Save the bee. EU ban on bee-harming pesticides

Bees and other insects are vital for global food production. As much as three-quarters of our food crops depend on pollination and wild pollinators provide half of this pollination value. In the UK, and globally, bees are facing many threats. These include habitat loss, climate change, toxic pesticides and disease. Bees also pollinate around 80% of wildflowers in Europe, so they are essential to the entire ecosystem as birds, squirrels and all of the other animals that depend on plants for food. A historic decision has been made in the European Union to ban the use of neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used insecticides, in open fields after numerous studies showed a significant decline in bee populations. The decision prompted the reaction of some farming groups that claim they will bear negative consequences as crop yields could fall, while campaigners celebrated the decision as a beacon of hope for bees.

Only a few weeks before the news of the ban Gemma Cranston, Programme Director, Natural Capital Portfolio at Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) published an article advocating the need of a more strategic and long-term view in tackling the pollination deficit and improving supply chain resilience. To read the CISL report on the topic, follow the link: https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/publications/natural-resource-security-publications/the-pollination-deficit

To learn more about the new EU regulation: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/27/eu-agrees-total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides