Protect the little helpers

Protect the little helpers

In all over India’s agrarian plains, plantations and orchards, millions of birds, bats and insects toil to pollinate crops. The article discusses the growing concern over declining population of different species of pollinators

Pollination and Importance of pollinators

Pollination is the natural phenomena of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma. The goal of every living organism, including plants, is to create offspring for the next generation. One of the ways that plants can produce offspring is by making seeds. In 2015, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) established that pollinators lead to huge agricultural economic gains. According to the report, estimated pollinator contribution in India to be $0.831-1.5 billion annually for just six vegetable crops.

Why pollinators are declining?

The best evidence of specific pollinator decline is seen in the western honey bee, Apis mellifera L., the primary commercial pollinator of agricultural crops in North America and the most widely used, actively managed pollinator in the world. The decline in pollinator population is largely due to anthropogenic activity such as Clearance of large tracts of natural habitats. Overuse of pesticides and fertilisers- According to a University of Calcutta study, native Indian bees, when exposed to multiple pesticides, suffer from memory and olfactory impairment, lower response rates, and oxidative stress which damages cells.

In Kashmir, researchers have said that lowering yields of apple trees has been due to the declining frequency of bee visits. Researchers assume that in north India, lowering yields of mustard cultivation may have been caused by disappearing pollinators.

International Initiatives to protect pollinators

Internationally a lots of initiatives on pollinators are carried out by different actors. FAO coordinates and supports various aspects of these international initiatives, including the International Pollinators Initiative 2.0 (IPI 2.0).  In 2014-15, U.S. established a Pollinator Health Task Force and a national strategy that focussed on increasing the monarch butterfly population. It planted native species and flowers in more than 28,000 sq km to attract pollinators. U.K. has developed 23 key policy actions under its National Pollinator Strategy.

What should India do?

India has millions of hectares of reserve forests, some of which have been converted to pulpwood plantations. Much of this can be restored to become thriving homes for pollinators. The same can be done in gram panchayat levels. Fallow areas and government land can be used to plant flowering species for pollinators. The government should formulate a policy of direct payment support to farmers to provide buffer strips for pollinators for nectar- and pollen-rich plants. Further, fallow areas and government land can be used to plant flowering species for pollinators.