The collapse in bee populations can be reversed if countries adopt a new farmer-friendly strategy, the architect of a new masterplan for pollinators will tell the UN biodiversity conference this week.
More than 80% of food crops require pollination but the populations of insects that do most of this work have collapsed.
Numbers are not available in most countries, but almost all report an alarming decline.
Earlier this year, Brazil, one of the world’s biggest food exporters, went backwards when pro-agribusiness congressmen voted to lift restrictions on pesticides forbidden in other countries.
By contrast, the EU banned the world’s most widely used insecticides – known as neonicotinoids and many European countries are planting wildflowers to attract insects.
When she first suggested a focus on pollinators at the world agricultural conference in 2010, the delegates laughed at her.
“Countries are saying that we are using too many pesticides and the number of birds and bees is going down. »