David against Goliath in the Vinschgau Region

A municipality in the Italian province of South Tyrol dispenses with all pesticides. The governor of the province objects and senses it could set a precedent. But many people are supporting the pesticide opponents of Mals.

Mals is a village in the municipality of the same name in Vinschgau. In June 2014 the whole village was running back and forth putting up banners and posters all over the place. They were appealing to local people to vote for a ban on pesticides across the whole of the municipality. How did it come to this? More and more apple plantations have been established in recent years in Vinschgau and, since most of the farmers managed them conventionally, there was a steady increase in the clouds of poisonous spray that they apply in the spring and summer. Many people increasingly felt it was unacceptable to have aerosole sprays that didn't stay just in the plantations but were borne by every breath of wind across the trails used by hikers and into the village. To do something about this state of affairs a number of activists founded a action group in 2013 whose objective was to hold a referendum opposing the use of pesticides within the boundaries of the municipality.

Despite obstacles put in their way, in July 2014 the people did in fact vote. The result was unequivocal: 76 % of the approximately 5,000 inhabitants voted against permitting the use of pesticides within the 250 km² municipality. You can still read the text presented to the citizens of Mals on the local government website. It says in a crucial passage: “the use of very toxic and toxic synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides harmful to the health of humans and the environment is not permitted within the boundaries of the municipality.”

Roughly two years later, on 29 March 2016, the Mals municipal council voted in favour of a pesticide regulation that was to prepare the legal framework for ecologising agriculture. The pesticide regulation does not provide for a total ban on pesticides but it does prohibit the most toxic class of pesticides. However, since a 50 metre rule applies to all use of pesticides, this would be the equivalent of a total ban because, as Ulrich Veith from the Südtiroler Volkspartei (SVP) and mayor of Mals since 2009, points out, the plots are as a rule quite small.  In addition, residues are to be regularly measured, which is another way of taking action.

On 24 May 2016 the court in Bolzano declared the referendum in the summer of 2014 was unlawful. However, this decision had no effect on the municipal regulation because it did not refer explicitly to the referendum. But some conventional fruit farmers were not at all pleased with the regulation – nor was the government of the province that did not want to see the setting of a precedent.

Since March, support for the pesticide opponents has been coming from Munich, the home of the Environmental Institute that has launched an online petition. It has now registered a good 20,000 signatures. Karl Bär, an expert in agricultural and trade policy at the institute: “By means of, for example, distance regulations for applying pesticides, the government of South Tyrol should make it possible for municipalities to reduce and put an end to using pesticides.”

If you join the appeal on the internet, you get an automatic reply from the governor of South Tyrol Arno Kompatscher, to whom the signatures are automatically sent. In his reply he thanks the sender and stresses that South Tyrol “has for decades been focused on the protection of the environment and the production of high-value food.” He goes on to say: “South Tyrol is a pioneer in organic production. Practically every second organic apple in Europe comes from South Tyrol.” What he doesn't say, however, is that by a long way not every second apple from South Tyrol is organic.

But Kompatscher doesn't leave it there. He maintains that much of the information of the Environmental Institute is “wrong or a gross simplification.” According to the governor,  it was clear from the outset that the municipality has no authority in this matter because it is subject to national and European legislation. “Politicians at municipality level chose to ignore this and held a referendum. Now the municipality is in trouble because it can't fulfil a promise that was untenable from the very beginning. Attributing responsibility for this to the provincial government is wrong.”

Karl Bär from the Environmental Institute sees it quite differently. The fact is that it was not until the beginning of 2016 that the provincial government intervened with regulations regarding plant protection. “In Article 7 the government has stated explicitly that the municipalities should not be responsible the use of pesticides.” This was followed by a motion from the opposition in the South Tyrol parliament that was intended to strengthen the right of municipalities to take action.

Bär explains: “The new law is the background to our action. The provincial government wanted specifically to prevent the Mals project being a success.” The question remains to what extent EU law applies in this issue. The EU Commission, responding to an enquiry by the Belgian MEP Bert Staes, declared it is the job of the regions and member states to define the framework conditions. This includes restricting the use of pesticides to less dangerous products as used in integrated farming. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=E-2016-002045&language=EN

Mayor Ulrich Veith also disagrees with Arno Kompatscher: “The municipalities in Italy are independent public entities. Naturally we have to abide by the law. We believe that's precisely what we've done, because the mayor in Italy is the primary guardian of the health of its citizens and the safety of the public.” In other words, he regards  himself as responsible for the wellbeing of his municipality.

A court case, initiated by opponents of the regulation, is pending in Bolzano. But the regulation has long since been implemented in Mals. As Veith explains, fruit growers have a transition period of two years that comes to an end in April 2018. Then they have to convert to organic. Already new cropping land has to be managed in compliance with the guidelines of organic farming. Overall, he sees the way things are developing in Mals as very positive. “More and more organic farms are being created, including in the livestock sector.” But he adds that they have not yet collected concrete data at municipality level. Organic consumption is also doing well: “Two years ago we converted all the kitchens in kindergartens to organic. In the school canteen the proportion of organic and regional is around 70 percent.” The mayor says they've got to keep pursuing their organic goal: “We'll sensitise, motivate but control as well and, if necessary, punish.”

Dorothea Steiner, who together with her husband runs the  Bio-Hotel Panorama in Mals, supports the pesticide-free initiative. But she adds that they have to proceed little by little – they should give the farmers enough time to convert to organic. By living an organic life themselves and by providing advice for farmers, they can support them on their way to organic. She points out that success is already there for all to see: “More and more fruit and livestock farmers in the vicinity are switching to organic.”

Join-in campaign by the Environmental Institute Munich: “Support the pesticide rebels of Mals":

https://www.umweltinstitut.org/mitmach-aktionen/unterstuetzt-die-pestizid-rebellen.html