EFSA's Scientific Colloquium 28 - Assessing indirect effects of pesticides in environmental risk assessment
This Scientific Colloquium will bring together experts and stakeholders. They will discuss the impact of pesticides on biodiversity. The focus will also be on methods to include indirect effects in the regulatory environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products (PPPs).
The feedback collected will support EFSA’s work on revising the terrestrial ecotoxicology guidance document, which includes guidance on assessing potential indirect effects on biodiversity through trophic interactions under agro-environmental conditions. Additionally, the recommendations emerging from the event will contribute to better harmonisation of ERA approaches and help identify current knowledge gaps, regulatory shortcomings, and needs for future development.
Objectives of the event
- Gather expert insights and recommendations on potential solutions for incorporating consideration of indirect effects into the current regulatory ERA of PPPs;
- Identify and prioritise further key regulatory needs related to the assessment of indirect effects;
- Pinpoint critical research gaps and future research directions to improve understanding of indirect effects within ERA;
- Discuss potential risk mitigation measures and evaluate their effectiveness in addressing the indirect effects of PPPs on biodiversity;
- Facilitate knowledge exchange and foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders involved in ERA;
- Identify opportunities for harmonising the evaluation of indirect effects in agricultural contexts across different regulatory frameworks (e.g. the one-substance-one-assessment approach).
Who should attend?
The event is intended for individuals with expertise or involvement in the environmental risk assessment of the indirect effects of pesticides.
In-person attendance is limited to a maximum of 120 participants, including speakers and experts already identified by EFSA. Further selection will ensure adequate representation across various fields of expertise, stakeholder groups, and geographical regions.
To allow all interested stakeholders to follow the discussions, the plenary sessions will also be web streamed (video and listening-mode only).
Online registration
Please click below to register, indicating whether you wish to attend in person or follow the plenary sessions online, by 23:59 (CEST) on 16 May 2025.
The registration form includes a few questions about your expertise and interest in the Colloquium, which will assist EFSA in tailoring the event’s content.
To ensure balanced representation across stakeholder and expertise groups, EFSA reserves the right to review registrations and select participants for in-person attendance based on the relevance of their expertise. Registrants will be informed of the outcome once registration has closed.
Logistical information
The event will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 18 June 2025. Once confirmed, selected in-person participants will receive further logistical details.
The plenary sessions will be live streamed and made available on this page of the EFSA website on the day of the event.
The event will be conducted in English. No interpretation services will be provided.
Participation is free of charge. Unless invited by EFSA, attendees are responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs.
Contact
For further information, please contact:
scientific.colloquia [at] efsa.europa.eu