[The report states that the contribution of controversial chemicals known as neonicotinoids “is currently unresolved.” Recent research suggests that even when the pesticides are present at levels that do not have lethal effects on individual insects, concentrations in the hive may have long-term effects on colonies of wild and managed bees.]
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Beekeepers using a smoker to calm
colonies before transferring them to another
crop near percent of global crop production volume with a value of as much as $577 billion a year. Credit Adrees Latif/Reuters |
The birds and the bees need help. Also, the butterflies,
moths, wasps, beetles and bats. Without an international effort, a new report
warns, increasing numbers of species that promote the growth of hundreds of
billions of dollars’ worth of food each year face extinction.
The first global assessment of
the threats to creatures that pollinate the world’s plants was released by a
group affiliated with the United Nations on Friday in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia
Pollinators, including some 20,000 species of wild bees,
contribute to the growth of fruit, vegetables and many nuts, as well as
flowering plants. Plants that depend on pollination make up 35 percent of
global crop production volume with a value of as much as $577 billion a year.
The agricultural system, for which pollinators play a key role, creates
millions of jobs worldwide.
Many
pollinator species are threatened with extinction, including some 16 percent of
vertebrates like birds and bats, according to the document. Hummingbirds and
some 2,000 avian species that feed on nectar spread pollen as they move from
flower to flower. Extinction risk for insects is not as well defined, the
report notes, but it warned of “high levels of threat” for some bees and
butterflies, with at least 9 percent of bee and butterfly species at risk.
The
causes of the pressure on these creatures intertwine: aggressive agricultural
practices that grow crops on every available acre eliminate
patches of wildflowers and cover crops that provide food for pollinators.
Farming also exposes the creatures to pesticides, and bees are under attack
from parasites and pathogens, as well.
Climate
change has an effect,
as well, especially in the case of bumblebees in North America and Europe , said Sir
Robert Watson, vice chairman of the group and director of strategic
development at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia
A warming world changes the territories of plants and
pollinators, and changes the plants’ time of flowering, as well, leading to a
troubling question, posed by Dr. Watson: “Will the pollinators be there when
the flowers need them?”
The group issuing the report,
the Intergovernmental
Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, is
made up of 124 countries, including the United States
The group did not conduct new research, but synthesized current
studies and analysis to reach its conclusions.
The assessment, developed with the help of 80 experts, does not
take a conclusive position on two issues that environmental activists have
focused on intensely.
The report states that the
contribution of controversial chemicals known as neonicotinoids “is currently
unresolved.” Recent research suggests that even when the pesticides are present
at levels that do not have lethal effects on individual insects, concentrations
in the hive may have long-term effects on colonies of wild and managed bees.
The passionate opposition to these pesticides from many
environmental activists, however, “has almost hijacked the whole question of
what’s causing the declines,” said Simon Potts, a co-chairman of the assessment
and deputy director of the Centre for Agri-Environmental Research at Reading University
The report also notes that the
effects on pollinators of genetically modified organisms, including crops that
are resistant to insects or tolerant of insecticides, is not settled. “That’s a
very clear knowledge gap,” Dr. Potts said. “We’re brutally honest with the
science.”
A scientist at Bayer, a producer of neonicotinoids, applauded the report.
Dr. Christian Maus, global pollinator safety manager for the company and one of
the experts who contributed to the report, said that it confirmed “the
overwhelming majority of the scientific opinion” on pollinator health — “that
this is a complex issue affected by many factors.”
The report also notes that the
effects on pollinators of genetically modified organisms, including crops that
are resistant to insects or tolerant of insecticides, is not settled. “That’s a
very clear knowledge gap,” Dr. Potts said. “We’re brutally honest with the
science.”
The assessment is not structured to support advocacy, but to
give governments, policy makers and organizations a sense of the current state
of science and the options to address problems, the authors said.
“The messages here are clear,”
Dr. Watson said. “If you want to protect pollinators, this is the suite of
options you should consider — or, could consider.”
