Protecting Our Pollinators
15 May 2020, Washington, DC – “Pollinators are essential for ensuring food security and nutrition while maintaining biodiversity and vibrant ecosystems for plants, humans, and animals,” said Vimlendra Sharan, Director of FAO North America, during a World Bee Day webinar. “In fact, close to 75 percent of the world’s crops producing fruits and seeds for human consumption, depend, at least in part, on pollinators for sustained production, yield and quality,” Sharan added.
Although crucial for our food systems, pollinators, especially bees and butterflies, are increasingly under threat from human activities. To mark the third annual observance of World Bee Day, FAO North America convened a webinar, moderated by Tom Pesek, Senior Liaison Officer at FAO, highlighting the threats pollinators face and best practices to safeguard them.
The session previewed The Pollinators, a documentary film, directed by Peter Nelson, which follows commercial beekeepers and their truckloads of honeybees across the United States in their journey to pollinate the flowers of the fruits, nuts and vegetables we all eat. “I wanted to try and give people a sense of where their food comes from and what's involved in food production,” said Nelson, who has also been a beekeeper for 20 years.
“A lot of people don’t realize how extensive a system of pollination is, and how small groups of beekeepers move a massive number of bees around, because of the changes in our agricultural system,” said Nelson. “The high losses that these beekeepers are facing really matter to all of us,” urged Nelson. By supporting local beekeepers, farmers and economies, consumers can have a positive impact, he underlined.
“There are at least 20,000 bee species alone,” remarked Abram Bicksler, Agricultural Officer at FAO, highlighting the diversity of wild pollinator species from moths to bats. He outlined key factors threatening pollinators including habitat loss, intensive agriculture, inappropriate use of pesticides, pests, diseases and invasive alien species, as well as climate change.
There is a lot at stake in order to keep pollinators healthy. Bicksler underlined that about 35 percent of the world’s agricultural land and 80 percent of flowering plants depend to some extent on healthy pollinators. FAO is currently working on the Pollinator Initiative 2.0 to promote coordinated worldwide action to enable policies and strategies, support field-level implementation, engage civil society and private sector actors, and promote monitoring, research, and assessment for the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators.
David Inouye, Chair of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s (NAPPC) steering committee, highlighted the role scientists play in identifying pollinator species at risk, the threats they face, and sharing recommendations with policy-makers, land managers and the broader public to take actions to mitigate those risks. NAPPC released a white paper that led to polices in the United States and other countries to regulate international trade in bumblebees to help prevent spreading diseases around the world.
While the negative ecological impacts of pesticides have long been known, particularly for pollinators, Inouye explained that more recent findings show the dangers neonicotinoids have on the foraging behavior of bees, as well as aquatic insects downstream.
“Pollinators are representatives of all ecosystems and all the biodiversity that we rely on for our wellbeing,” emphasized Laurie Davies Adams, President and CEO, Pollinator Partnership, the parent organization of the NAPPC. “We need to support bees through better forage and nutrition, integrated pest management, and protect them from exposures to diseases and pesticides.”
Adams noted that the Pollinator Partnerships works with all stakeholders on the protection and promotion of pollinators through a range of initiatives. From Ecoregional Planting Guides on pollinator-friendly plants to the Mite-A-Thon challenge that collects data on varroa mite infestation in honeybee colonies in North America, the pollinator.org website has a variety of resources to promote the health of pollinators. The National Pollinator Week (22 to 28 June) is also another opportunity to raise awareness and promote actions towards protecting pollinators.
Jeff Pettis, President of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers Associations, reiterated that habitat destruction and pesticide use are the two major drivers of pollinator decline globally, affecting both managed and wild pollinators, referencing the 2016 IPBES Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production.
“Beekeepers are almost always dependent on other landowners, whether they be farmers or other forestry owners. Beekeepers communicating with the farmers - that's a good example of how you can reduce pesticide use or pesticide exposure,” said Pettis. He also recognized the important role of small-scale beekeepers who are using local and indigenous knowledge to manage species such as stingless bees.
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the availability of labor and materials required for beekeeping, noted Pettis. Restrictions between state lines may also affect the trucking of bees, especially if drivers have to quarantine, he added.
Apimonida is currently working with FAO on producing best practices for managing honeybees and other managed bees that will be available on FAO’s Platform Technologies and Practices for Small Agricultural Producers (TECA).
The dynamic session underlined how critical pollinators are to safeguarding our future of food while underscoring key factors contributing to their decline. Protecting pollinators will require scientists, policy-makers, the private sector and the public to work together to minimize the risks facing pollinators. While we still have a lot to learn about the diversity of bees and pollinators, such as flies, beetles and hummingbirds, promoting biodiversity is critical to safeguarding pollinators. The public can also play an important role in a variety of ways ranging from planting pollinator-friendly plants, to taking part in citizen science by monitoring bees through apps such as Bumble Bee Watch and Bees Count, buying local honey, and supporting policies that protect pollinators.
Watch the webinar Part 1 and Part 2.
Learn more about The Pollinators. Available digitally worldwide on June 16.
More resources
National Pollinator Week (June 22-28)
FAO's Global Action on Pollination Services for Sustainable Agriculture
TECA - Technologies and Practices for Small Agricultural Producers
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign