The bird population in France increased slightly after a ban on neonicotinoids in 2018

This is what a study published on November 15 in the journal “Environmental Pollution” shows.

A frightening but encouraging assessment following the ban of neonicotinoids, a type of insecticide in France, in 2018. Populations of insectivorous birds, such as blackbirds or black-headed warblers, have increased by 2% to 3% in France, according to a study published Saturday, November 15, in the journal Environmental pollution.

These numbers may seem small, but any improvement is welcome, as the threat of extinction for certain species is considerable. A quarter of Europe’s birds were extinct within forty years, and the figure even reached 57% among birds in agricultural settings. This decrease was mainly caused by “agricultural intensification”It means “an increase in the amount of fertilizer and pesticides used per hectare”estimated in 2023, the authors of the research published in scientific journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

To assess the neonicotinoid ban, scientists analyzed the impact of imidacloprid, which is one of three substances banned since 2018 (along with clothianidin and thiamethoxam) and was the world’s best-selling neonicotinoid in 2009, according to a 2015 report by the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (one of the ancestors of the National Office for Biological Diversity).

The researchers looked at the populations of 57 species before the ban (2013-2018 period) and after the ban (2019-2022 period). Before the ban, areas without imidacloprid supported 12.7% more insectivorous birds than areas treated with this type of product. After the ban, the gap fell to 9%. “Our results clearly show that banning neonicotinoids is an effective conservation measure for insectivorous birds”noted to the British daily Guard French agroecologist Thomas Perrot, lead author of the study.

However, this “a little recovery” East “still far from complete population recovery”summarize the experts on the Bluesky social network. “Our results show that it will take decades for insectivorous bird populations to recoverhe also stated to Guardian. However, we think this is normal, because research on other pesticides is similar DDT suggests that most bird populations will take between ten and twenty-five years to fully recover.”

Finally, “the only ban on pesticides” not enough to restore the population, said Thomas Perrot, who called for restoration habitats and ecosystems to help insects and birds.