BERLIN – Germany plans to ban the pinnacle of twilight for much of the year as part of its fight against a dramatic decline in insect populations, which emerged on Wednesday.
“Insects play a role in the ecosystem … however, in Germany, their number and diversity have declined significantly in recent years,” reads in the bill, for which the ministry hopes to discharge cabinet approval until October.
Light traps for insects are to be banned outdoors, while searchlights and sky spotlights would be outlawed from dusk to dawn for 10 months of the year.
The assignment also requires all new street lighting accessories and other lighting fixtures to be installed to minimize effects on plants, insects and other animals.
The use of herbicides and insecticides would also be prohibited in national parks and within five to 10 metres of giant bodies of water, while orchards and dry stone walls deserve to be herbal habitats for insects.
The proposed reforms are a component of the German government’s broader “insect cover action plan,” which was announced last September under increasing pressure from environmental and conservation activists.
Attention will now be paid to the Department of Agriculture, which strives to deliver on its promises, as a general relief in the use of pesticides.
In components, Germany announced last September that herbicidal glyphosate would be debatable as a component of the insect action plan.
“We will not stop insect decline with tinkering alone,” said Rolf Sommer, a director at the German chapter of the World Wildlife Fund.
The Ministry of the Environment’s proposals were “a starting point for greater coverage against insects,” but additional reforms were for pesticide regulation, he added.
Meanwhile, the German Association for Conservation of Nature asked Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner to “do her homework” and keep the promise of glyphosate until 2023.
Over the next year, Germany has made headlines several times with its efforts for insects.
Last April, the Bavarian state government broke away with a popular petition calling for greater coverage of bees.
Instead of putting the petition to a referendum, the state simply followed it after 1.75 million other people signed it in a matter of months.
Earlier this year, electric car giant Tesla faced delays in building its new outdoor “gigafactory” in Berlin due to the relocation of several off-site ant colonies.
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