The European approval system for plant protection products: protecting biodiversity and securing yields, or causing a “silent spring”?

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) is widely seen as the starting point of the global environmental movement. Carson warned about the ecological consequences of excessive use of plant protection products (PPPs) on biodiversity. Since then, the regulatory landscape has changed dramatically: today, PPPs in Europe are subject to strict environmental regulations and a multi-tiered approval process aimed at realistically predicting and minimizing environmental impacts while safeguarding yields.

Despite these advancements, PPPs are still often portrayed as the main driver of global biodiversity loss. This assumption was scientifically tested by Schriever et al. (2025), who evaluated the hypothesis in a broader ecological context.

Main causes of biodiversity loss

Schriever et al. (2025) confirm that biodiversity decline is real — but PPPs are only one contributing factor. Dominant drivers include:

• changes in land use
• structural homogenization of agricultural landscapes (few shrubs, hedges, buffer zones)
• pollutant inputs from various sources, such as effluent from wastewater treatment plants

Measured environmental concentrations rarely exceed regulatory thresholds. Tightening PPP approval requirements would therefore not lead to substantial ecological improvements.

Integrated pest management as the basis of agricultural practice

European crop protection is founded on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Synthetic chemical PPPs may only be used once all other preventive and non-chemical measures have been exhausted and economic damage thresholds have been surpassed. These measures include:

• variety selection
• soil cultivation practices
• promotion of beneficial insects
• mechanical and biological control methods

Recommendations for action – The right steps

Instead of further tightening the approval process, Schriever et al. (2025) recommend:

• promoting structural diversity in agricultural landscapes (via the CAP)
• reducing pollutant inputs through wastewater from farms and settlements
• supplementing existing risk management with flexible, locally adapted mitigation measures to minimize off-field inputs
• This helps to preserve important active substances that combat pests and diseases, which is a prerequisite to ensure a stable and regional food production.