National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Country/Territory Germany Document type Date 2013 Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Agricultural & rural development, Land & soil Keyword Integrated pest management-IPM/pest management strategies Policy/planning Sustainable use Protection of environment Fertilizers/nutrients Pesticides Geographical area Alps, Europe, EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA, European Union Countries, North Sea, North-East Atlantic, Western Europe Abstract The German National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products aims at further reducing the risks associated with the use of pesticides and to protect plants, particularly crops, against disease, pests and non-parasitic influences. In line with European Union Directive on Sustainable Use (Directive 2009/128/EC), this national strategy has been drafted as a mechanism of voluntary implementation. The strategy covers legislative implementation of the Sustainable Use Directive, targets of the national action plan, measures, indicators, reporting and evaluation of results, as well as accompanying support and flanking measures. Targets set are the reduction of risks and adverse impacts associated with plant protection products for human health and environment; this includes a 30% risk reduction of plant protection products on the environment; maximum residue levels must be below 1% by 2021 in all product groups (domestic and imported); and reducing adverse effects of chemical plant protection. The legal framework includes pesticide approvals, which gives users clear rules on product handling and application; stipulations on the quality and safety of crop protection equipment and on the expertise that product users must possess; and supplementary requirements set out in the German Plant Protection Act, the German Best Practice Code on Crop Protection and other areas of the law. The National Action Plan's target achievement is assessed using a set of indicators and reference data. All the indicators chosen are relevant to the aims of the National Action Plan and allow the level of target achievement to be evaluated. Full text English Website ec.europa.eu