Ecological risk assessment of pesticides in the Mediterranean region. The need for crop-specific scenarios

The risk assessment procedures of pesticides in the European Union are mostly based on worst-case scenarios developed for central and northern European conditions. From the point of view of Mediterranean conditions, these assessment procedures are not always appropriate, and therefore the development of specific scenarios is required. There are differences not only in meteorological data (temperature, solar irradiation, or rainfall volume and annual distribution) between these countries, but also in farm distribution, crop characteristics, soil or sediment properties and surface or groundwater characteristics. These differences are more evident for the typical crops of the southern countries, such as olive groves, vineyards, citrus or rice fields, and in these cases more realistic estimates of exposure are required. Our proposal includes the development of new criteria to improve the ecological risk assessment process for the conditions of the Mediterranean region, and the justification of this need.