We have been told for some time, particularly since the pioneering work of Rachel Carlson, that insects and birds are disappearing at an alarming rate. In a recent study carried out by a conglomerate of 50 researchers from 28 European countries by a team from Montpellier (Vincent Devictor) explains to us how they proceeded to obtain results which cannot be disputed. We understand the seriousness of the situation knowing that since 2009, 300,000 hectares of land have disappeared under bitumen and only 17% of soil remains pesticide-free. Still, quantifying the disappearance of birds in situ is complicated, knowing that on an experimental level, we cannot feed birds with pesticides, how do we go about it and with what result?
the conclusion of this work is that around a quarter of birds have disappeared, including 25% of urban birds but 57% of agricultural birds! To achieve this result, it was necessary to exclude global warming as a possible cause. The authors therefore counted each year, on the same land and with the same method, the number of birds of all species and at the same time the expansion of areas under intensive cultivation, the evolution of temperatures, and the spread artificialized soils. Global warming explains why Boreal tits (which have declined by 79%) are moving north.
Results are not due to chance because the species most affected in our country are those which feed on insects, which are decimated by pesticides. The relationship between intensive cultivation, pesticides and the disappearance of birds is unequivocal. Moreover, as with the tobacco industry, the agri-food industries have taken advantage of the difficulty in providing indisputable proof to perpetuate doubt – it is not us but global warming – to save time and guarantee their profits. It is also astonishing that the European Commission bases itself on these same industries to estimate the damage and imposes nothing, move on, there is nothing to see.
Let us be clear, it is not a question of morality or attachment to these magnificent creatures – which deserve our admiration with birds weighing a few grams capable of flying 4000 km continuously – but of the survival of all species including ours.
