Thank you all for the very interesting responses so far. It seems that issues affecting pollinators is reasonably well understood – although more research is still needed on the precise interactions between human activities and pollinators.
Access to information and awareness-raising is a common theme. Although some countries have a lot of information available to the public and country pollinator strategies (such as the UK), many countries do not. More accessible information needs to be made available to the public on how they can help pollinators at a local level. Training should also be given to agricultural workers – and included in extension services and college course curriculum.
In terms of agriculture, many suggestions were made to create habitats, buffer zones, field margins and so on for pollinator species. This in addition to planting flowering plants suitable for the local populations of insects. Mithare Prasad from India provides a succinct summary of solutions, in particular in relation to honey bees.
Urban planning is also an area of concern – where green areas and landscaping need to be pollinator friendly. Urban agriculture is practiced by 800 million people worldwide – so is not an insignificant area that needs to be proactive.
The need for policies that promote pollinator friendly agriculture and practices was also highlighted by several respondents. Lal Manavado from Norway provides a nice summary of the issues and suggests that it is possible to create a common strategy that can be adapted to local conditions.
We look forward to reading more of your comments in the coming few days.
James Edge