2006-2010: Functional Tools for Pesticide Risk Assessment & Management in Europe (FOOTPRINT)

FOOTPRINT was a research project in the 6th Framework Programme which developed a suite of three pesticide risk prediction and management tools, for use by three different end-user communities:

1. farmers and extension advisors at the farm scale;
2. water managers at the catchment scale; and
3. policy makers/registration authorities at the national/EU scale.

The tools were based on state-of-the-art knowledge of processes, factors and landscape attributes influencing pesticide fate in the environment and integrate innovative components that allow users to:

• identify the dominant contamination pathways and sources of pesticide contamination in the landscape;
• estimate pesticide concentrations in local groundwater resources and surface water abstraction sources; and
• make scientifically based assessments of how the implementation of mitigation strategies will reduce pesticide contamination of adjacent water resources.

The three tools share the same overall philosophy and underlying science and therefore provide a coherent and integrated solution to pesticide risk assessment and risk reduction at the various scales. The tools developed within FOOTPRINT allow stakeholders to make consistent and robust assessments of risk of contamination to water bodies relevant to management, mitigation and regulation (i.e. field/farm, catchment and national/EU). In particular, they allow pesticide users to assess whether their pesticide practices ensure the protection of local water bodies and provide site-specific mitigation recommendations. The FOOTPRINT tools are expected to make a direct contribution to the revision of the Council Directive 91/414/EEC, the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the future Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.

Publications

• Dubus, I., Azimonti, G., Bach, M., Barriuso, E., Bidoglio, G., Bouraoui, F., Centofanti, T., Coquet, Y., Feisel, B., Fialkiewicz, W., Fowler, H., Galimberti, F., Grizzetti, B., Højberg, A., Hollis, J., Jarvis, N., Kajewski, I., Kjær, J., Krasnicki, S., Lewis, K., Lobnik, F., Lolos, P., Moeys, J., Nolan, T., Rasmussen, P., Réal, B., Reichenberger, S., Šinkovec, M., Stenemo, F., Suhadolic, M., Surdyk, N., Tzilivakis, J., Vaudour, T., Avoulidou-Theodorou, E., Windhorst, E. & Wurm, D. (2009). The FOOTPRINT Software Tools: Pesticide Risk Assessment and Management in the EU at different spatial scales. Presented at CEMEPE & SECOTOX June 2009, Mykonos, Greece.
• Lewis, K.A. (2009). FOOTPRINT Pesticide Properties Database: why and how it was developed and its future role in environmental risk assessments. Invited paper presented at 238th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Washington DC, August 16-20th 2009.
• Tzilivakis, J., Green, A. & Lewis, K.A. (2009). The FOOT-FS software system: An overview. Presented at the FOOTPRINT Final Conference, Giessen, Germany, 18-19 March 2009.
• Green, A., Lewis, K.A. & Tzilivakis, J. (2009). Pesticide Properties Database: An overview. Presented at the FOOTPRINT Final Conference, Giessen, Germany, 18-19 March 2009.
• Lewis, K.A., Green, A. & Tzilivakis, J. (2009). Pesticide Properties Database: Usage and Uptake. Presented at the FOOTPRINT Final Conference, Giessen, Germany, 18-19 March 2009.
• Lewis, K.A., Green, A. & Tzilivakis, J. (2009). The Pesticide Properties DataBase: Beyond FOOTPRINT. Presented at the FOOTPRINT Final Conference, Giessen, Germany, 18-19 March 2009.
• Lewis, K., Green A. & Tzilivakis J. (2007). A Pesticide database holding fate and ecological values. Report DL24 of the FP6 EU-funded FOOTPRINT project, 28p.
• Tzilivakis, J. & Lewis, K.A. (2007). The Beta version of FOOT-FS. Report DL26 of the FP6 EU-funded FOOTPRINT project, 28p.
• Green, A., Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J. Dubus, I.G. & Coles, A. (2007). FOOTPRINT - Creating tools for Pesticide Risk Assessment and Management in Europe. Poster presented at Voluntary Initiative Meeting, SCI York.
• Dubus, I., Azimonti, G., Bach, M., Barriuso, E., Bidoglio, G., Bouraoui, F., Fialkiewicz, W., Fowler, H., François, O., Højberg, A., Hollis, J., Jarvis, N., Kajewski, I., Kjær, J., Lewis, K., Lobnik, F., Lolos, P., Réal, B., Reichenberger, S., Stenemo, F., Suhadolc, M. & Vavoulidou-Theodorou. E. (2006). Developing functional tools for pesticide risk assessment and management at various scales in Europe: the EU project FOOTPRINT. SCI Conference. Pesticide Behaviour in Soils, Water and Air. Warwick.

Contact

Prof. Kathy Lewis

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