Brexit already threatening Scots environment

I have just read that UK Environment Minister George Eustice has given permission for limited use of a class of systemic pesticides known as neonicotinoids, which are banned in the EU and many countries. They are not prohibited in the US.

In recent years, there has been a significant decrease in the bee population and it is believed that this is directly related to the use of neonicotinoids and “colony collapse disaster” – when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear. This directly affects pollination and crop production and was the principal reason for the ban in the EU.

However, neonicotinoid use has further-reaching and detrimental effects on the environment, the ecosystem and human health. Neonicotinoids not only move from treated seeds and plants to pollinators such as bees, they are transmitted through simple food chains and possibly into entire food webs. They have become widespread environmental contaminants which pose a real risk to biodiversity.

In 2014, the European Food Safety Commission found that neonicotinoids are also harmful to humans. They affect the normal development and function of the nervous system in children and they can damage brain structures and functions associated with learning and memory. Although there are “acceptable” levels for residues in foods, there have been calls for these to be further reduced. Those most at risk are agricultural workers and those who live in close proximity to agricultural areas, who endure a higher exposure.

Within two weeks of leaving the EU we are apparently dropping our environmental standards.

Living in rural Dumfries and Galloway we have to be very wary that both our environmental and agricultural standards remain as high as they can be. We owe this to ourselves and our families.

The environment is a devolved responsibility in Scotland and you might assume, therefore, that we can stop the use of chemicals which are toxic to vital parts of our ecosystem. Sadly, as from last December, the Internal Market Act became law, allowing Westminster to override the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

If the ultimate power to defend the high quality of our Scottish agricultural produce and protect our environment lies outside Scotland, how long will it be before the commercial pressures of a US trade deal forces the UK government to abandon environmental protection? In this case, we in Dumfries and Galloway and the rest of Scotland will be totally powerless. JENNIFER RHIND

Haywood Road Moffat, Dumfries & Galloway