They fly, they, crawl, they sting, they buzz. Some consider them beautiful, but most often humans think they are annoying, disgusting or don’t even care at all about them. This seems rather unfair, considering they generate over $150 billion in value every year, without getting paid in return, while they struggle and increasingly face extinction.
Have
you guessed what we are talking about?
Right,
pollinators, better known as beetles, birds, butterflies, bats, flies, rodents and
most importantly bees. By playing a big role in pollinating fruits, vegetables
and seed crops, these animals and insects are said to be responsible for around
10% of the total value of the human food production worldwide, besides also
contributing to the production of drugs, fibers (e.g. cotton and linen),
biofuels and building materials. However, even though the cultivation of plants
which partly rely on animal-pollination and out of which we make these products
has increased, pollinators –especially the honeybee– are in decline.
This
is due to several factors which mostly developed because of the utterly
ruthless behavior, ideas and inventions of humans. Because of us, they are currently facing many threats such as loss of habitat through urbanization and agriculture.
The pursuit of monoculture furthermore leads to food and nesting site shortages
and the improper use of pesticides. Pollution and climate change are also
contributing to their decline. In addition, pollinators such as the honeybee
are endangered by foreign invasive species (e.g. the Asiatic hornet) and
diseases caused by parasites. In countries where there is an increase in cultivation of
partly pollinator-dependent plants and agricultural land while the diversity of flora stagnates or even is declining, are especially struggling with pollinator mortality, particularly among bees.
Even
though honeybees are not the only pollinators, and wind and water also can
contribute to pollination, they are by far the most important workers of them
all. For Instance in China, a country which is known for its heavy use of
pesticides, a significant reduction in bee populations has been recorded. In
order to prevent the country from losing crops worth billions of dollars,
plants such as pears and apples are now artificially pollinated by manpower,
which highlights the importance of what honeybees are doing. However this isn’t a
long-term solution and couldn’t be applied worldwide, not only money-wise but
also in terms of working hours. Therefore the extinction of these little
creatures has to be stopped at any cost, if we don’t want to face tremendous
problems all around the globe.
Besides our ecological system slowly collapsing, we would first of all have to cope with
the economic impacts. Even though some insects and
animals still would be left, as well as wind and water would still continue to pollinate
plants, this couldn’t compensate the work of the most effective pollinator.
Without the honeybee the crop yield of many kinds of fruits and vegetables
would significantly decline. Foods particularly dependent on bee pollination
such as berries, chocolate, apples, pears, pumpkin, avocado, onions, cucumber
and cabbage, would become scarce, leading to massive price rises and in the long-term possibly to their disappearance. In
addition, animal-pollination plays an important role in the nutritional
composition of crops, hence not only the quantity but also the quality of these
foods would decrease, triggering “an imbalance in diets and a depletion of
natural resources, as well as an impoverishment of populations” according to the United Nations. Furthermore, in addition to the fruit and vegetable industry many others would be concerned, including the dairy industry, the nut industry, the floral industry, the textile industry and the pharmaceutical
industry among others.
The beekeeping industry would tremendously gain in value and developed
countries would be able to mitigate some of the problems caused by a nosedive
in pollinator populations by increasing the number of captive honeybee
colonies. On a global scale however, the loss of wild pollinators would still
be too drastic and such efforts are highly unlikely to significantly mitigate
the damage and harm before conflicts and probably even wars erupt over all the
resources which are getting scarce leading to worldwide chaos.
Regarding these horrifying consequences, it is of utmost importance to stop the destruction of these little creatures and to change our agricultural system towards a system in favor of pollinators. In other words, going back to permaculture and biodiversity, stopping the use of pesticides, decreasing pollution and creating an environment which fosters pollinator populations worldwide.
So, the next time you stumble across pollinators, show them some
love, spread the word and raise awareness about the crucial role they play in
our lives and our economy.
Charlotte Pfaender
BeeSpotter. The Economic Importance of Bee$. Website: https://beespotter.org/topics/economics/
Europäisches Parlament. 2019. Immer weniger Bienen, immer weniger Bestäuber: Was steckt dahinter?. Website: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/headlines/society/20191129STO67758/immer-weniger-bienen-immer-weniger-bestauber-was-steckt-dahinter
Neue Presse. 2019. Die Welt wird immer abhängiger von Bienen. Website: https://www.neuepresse.de/Nachrichten/Wissen/Die-Welt-wird-immer-abhaengiger-von-Bienen
Bee Culture - The Magazin or American Beekeeping. Ross Conrad. 2018. A WORLD WITHOUT POLLINATRS. Website: https://www.beeculture.com/a-world-without-pollinators/
eurofresh Distribution. 2018. Human pollinators do bee's work in rural China. Website: https://www.eurofresh-distribution.com/news/human-pollinators-do-bees%E2%80%99-work-rural-china
The United Nations. Why do we need pollinators?. Website: https://www.un.org/en/observances/bee-day/background
Hello Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your article. I think it is opportune since everyone needs to be better educated about this and become aware of the necessity not to save only animals from other parts of the worlds (such as koalas or orangutans). However, the reason why this phenomenon can’t be curbed, just like other environmental-related issues, stems from our whole way of life and production model which can’t be changed neither unilaterally, nor from one day to the next. Don’t get me wrong, I completely agree with your remarks, but there is also the problem of famine, which is already too high and could get worse by affecting new countries if intensive farming was to be stopped without an equivalent solution.
I also have a question, do you know if any legislation has been passed to protect pollinators ? I am especially thinking of countries such as Slovenia which uses a lot of honey for dishes or therapies, and whose exports heavily rely on this product too.
Thank you,
Ludivine D.
Dear Ludivine,
ReplyDeletethanks a lot for your comment. I'm glad to hear my article was to your liking.
I agree that our production model can't be changed from one day to the next, however I'm certain that it could be changed if the states would really see the necessity to do so. Of course, it would have some negative effects, particularly on the owners of huge monoculture farms, but apart from that going away from intensive farming towards for instance permaculture could also create new job opportunities. Furthermore, I disagree with your remark regarding famine and intensive farming. The latter is one of the main contributors to climate change, which already has led to an increase in temperature and more drought. Consequently, especially farmers in developping countries are more and more struggeling due to a lack of rain. Moreover, nowadays farmers in developping countries have to compete with cheap, subsidised surplus products from intensive farming, which prevents them from growing their own business.
These are only some arguments why intensive farming has to be stopped and I assure you none of the arguments in favor of monoculture have to do with famine. Famine is rather the result of a lack in economic development than because of a lack in intensive farming. I recommend you reading some articles about how intensive farming is influencing our world and to watch the documentary "Kiss the ground" on Netflix.
Regarding your question about the protection of pollinators, over the course of the last years particularly the slovenian government has adopted a number of policies and regulations to protect bees. Therefore Slovenia has a leading role regarding this topic and is functionning as model for other countries.
Let me know if you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them.
Charlotte P.