
A global roadmap is now being launched with measures that will promote the species richness of insects and pollinators in both the short and long term. About 70 researchers are behind the roadmap, which is a response to the fact that the biological diversity and in particular the species richness of valuable insects is threatened. To reverse the trend, we need to phase out chemical pesticides and fertilizers from agriculture, among other things.
Biodiversity and especially the richness of species of important insights are seriously threatened due to climate change, lost habitats, invasive species, pollution and intensive agriculture. A growing number of scientific studies point in the same direction. The total amount of insects has decreased by an average of 2,5 percent per year over the past 25 to 30 years and one of the main reasons is intensive agriculture, according to a research study published in the journal Biological Conservation in February last year.
IPBES, the UN's scientific expert panel on biodiversity, also believes that the situation for the earth's ecosystem and biodiversity is serious. IPBES report published almost a year ago shows that up to one million species are at risk of extinction. Biodiversity is also heavily crowded in Sweden. Figures from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency show that only 20 percent of our habitat types and 40 percent of our species are well. Furthermore, the authority believes that pollination and other ecosystem services that are crucial for our food production are threatened.
Due to this development, about 70 researchers are now launching one global roadmap with measures that in both the short and long term will promote the species richness of insects and pollinators. Some of the key measures are;
- Sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
- Phase out chemical pesticides and reduce the use of fertilizers
- Promote ecological methods
- Efforts to promote varied agricultural landscapes
- Reduce light, water and sound pollution
- Investment in research on the driving forces that threaten insects
- Develop a global monitoring program for important species
In the roadmap, the researchers write that:
“The implementation of this roadmap will be accompanied by research examining the effectiveness of the various measures. In this way, we can learn during the work and ensure that the measures really contribute to the change we need. We must act now. "
Behind the global roadmap are prominent researchers from different parts of the world; Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some of the more prominent researchers behind the document are the British professor Dave Goulson, known for his books on ecology and pollinators, and Hans der Kroon from Radboud University in the Netherlands.
In summary, we can state that the overall state of knowledge shows that we need comprehensive measures at several levels to reverse the negative development. When it comes to food production, organic farming is part of the solution.
When organic farmers refrain from artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides, they benefit ecosystems, biodiversity and the climate. On organic farms, there is an average of 50 percent higher species richness of plants and pollinators. In addition, organic soils have a great potential to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they on average contain a larger proportion of carbon, thanks in part to grass cultivation in the crop rotation, use of manure and cultivation of intermediate crops.
Read more about how organic farming contributes to the global sustainability goals:
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