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[FAO]





[FSN Forum]





DISCUSSION No. 131   •   FSN Forum digest No. 1255





How can we protect pollinators and promote their role in environmental and agricultural practices?



until 9 September 2016











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Dear Members,

Please find below the summaries of the latest comments to the online discussion How can we protect pollinators and promote their role in environmental and agricultural practices?<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/pollination>

We would also like to share with you a feedback note from James Edge, facilitator of the discussion, in which he reflects on several themes raised in the contributions received so far.

Over the last days, you have posted very interesting comments on already existing initiatives that promote pollinators and ideas on how to promote pollination in general. Please note that a summary of your contributions will be widely disseminated in order to raise awareness and to stimulate further exchanges.

For a full overview of the discussion, please visit the discussion webpage<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/pollination>.

We look forward to keep receiving your comments, which are welcome in English<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/activities/discussions/pollination>, French<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/fr/activities/discussions/pollination> or Spanish<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/es/activities/discussions/pollination>.

Your FSN Forum team











James Edge, facilitator of the discussion



Thank you all for the very interesting responses so far. It seems that issues affecting pollinators is reasonably well understood – although more research is still needed on the precise interactions between human activities and pollinators.



[James Edge]



Access to information and awareness-raising is a common theme. Although some countries have a lot of information available to the public and country pollinator strategies (such as the UK<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pollinator-strategy-for-bees-and-other-pollinators-in-england>), many countries do not. More accessible information needs to be made available to the public on how they can help pollinators at a local level. Training should also be given to agricultural workers – and included in extension services and college course curriculum.

In terms of agriculture, many suggestions were made to create habitats, buffer zones, field margins and so on for pollinator species. This in addition to planting flowering plants suitable for the local populations of insects. Mithare Prasad<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7357> from India provides a succinct summary of solutions, in particular in relation to honey bees.

Urban planning is also an area of concern – where green areas and landscaping need to be pollinator friendly. Urban agriculture<http://www.fao.org/urban-agriculture/en/?utm_campaign=faostatistics&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social%20media> is practiced by 800 million people worldwide – so is not an insignificant area that needs to be proactive.

The need for policies that promote pollinator friendly agriculture and practices was also highlighted by several respondents. Lal Manavado<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7361> from Norway provides a nice summary of the issues and suggests that it is possible to create a common strategy that can be adapted to local conditions.

We look forward to reading more of your comments in the coming few days.













CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED



[icon]Dr Amanullah, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan



Dr Amanullah mentions the example of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Afghanistan, where peach plants have led to the introduction of new pathogens and insects to the local environment. This has in turn caused a high level of pesticide use; consequently, the honey bee, formerly the dominant insect in the area, has become extinct there.

Read the contribution <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7363>







[icon]Sumanth Chinthala, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India



Sumanth shares the link to the story of Josephine Selvaraj, the founder of the Vibis Natural Bee Farm in Madurai, India, who has been empowering unemployed women by providing them with beekeeping training.

Read the contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7364>







[icon]Devinder Sadana, ICAR, India



Devinder emphasizes the role common people can play in protecting pollinators. He argues that there is a need for a short note on the pollinator decline and the importance of pollination, and on how common people can raise awareness on these topics.

Read the contribution <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7365>







[icon]Noemi Stadler Kaulich, Predio Experimental de la Agroforestería MOLLESNEJTA, Bolivia



Noemi argues that agroforestry protects pollinators, and shares the example of the MOLLESNEJTA Andean Agroforestry farm in Bolivia. On this farm, cherimoya trees are pollinated by wild insects, while in other areas pollination must be done by hand. Noemi also shares a document that includes various examples of agroforestry production systems in the Cochabamba area of Bolivia.

Read the contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7366>







[icon]Eileen Omosa, We Grow Ideas, Canada



Eileen shares experiences from Kenya and Canada. She points out that in rural Kenya, advertising of farming chemicals still overwhelms messages on the need to protect pollinators through ecological farming.  Eileen stresses that protecting pollinators should be put forward as a solution to the challenges rural people are facing. In urban Canada on the other hand, several initiatives have already been undertaken: local authorities have encouraged people to grow green lawns and to avoid the use of pesticides by, inter alia, providing guidelines to ‘go green’, and a policy has been formulated to promote urban gardening.

Read the contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7369>







[icon]Alemayehu Bayeta, Holeta Bee Research Centre, Ethiopia



In his first contribution, Alemayehu argues that because of a lack of attention for the importance of pollinators for food security, pesticide applications have led to a massive pollinator decline in countries like Ethiopia. Governments should provide support in reducing the use of agrochemicals and people need to be trained in pollinator-friendly agricultural practices.

Read the contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7370>



In his second contribution, Alemayehu posts the link to an article on insecticide use in South Carolina, which killed many bees.

Read the contribution<http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7371>







[icon]Priyanka Sanchania, Freelance, India



Priyanka argues that honey production can be increased once honey can be marketed and distributed on a large scale. She also stresses the need for awareness-raising efforts on the health benefits of honey and proposes to introduce honey with different flavours, which can stimulate consumer demand and eventually lead to an increase in beekeeping farms.

Read the contribution <http://www.fao.org/fsnforum/comment/7372>











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