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1759 Pollinators and Pesticides
6 JUNE 2013 Pollinators and Pesticides 1760
that we need, in order to ensure that our pollinators are
healthier in the future and our ecosystem revives as a
result.
4.11 pm
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab): The debate
about pollinators and pesticides tends to be seen as a
debate about bees and the decline of our bee population,
but, in fact, more than 250 pollinating insects are threatened
with extinction, including more than 50% of all wild
bee species. A third of European butterfly species are in
decline, with about 10% at risk of extinction. Over the
last 70 years two species of bumble bee have become
extinct in the United Kingdom, and six of the remaining
24 are listed as endangered.
I was recently told by a constituent who is a county
moth recorder for Gloucestershire that, according to
“The State of Britain’s Larger Moths 2013”, produced
by Butterfly Conservation and Rothamsted Research,
Britain’s moth population has declined seriously in the
last 40 years, and more than 60 species have become
extinct since 1900.
There are about 400,000 species of flowering plants.
While some rely on wind to move pollen and a much
smaller number rely on water, the vast majority—about
90%—depend on animals and insects to transfer pollen
between flowers. The considerable decline in pollinators
to which some of my hon. Friends have referred today
poses several risks, but in particular it poses a risk to
our food supply. Bees are thought to be responsible for
the pollination of about a third of the food eaten by the
world’s population. Twenty per cent. of the UK’s cropped
area is made up of pollinator-dependent crops, which
include most fruit and vegetables.
I must confess that, as became clear when I met
representatives of Friends of the Earth to discuss their
campaign, I tended to think of bees as flower pollinators,
and had not really thought about the food chain. However,
almost all blueberries, grapefruits, avocados, cherries,
apples, pears, plums, squashes, cucumbers, strawberries,
raspberries, blackberries and macadamia nuts, along
with many other products—I think that cabbages were
mentioned—depend on the foraging activities of bees.
Moreover, pollination is responsible not just for the
quantity of food but for its quality, in terms of both
taste and nutrients. Watermelons that are visited more
frequently by pollinators tend to have darker fruit with
a richer flavour. It is estimated that without bees, the
availability of vitamin C could drop by 20%.
The decline in pollinators also poses an economic
risk. Their value to the UK Government is conservatively
estimated to be £430 million per annum. Unless we halt
the decline in British bees and other pollinators, our
farmers might have to rely on hand pollination, which
could cost farmers £1.8 billion a year in labour and
pollen alone. That is increasingly happening in China,
causing food prices to rise.
There is also a risk to the environment. Pollinators
are important for the quality of our gardens, parks and
countryside. Their decline gives us a worrying early
warning indication about the health of our environment.
Tony Juniper says in his book, “What has nature ever
done for us?”:
“While governments would not consider neglecting our spending
on power networks and transport infrastructure, the ‘green
infrastructure’ was taken for granted.”
He goes on to say:
“We clearly possess the means to keep the world’s pollinator
populations strong and robust, if we want to. All we have to do is
invest in the many practical and often simple steps that will take
us in that direction.”
What are the remedies? I have received hundreds of
e-mails from constituents, many of whom are gardeners,
witnessing the decline of the bee population. They are
also helping to create bee-friendly gardens and habitats
to help bees to thrive. Unlike some rural areas, which
can be a monoculture in terms of pollination potential,
Bristol’s parks, gardens and even buildings are being
used as rich sources for flowering plants. Cities have
great potential as places for restoring habitats for bees.
The Welsh Assembly is leading the way in taking
action. It is currently consulting on its draft “Action
Plan for Pollinators for Wales”, published in April. I
have been urging the Bristol council member responsible
for the environment, communities and equalities to
adopt a pollinator action plan for Bristol along the
same lines, given the importance of this for the Bristol
area. A range of decisions taken by the current mayoral
cabinet, from planning issues to management of public
spaces, could have an impact on bee numbers. Indeed,
local authorities could take proactive action to protect
and create habitats for bees and other pollinators.
Bristol is an ideal city to take the lead in reversing bee
decline. We have been shortlisted alongside Brussels,
Glasgow and Ljubljana to become European green
capital for 2015, and we will find out next week whether
we have won. We have a well-deserved reputation as the
most sustainable city in the UK, with organisations
including the Soil Association and the Environment
Agency based in the city, and with our growing number
of innovative green businesses and community-led initiatives.
We were one of the first cities to set up a food policy
council, which is driving sustainable food policies for
the city, including by increasing the amount of land
available for allotments, and Feed Bristol is running its
“get growing” garden trail this weekend; the public can
visit 27 sites and be inspired to get growing.
I am delighted that a project to plant flower meadows
across the city has won the mayor’s genius award for its
efforts to transform the urban environment for pollinating
insects. This urban pollinators project, led by the university
of Bristol and working in partnership with the city
council’s “meadow Bristol” project, is planting flower
meadows in Bristol’s public parks and at schools, turning
them into a haven for pollinating insects, as well as a
beautiful display that everyone can enjoy. On 17 June in
Bristol there will be a seminar called “bees, blooms and
Bristol”, at which Professor Jane Memmott of the
university of Bristol and others will be talking about
how we can make Bristol even more pollinator-friendly.
I hope that when the Government issue their planning
practice guidance on biodiversity, which is expected
soon, they will work with councils and the Welsh Assembly,
giving them the guidance and impetus they need to
protect and restore bee-friendly habitats.
Finally, I want to turn to the issue of pesticides. It
was remiss of me not to congratulate at the beginning
of my speech the Environmental Audit Committee
on its work. Scientists have stated conclusively that
neonicotinoid pesticides pose unacceptable levels of
risk to honey bees. I hope the Government will adopt
the Committee’s recommendation that they should rewrite