Status: 01/24/2023 5:19 p.m
They are an essential part of ecosystems: the EU Commission has now presented a strategy for greater protection of pollinators. This also includes reducing the use of pesticides.
According to the European Commission, the EU must improve the protection of bees, butterflies and the like from toxic pesticides. Because insects, as pollinators of plants, are central to long-term food security, targeted measures are needed to save them, said EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius.
Bee populations are declining
The authority has now presented additional measures for this, among other things because of repeated demands from citizens. EU states and the European Parliament still have to approve the project.
According to scientific studies, the population of around a third of all bee, butterfly and hoverfly species is declining sharply, emphasized Sinkevicius. “This decline is really worrying.” In addition, every tenth bee and butterfly species is threatened with extinction. In the case of hoverflies, according to the information, it is even one in three.
Reduced use of pesticides
A robust monitoring system is needed to better understand and assess the decline in species. This is part of the proposed measures. Reducing the use of pesticides is also crucial for the rescue, because these are particularly harmful to the insects, it said.
With the EU strategy, the Commission has already committed to reducing its use by around half by 2030. In addition, the authority wants, among other things, to restore habitats in cities and combat the effects of the climate crisis on pollinators. According to the Commission, these measures must be taken by the EU and the Member States in order to reverse the decline by 2030.
With around 80 percent of cultivated and wild plants relying on animal pollination, the loss of pollinators is one of the greatest threats to nature, human well-being and food security, the Commission explained.