To the insects, the calls Viola Clausnitzer a u-turn in agriculture. Smaller farms should be encouraged.

industrial agriculture is a threat to the habitat of the bees photo: Kumm/dpa

taz: Ms. Clausnitzer, on Monday, the "action of the insect repellent and insect recovery". Many of the measures are already being demanded for a long time. Why is there now a new rescue plan?

Viola Clausnitzer: It must finally come to a realization. Through the streets and building a house is sealed in Germany an area of 100 football fields, so paved. The landscape destruction by industrial agriculture, the land enlargement of field, in hedges and roadsides will disappear. The insects need these habitats. This is all well known, but has never led to the consequences, because interest groups from agriculture, construction and chemical industry made sure that it was not made properly public. The Plan ensures that more people put their Finger in the wound.

do you Believe that the measures be implemented now? The Lobby has no incentive to change anything. Large corporations such as BASF will not want to work in this direction. But mindsets change slowly, the pressure on politicians is rising. Personally, I can not, however, estimate how fast the lever is moved.

But, you can estimate whether the insects die can still be stopped?

Yes. Nor can we stop the decline or at least slow down. What we don't know is this happens, how quickly after the implementation of the measures to recovery. There are areas that we don't look all the way through. Therefore, it needs more research.

we Should not follow the Plan: Which scenario should we expect?

photo: private

is a scientist at the Senckenberg Museum für naturkunde Görlitz. Together with 70 international researchers, she has created the plan of action for the insect repellent and insect recovery.

This is difficult to estimate. Ecosystems are very complex. You can't say what happens if you take out a single component cells. But some of the results we already know from other countries. In Southeast Asia, for example, some of the orchards have to be pollinated by Hand because there are too few insects.

the Threatening also of the German agriculture?

Possibly Yes. We notice insects on the decline, especially in the case of the Flight, the pollination operate. The various bee and wasp species, but also bugs. Perhaps it will feel to the fruit growers so already. But the insect is superimposed often die from weather events. If a late frost comes and the harvest is less, you can not run the on one or the other back.

How herbicides such as glyphosate will affect the insects?

glyphosate is a herbicide and kills quickly and very efficiently plants and microorganisms. This is an intervention in the Ecosystem, the Food web also impacts all other living things, so also insects, and birds. It is believed that animals, insects, and under certain circumstances, the person to absorb glyphosate and the substance is your health impaired.

How much time do we have?

The immediate measures that must be implemented within the next five years, in order not to lose a number of species. This also includes the reduction of the poison mass, so the pesticide belongs to. Medium-term measures, which relate mainly to the research, are designed to be for the next 20 years. We don't know of many types, why do you go back and whether factors such as micro-plastic, or Hormone contamination of water plays a role. The long-term measures go beyond this period and in the future, the Standard, for example, the development of global Monitoring programs.

Who must act?

There needs to be a Europe-wide, drastic u-turn in agricultural policy. I don't want to point fingers at individual farmers and say: "The are to blame." It is the policy that has been promoted in the last years, mainly industrial agriculture. This has led to more and more small businesses had to close and only the big survive. Since we need to have a rethink. But also a social upheaval belongs. People who want to eat less meat and pay more. Then you can also keep an operation with ten or 20 pigs.