BEES ARE VANISHING -
IT AFFECTS AGRICULTURE
Many species of wild bees, butterflies and other insects that
pollinate plants are shrinking toward extinction, and the world needs to do
something about it before our food supply suffers, a new United Nations
scientific mega-report warns.The 20,000 or so species of pollinators are key to
growing fruits, vegetables and cash crops. Yet two out of five species of
invertebrate pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are on the path toward
extinction, said the first-of-its-kind report. Pollinators with backbones, such
as hummingbirds and bats, are only slightly better off, with 1 in 6 species
facing extinction.“We are in a period of decline and there are going to be
increasing consequences,” said report lead author Simon Potts, director of the
Centre for Agri-Environmental Research at the University of Reading in England.
The trouble is the report can’t point to a single villain. Among
the culprits — the way farming has changed so there’s not enough diversity and
wild flowers for pollinators to use as food; pesticide use, habitat loss to
cities; disease, parasites and pathogens; and global warming.The report is the
result of more than two years of work by scientists across the globe who got
together under several different U.N. agencies to come up with an assessment of
Earth’s biodiversity, starting with the pollinators.“The variety and
multiplicity of threats to pollinators and pollination generate risks to people
and livelihoods,” the report stated.“These risks are largely driven by changes
in land cover and agricultural management systems, including pesticide use.”Dennis
vanEngelsdorp, a University of Maryland bee expert, said, “Everything falls
apart if you take pollinators out of the game. If we want to say we can feed
the world in 2050, pollinators are going to be part of that.”
Prof. John Kurakar
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