Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat

“Pollinators are important contributors to world food production and nutritional security,” said Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca, Ph.D., co-chair of the assessment and Senior Professor at the University of São Paulo. “Their health is directly linked to our own well-being.”

There are more than 20,000 species of wild bees alone, plus many species of butterflies, flies, moths, wasps, beetles, birds, bats and other animals that contribute to pollination. Pollinated crops include those that provide fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts and oils. Many of these are important dietary sources of vitamins and minerals, without which the risks of malnutrition might be expected to increase. Several crops also represent an important source of income in developing countries from, for example, the production of coffee and cocoa.

“Without pollinators, many of us would no longer be able to enjoy coffee, chocolate and apples, among many other foods that are part of our daily lives,” said Simon Potts, Ph.D., the other assessment co-chair and Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom. More than three-quarters of the world’s food crops rely at least in part on pollination by insects and other animals.

Chocolate, for example, is derived from cacao tree seed (annual world cocoa bean crop value, US$5.7 billion).  Cecidomyiid and ceratopogonid midges are essential for its pollination.

The volume of agricultural production dependent on animal pollination has increased by 300 per cent during the past 50 years, but pollinator-dependent crops show lower growth and stability in yield than crops that do not depend on pollinators.

Nearly 90 per cent of all wild flowering plants depend at least to some extent on animal pollination.

In addition to food crops, pollinators contribute to crops that provide biofuels (e.g. canola and palm oils), fibers (e.g cotton), medicines, forage for livestock, and construction materials. Some species also provide materials such as beeswax for candles and musical instruments, and arts and crafts.

Pollinators, especially bees, have also played a role throughout human history as inspirations for art, music, religion and technology.  Additionally, they improve quality of life, globally significant heritage sites and practices, symbols of identify, aesthetically significant landscapes. Sacred passages about bees occur in all major world religions.

“The good news is that a number of steps can be taken to reduce the risks to pollinators, including practices based on indigenous and local knowledge,” said Zakri Abdul Hamid, elected Founding Chair of IPBES at its first plenary meeting in 2012.

The safeguards include the promotion of sustainable agriculture, which helps to diversify the agricultural landscape and makes use of ecological processes as part of food production.

Specific options include:

• Maintaining or creating greater diversity of pollinator habitats in agricultural and urban landscapes;
• Supporting traditional practices that manage habitat patchiness, crop rotation, and coproduction between science and indigenous local knowledge;
• Education and exchange of knowledge among farmers, scientists, industry, communities, and the general public;
• Decreasing exposure of pollinators to pesticides by reducing their usage, seeking alternative forms of pest control, and adopting a range of specific application practices, including technologies to reduce pesticide drift; and
• Improving managed bee husbandry for pathogen control, coupled with better regulation of trade and use of commercial pollinators.

Additional findings:

• A high diversity of wild pollinators contributes to increased stability in pollination, even when managed bees are present in high numbers.
• Crop yields depend on both wild and managed species.
• The western honey bee is the most widespread managed pollinator in the world, producing an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of honey annually.
• The number of beehives has increased globally over the past 50 years, but a decrease in hives has occurred in many European and North American countries.
• Climate change has led to changes in the distribution of many pollinating bumblebees and butterflies and the plants that depend upon them.

The IPBES assessment has critically evaluated an enormous body of knowledge on pollinators, pollination and food production to ensure decision makers have access to the highest quality information. The assessment was compiled by a team of 77 experts from all over the world.  The assessment cites approximately 3,000 scientific papers and includes information about practices based on indigenous and local knowledge from more than 60 locations around the world.

The assessment underwent two rounds of peer review involving experts and governments.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  It was established in April 2012 as an independent intergovernmental body for assessing the state of the planet’s biodiversity, its ecosystems and the essential services they provide to society.  IPBES is open to all States Members of the United Nations and currently has 124 members.

IPBES assessments provide policymakers with scientifically credible and independent information with which to make informed decisions about how to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services.  The assessments also put forth methods to interpret the findings and reflect the complex relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem services and people. Although IPBES assessments lay out various policy options, they do not make policy recommendations.

IPBES assessments are conducted by leading experts who synthesize, review, assess and critically evaluate relevant information and knowledge generated worldwide by governments, academia, scientific organizations, non-governmental organizations and indigenous and local communities. IPBES experts, who belong to organizations, institutions and the private sector from around the world, volunteer their time.  They are selected based on nominations from governments and interested organizations. There are currently about 1,000 experts from all regions of the world contributing to the work of IPBES.

The work of IPBES is supported by a secretariat based in Bonn, Germany.  It operates under the auspices of four United Nations programmes / organizations:

• United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP);
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO);
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).