Decline in pollinator populations
22.7.2020
Question for written answer E-004354/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Aurelia Beigneux (ID)
In its Special Report on the protection of wild pollinators in the European Union [1] , the European Court of Auditors considers that the Commission’s initiatives have not borne fruit
The number of pollinators has fallen heavily in recent decades, bringing with it a loss of species diversity. The World Economic Forum ranked biodiversity loss as one of the top five long-term global risks in 2020 [2] . Ultimately, all French and European ecosystems will suffer as a result of this biodiversity loss.
A report published in 2019 assessing the situation of insects worldwide [3] confirmed that the number of insects in general appeared to be registering a downward trend. It is said that over 40 % of insect species are threatened with extinction. Butterflies and bees are among the species most affected. It is worth remembering that 35 % of our food resources depend on insects and 80 % on bees. They are, therefore, an essential link in our food chain.
- 1.What does the Commission plan to do, following publication of the European Court of Auditors’ Special Report, to improve protection of wild pollinators?
- 2.What timetable does the Commission suggest for action on these many problems?
- [1] Special Report 15/2020: Protection of wild pollinators in the EU – Commission initiatives have not borne fruit
- [2] World Economic Forum, ‘The Global Risks Report 2020’, 15th Edition, 15 January 2020.
- [3] Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, Kris A.G. Wyckhuys, ‘Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers’, January 2019.