Due to the dramatic decline in insects, which are so indispensable for us and our ecosystems, the Federal Government, at the suggestion of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, initiated a law for the protection of insects on 10 February 2021. This law is to result in numerous new regulations for the protection of insects in the Federal Nature Conservation Act.

The Insect Protection Act provides for the following measures:

• Insect habitats such as dry stone walls, stone bars, orchards and extensively used meadows will be legally protected as biotopes in the future.
• In protected areas, certain forms of plant protection products (biocides) with adverse effects on insects are to be banned in principle. In future, the use of pesticides will also be banned at the edges of water bodies. The use of the controversial glyphosate will initially be severely restricted and completely banned from the end of 2023.
• Artificial light sources attract nocturnal insects and lead to their death. In order to counteract this, the new construction of certain lighting in protected areas is to be prohibited in principle and the operation of sky spotlights is to be severely restricted by legal ordinance. In addition, limit values for light emissions can be set.
• The use of insect traps outside enclosed spaces is to be restricted or banned by ordinance in the future.

Federal Environment Minister Schulze explains that humans cannot live without insects. For the artificial pollination of fruit plants alone, huge sums would have to be spent if insects were to cease to be pollinators. For this reason, it is in everyone's interest to stop insect mortality. Although insect protection measures are often viewed critically by farmers, those who protect insects ensure that agriculture will still be possible tomorrow. In addition, rewards are available for farmers who refrain from using insecticides.

The Insect Protection Act is flanked by the BMU's Insect Protection Action Programme.

Information source: www.bmu.de/insektenschutz/

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