Changes in land use, the type of crops grown, alien species, and climate change have all had an impact on the numbers of bees and pollinators.
Back in June, Lord de Mauley (below) spoke about bee health at the Friends of the Earth conference and announced that the government will be launching a National Pollinators Strategy which will, according Lord de Mauley “bring together all the pollinator-friendly initiatives already underway and provide an umbrella for new action.”
There are great concerns across Europe about the collapse of the bee population. It has been announced that the European commission wants to ban pesticides linked to bee deaths but the UK has opposed the move, saying that science is inconclusive. Although pesticides are one of the major issues and should not be ignored, other things can be done to help save bees. Many charities have been looking into what can be done to help bees and other pollinating insects. The work that charities, businesses and research institutions will do will form the basis of the ‘national pollinator strategy’.
Lord de Mauley Minister of DEFRA said at the conference that “We must develop a better understanding of the factors that can harm these insects and the changes that government, other organisations and individuals can make to help…
“Pollinators play a vital role in the security of our food supply and the quality of our food supply and the quality of our natural environment.”
In the winter of 2009/10 Britain lost a third of its bee colonies. Executive director of Friends of the Earth Andy Atkins said that there needs to be a plan of action in place before bees emerge from hibernation next winter and that measurable targets for reversing the loss of bees and other pollinators need to be put in place.
Researchers at University of Reading who were commissioned by Friends of the Earth’s Bee campaign have showed that dozens of Bee species are in danger, if there is a continuing decline in bees in gardens, farms and orchards it will be hugely damaging as it will effect economy, retailer and food security. There are currently 40,000 beekeepers in the UK who maintain over 200,000 colonies, 300 of these are commercial beekeepers who manage around 40,000 colonies.
Lord de Mauley said at the conference that: “We actively promote beneficial environmental management of the countryside by farmers, including management that helps pollinators. Under Environmental Stewardship, we promote, and pay for, the sowing of nectar flower mixes, which can provide a large quantity of nectar from a small area of farmland, and mimic some of the nectar-bearing crops that were once a feature of more traditional agricultural systems.”
If the 250 species of bees in Britain die out, which is a real possibility, and then farmers, crop growers and producers may have to resort of pollinating crop themselves as they do in China. This would cost at least £1.8 billion, which would mean that the price of food would rise to accommodate this.
Friends of the Earth have reported that Bees in the UK are declining at an alarming rate; two bumblebee species have become extinct, managed honey bee colonies have fallen by 53 per cent between 1985 and 2005, Wild honey bees are nearly extinct in many parts of the UK and Solitary bees have declined in over half (52 per cent) of the areas studied.
Keep an eye out for information on what you can do to help the bees out yourself on our website.
Elizabeth Cracknell
Images sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/9wlevb7 and http://tinyurl.com/o3y5636