1 Introduction
1. The recent decline in pollinator numbers across
the UK has caused widespread concern. Potential contributing factors
include climate change, habitat loss, parasites and use of pesticides,
particularly neonicotinoids—the focus of our April 2013
report on Pollinators and Pesticides.[1]
In that report we noted that there was insufficient data to produce
an accurate view of the extent of declining populations of particular
pollinators, something which was not helped by a failure of pesticide
manufacturers to publish data from field trials undertaken to
secure regulatory approval. We recommended that, in accordance
with the precautionary principle, the Government immediately ban
the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides—clothianidin,
imidacloprid and thiametoxam—which had been risk-assessed
by the European Food Safety Authority. The Government rejected
our recommendation, arguing that available studies did not produce
"unequivocal evidence that … serious implications for
colonies are likely to arise from current uses of neonicotinoids".[2]
The European Food Safety Authority's risk assessment of the three
neonicotinoids resulted in the European Commission banning their
use on crops attractive to bees. The ban came into effect in December
2013 and is due to be reviewed in 2015.
2. At the time of our earlier inquiry negotiations
were underway within the European Commission on the 'greening'
aspects of the CAP scheme for 2014-20. We looked to those negotiations
to produce measures which "offer meaningful pollinator support
within the [CAP] environmental schemes".[3]
3. In their September 2013 response to our report,
the Government announced that it would convene a group of experts
to assess available evidence on pollinator declines. That review
would
form the basis of a National Pollinator Strategy,
which will bring together existing initiatives and to provide
an umbrella for new action. It will provide every opportunity
for those with an interest to contribute to the discussion and
to commit to bringing their efforts and talents to the ongoing
work.[4]
The draft National Pollinator Strategy was
published for public consultation in March 2014.[5]
It sets out its broad aims:
… to safeguard pollinators and their essential
pollination role, reflecting their importance and the many pressures
they face. Our vision is to make sure that they thrive and continue
their important role in food production and in our environment
... Through the proposed Strategy, the Government's aim is to
lead and set a new direction for pollinators, building on many
current initiatives and drawing on the skills, experience and
enthusiasm of all interested parties.
The Strategy identifies "a complex evidence
picture" of the occurrence and distribution of pollinators,
with limited data on long-term trends and "patchy [evidence]
on the precise impacts of known pressures (e.g. intensive land
use, use of pesticides and pest and disease risks) on pollinators
and the way that they interact".[6]
Accordingly, a key feature of the draft Strategy is a programme
of research to address the "important gaps in our understanding".[7]
The draft Strategy also sets out 18 proposed "priority
policy actions" to support pollinators, to be pursued in
tandem with the evidence-gathering.[8]
4. In June 2014 the Government has announced the
types of schemes which will qualify for 'greening' CAP payments
(paragraph 29) and further research on neonicotinoids has been
undertaken (paragraph 6). The significance of pollinator declines
has also been noted elsewhere. In June 2014, President Obama authorised
the creation of a Pollinator Health Task Force to produce a National
Pollinator Health Strategy for the United States, an initiative
that has been widely praised for showing the strong inter-departmental
approach that might be also be beneficial for the UK.[9]
The US Environmental Protection Agency is also reviewing all pesticide
registrations—a process which will include new data requirements
and amended risk assessment approaches—and has introduced
a requirement for labels on pesticide packaging to contain the
instruction "Do not apply this product while bees are foraging"
to help reduce pollinators' exposure to pesticides.[10]
Our inquiry
5. Pollinators play an essential role in both agriculture
and the protection of our biodiversity.[11]
The success of the National Pollinator Strategy is therefore
vitally important. We undertook this inquiry to examine the draft
Strategy, focusing on its two central themes: the research needed
to be able to protect our pollinators effectively (Part 2) and
the actions that should be pursued in the meantime to help safeguard
pollinators (Part 3). Our aim is to feed into Defra's finalisation
of the document to be published in the autumn. We took evidence
from Defra's Chief Scientist Professor Ian Boyd, Professor Dave
Goulson of the University of Sussex, Buglife, Bayer CropScience
and the National Farmers' Union, all of whom gave evidence in
our 2013 inquiry, as well as from Friends of the Earth and the
National Federation of the Women's Institutes.
1 Environmental Audit Committee, Seventh Report of
Session 2012-13, Pollinators and Pesticides, HC 668-I Back
2
Ibid, para 46 Back
3
Ibid, para 91 Back
4
Environmental Audit Committee, Second Special Report: of Session
2013-14, Pollinators and Pesticides: Government response to the Committee's Seventh Report of Session 2012-13,
HC 631, paras 6-7 Back
5
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, A consultation on the National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England
(March 2014), Executive Summary, paras 3-4 Back
6
A consultation on the National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England,
op cit, Executive Summary, para 7 Back
7
Ibid, para 9 Back
8
Ibid, para 10 Back
9
Presidential Memorandum-Creating a Federal Strategy to promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators,
White House press release, 20 June 2014 Back
10
Environmental Protection Agency, 'EPA Actions to Protect Pollinators',
accessed 02 July 2014 Back
11
Pollinators and Pesticides, op cit, paras 92-95 Back
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