Because of the pesticide plague Every year, especially at the beginning of spring, thousands of kilometers of public roads throughout the country (highways, main and secondary roads, and rural roads) are sprayed with herbicides (mainly glyphosate).
The reason for this practice is to eliminate the adjacent grass, located outside the asphalt, to clear the land adjacent to these traffic lanes. The aim is, depending on the case, to generate more space for vehicles in the event of an emergency or to prevent fires. But this only aggravates the pesticide plague.
The problem is that spraying herbicides has a direct and cumulative effect on the environment. On the one hand, it eliminates these small islands of vegetation, which in many cultivation areas represent the only spaces available for wild flora.
At the same time, ditches function as very useful ecological corridors for small vertebrates, and above all for the development and shelter of all types of insects, particularly for pollinators such as bees, whose function is essential in agriculture and for the proper functioning of ecosystems.
Numerous birds take advantage of this larder, such as tits, linnets, greenfinches, blackbirds, goldfinches and swallows, which find some of their food in this environment. The dispersion of aerosols with herbicides therefore eliminates all these ecosystem functions offered by the margins of these vials.
Pesticide plague led by glyphosate
Herbicides based on glyphosate They are far from harmless. In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified this herbicide as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Likewise, a technical report from Miteco indicated that 34.6% of surface water sampling points in Spain were contaminated by glyphosate in 2022, which means that the pesticide plague represents an environmental problem for bodies of water. And when it disperses in the environment, it deteriorates and contaminates the soil, and reaches surface water through runoff and underground water through infiltration.
To understand how road fumigation increases this problem, we must understand that along one kilometer of road (2,000 meters long in both directions) approximately 2,000 m² are fumigated.
This means that in a 5 km journey, an area of one hectare (10,000 m²) has been sprayed with herbicide, the equivalent of more than a football field. Although this practice is not carried out on all roads, taking into account that the state highway network is about 166,400 km in length, there would be thousands of hectares treated with glyphosate each year that could be avoided using other measures.
Non-polluting alternatives to the plague of pesticides
There may be cases in which, under objective technical criteria, the action on some roads would be justifiable. To do this, the environmental NGO recommends using other non-toxic alternatives for the natural environment. It is about managing the grass with mechanical procedures such as mowing machinery or manual brush cutters, which are already being used efficiently in some sections.
SEO/BirdLife considers that opting for mechanical clearing to maintain road margins is more effective than the use of herbicides, does not contaminate soils, river channels, or groundwater, and denotes greater sensitivity and respect towards nature by the Administrations competent in the conservation of roads. Furthermore, it would respond to an increasing demand from citizens such as the conservation of the rural landscape, respect for the environment and biodiversity.
In particular, mechanical clearing should be considered (if necessary) in places of high natural value such as the Natura 2000 Network spaces and preferably at the end of their life cycle (taking into account the reproductive cycle of the birds) so that they can take advantage of their ecosystem services.
The NGO considers that in addition to providing protection to natural spaces and investing money and resources in their conservation, management measures should be applied that do not have the impact that it represents. pesticide plague.
The fumigation of hundreds of kilometers throughout the territory with a toxic product such as glyphosate, can reach rivers, streams and aquifers through runoff, with possible effects on livestock, domestic animals and wildlife and, ultimately, can compromise the people’s health.
Is weed a real problem?
SEO/BirdLife considers that, in most of the points where the maintenance services of the State, regional or provincial highway network are involved, spontaneous vegetation does not represent any problem for road safety, since it does not occupy the circulation area. In fact, these plants provide important environmental, ornamental and landscape value to these communication routes.
On the other hand, they do not represent a serious risk factor for possible summer fires. In fact, fumigated grass is equally flammable because it remains dry, even before completing its biological cycle. On the other hand, the garbage that accumulates in the gutters does represent a serious problem, both because it is flammable material (plastics) or glass (causing a magnifying glass effect), and as a chemical and visual pollutant. And this is a problem that should be addressed more quickly by road management and maintenance services: the cleaning of waste in the ditches, prioritizing urgent action in the most sensitive points for nature.
Parks and gardens free of pesticide pests
The same recommendation of replacing the use of glyphosate with mechanical clearing, when necessary, is a proposal that SEO/BirdLife has been promoting for twenty years before city councils and institutions as part of its program to improve urban biodiversity, without the need for pesticide plague.
Some councils such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville or Zaragoza have already prohibited the use of herbicides to safeguard the health of citizens and create a healthier and more natural environment. They have also understood that grass and its flowers, far from being a problem, are an ally of people due to the environmental and aesthetic benefits they provide.
SEO/BirdLife It shows that the erroneous perception has been created that ornamental garden plants are valid in parks and gardens, while wild plants and flowers should be systematically eradicated. However, the coexistence of both is perfectly compatible and recommended.
Precisely, natural flora is more adapted to our environment and presents greater ecosystem benefits, which is why it should be integrated into the management of municipal green infrastructure. This means that we must consider the biological cycles of insects and pollinators associated with natural vegetation, and the reproduction periods of urban birds, since they find there an interesting source of food for their young.
The environmental NGO has developed pioneering projects with local administrations and companies, such as the creation of the Parque de las Llamas or the network of Parks and Gardens spaces for Biodiversity in collaboration with the Santander City Council, in the implementation of measures that favor wildlife . To achieve this, it has been crucial to enhance natural meadows, to which measures have been added such as the creation of hedges with wild fruits, the placement of nest boxes or the construction of ponds, among others.
Thanks to its extensive background and recognition in this field, SEO/BirdLife currently participates in urban renaturalization projects, financed by the Biodiversity Foundation, in Santander, Girona, and more recently in Valencia, Torrelavega and in Pinto, with the Pinto en Verde project , which aims to turn this Madrid municipality into a benchmark in urban renaturalization.