The UN Biodiversity Panel has issued a warning due to the decline in bee population and other pollinators such as butterflies.
According to reports, the population of bees, butterflies and other species are very important to maintain balance in agricultural pollination. And any decline in their numbers poses a risk to major crops.
"Many wild bees and butterflies have been declining in abundance, occurrence and diversity at local and regional scales in Northwest Europe and North America," said the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The decline is felt worldwide, thus, the result is more alarming. It includes habitat loss, pesticides, pollution, invasive species, pathogens and climate change.
The bees and butterflies are important pollinators, they will ensure that fruits and vegetable output are consistent and it has to be maintained for the next generations to come. Many food crops highly rely on animal pollination.
Data shows that "animal pollination is directly responsible for between 5-8% of global agricultural production by volume, amounting to between $235bn (£167bn) and $577bn worth of annual output".
Greenpeace has also raised an alarm on bee population decline. They cited some practices which might have caused this problem. By using bee-killing pesticides, people are not just endangering the number of bees but they are also putting crop production at risk. "Bee-killing pesticides, in particular, pose the most direct risk to pollinators. The main reasons for global bee decline are linked to industrial agriculture, parasites/pathogens and climate change. The loss of biodiversity due to monocultures and the wide-spread use of bee-killing pesticides are particular threats for honeybees and wild pollinators", Greenpeace said.
But it is never too late to change the way this course turns out. Greenpeace suggests that farmers around the globe should learn to use Ecological Farming to save pollinators. In turn, they can save the bees and also save the pollination process and the crop production as well. "Ecological farming ensures healthy farming and healthy food for today and tomorrow by protecting soil, water and climate, and promotes biodiversity. It does not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs like synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers nor genetically engineered organisms."
