation

Information on pesticides and civil society participation

1. There is a widely-held view that organised civil society has not been involved in any meaningful way in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the SUD. Although there are some examples of active participation in some of the countries analysed in the sampling, the actual impact and ability to influence remain very low overall. While it should be reiterated that this has been the most commonly observed trend, it is worth highlighting different situations such as Sweden's, where a high degree of participation in the design and evaluation of public policies has been recorded, mainly due to the high percentage of civil society participation in the public consultation processes launched for this purpose.

2. There is therefore a rather limited influence on decision-making in the area under consideration, which is explained in particular by the complexity and overly technical nature of the matter. This view is held by 86% of respondents, who believe that European citizens and civil society lack sufficient information concerning the rules on the use of pesticides and their management.

3. Most of the information gathered suggests that the inherent technical difficulty and the high level of expertise required act as a barrier to greater participation by the organisations involved in the design of pesticide policies. This in turn explains why a large majority believes that the debate is often affected by ideological pressures and that the scientific and academic community should play a much greater role in outreach, communication and information work on pesticide use.

4. At the same time, there is some evidence pointing to considerable interest in issues related to pesticide use on the part of civil society organisations as well as the non-specialised public in general.

5. In addition, this topic has attracted a lot of media attention lately. This is particularly evident in the high level of interest generated by all issues directly related to food safety and consumer prices due to their interaction with PPP policies.

6. In general, despite the differences between countries, there is nevertheless a significant lack of awareness among citizens, and in particular among consumers, about the role and use of pesticides in accordance with both national and European laws. For this reason, some of the suggested recommendations include the launch of awareness-raising and dissemination campaigns in order to better inform the general public and policy-makers alike. Information should be disseminated, for example, on the factors involved in setting food prices, as well as on issues more closely related to product labelling or certification.

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