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Box 3                  Restriction of pesticides use and other sustainable farming programmes

Belgium sets out different measures to integrate pesticides with sustainable water management (reference). One measure focuses on restrictions in buffer zones, which are set at 2 to 30 meters depending on the size of the water and extent of land use.

In France, economically grounded measures have been set up. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has implemented the Ecophyto Plan which aimed to halve pesticide use by 2018. To that end, environmental taxes on sales of pesticides have been introduced.

The United Kingdom implements a catchment sensitive farming programme. The scheme investigates impacts of agricultural practices, relevance of applied measures and draws out best practices in the sector (Thorén, 2017).

In Ireland it is not allowed to apply organic or chemical fertiliser or dilute slurry when heavy rain is forecasted within 48 hours or when the ground slopes are steep and a risk of water pollution exists (Amery and Schoumans, 2014)