Over the last twenty years, Member States have used mitigation measures to reduce the risk to the environment for several purposes and in different ways. Specific rules for protecting areas of drinking water abstraction, or honey bees and birds, and stipulating buffer zones to surface waters are well established tools and have been widely used for regulatory purposes.  Furthermore, new and more specific, tailor-made measures are in use today e.g. for treated seeds, for new groups of organisms such as terrestrial invertebrates. In addition, risk mitigation measures are needed where new protection goals are being developed, for example in relation to biodiversity, as this has become important over the last few years. 

In this section you will find information on the implementation and legislative provisions for the use of spray drift reducing devices in selected Member States and the impact on no-spray buffer zone width thereof.