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chapter five
5 What we can do to protect bees and other pollinators The threats to both wild and managed pollinators are real, significant and complex. Addressing all the threats in an integrated way will be an immense, yet fundamentally necessary, task. What seems clear is that taking steps to address one of the major sets of the current factors affecting pollinators, i.e. the impacts of chemical-intensive agriculture, will be crucial steps in the right direction. Any progress in transforming the current destructive chemical-intensive agricultural system into an ecological farming system will have many associated benefits on other dimensions of the environment and of human food security, besides the clear benefits to global pollinator health. Transforming the current system into one that fulfils both environmental protection ambitions and global food needs is a daunting task, and one that needs strong progressive steps towards a robust long-term vision. An important one of these steps is to work towards avoiding harm to pollinators by eliminating exposure to potentially bee-harming pesticides. In doing so, key components of natural and managed ecosystems will be protected both directly and indirectly. In the short to medium term there are specific issues that modern society can move to address with immediate effect that will benefit global pollinator health. The benefits could become evident almost immediately. Based on analysis of the current science on global pollinator health, Greenpeace believes that eliminating exposure to established bee-harming pesticides is a crucial step in safeguarding bees, both managed and wild, and the high ecological and fiscal value of natural pollination.
Some examples of scientifically based short to medium term actions to help reverse the decline of global pollinators fall into two basic groups: 1) avoid harm to pollinators (e.g. through eliminating exposure to potentially harmful substances); and 2) promote pollinator health (e.g. through changing other practices within agro-ecosystems).
Avoiding harm to pollinators by eliminating use and exposure to potentially bee-harming pesticides In the preceding chapters of this report we have summarised the current science pointing at significant risks associated with the use of some bee-harming pesticides. This science is clear and strong: the potential harm of these pesticides far exceeds any presumed benefits of increased agricultural productivity. In fact, any perceived beneficial trade-offs are likely to prove completely illusory. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed the potential risks of some of these pesticides (three neonicotinoids)5, while it is accepted that the economic benefits of pollinators are, in parallel, very significant. In addition, the expansion of integrated pest management (IPM) and organic agriculture, particularly in Europe6, demonstrates that farming without pesticides is entirely feasible, economically profitable, and environmentally safe (Davis et al, 2012). Even in Italy, where the use of some bee-harming pesticides was suspended for coated seeds a few years ago, farmers have not reported increases in pest problems after discontinuing use of these biocides. On the contrary, farmers reported no statistically significant decreases in yields as a result of quickly adopting and observing more judicious regulation of bee-harming pesticides (APENET, 2011). 5 “EFSA identifies risks to bees from neonicotinoids”. Press release dated 16 January 2013 http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/130116.htm 6 “Organic farming is a sector of European agriculture which has seen a constant growth in recent years.” http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/ home_en
Bees in Decline Greenpeace Research Laboratories Technical Report (Review) 01/2013 37