Environment approves a National Strategy to protect and promote pollinating insects

The Sectorial Environment Conference has approved the National Pollinator Strategy, articulated in 37 measures and six lines of action that will aim to recover these species, whose ecosystem service is valued, only in the Spanish countryside, at 2.4 billion euros yearly . These insects carry out the pollination of up to 78% of wild flowers in the European Union, and 84% in the case of crops . Despite their importance, the populations of these species have been drastically reduced in recent years.

This strategy of the ministry sets six areas of action:

• Conservation of threatened species and their habitats
• Promotion of favorable habitats
• Improvements in the management, and reduction of risks derived from pests, pathogens and invasive species
• Risk reduction derived from the use of phytosanitary products
• Research support
• Access to information and dissemination about its role in the conservation of biodiversity and economic activities such as agriculture

To meet these objectives, the Strategy details 37 measures that include, among others, the identification and conservation of the most threatened populations; the implementation of green infrastructures to conserve species and habitats or the integration, within the framework of Rural Development Programs, of specific actions related to the conservation of pollinator habitats in the context of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

It is also contemplated the improvement of natural and semi-natural habitats in agricultural environments through beneficial practices for the climate and the environment in the context of the current and future CAP; the promotion in beekeeping of the native breed Apis mellifera iberiensis for the conservation of genetic diversity; as well as the promotion of systems that minimize the exposure of pollinators to phytosanitary products, avoiding their dispersion and affecting strips of vegetation that are not the target of the treatment.

It should be recalled that the European Commission presented the EU Pollinator Initiative in 2018, which prompted the European Court of Auditors to publish an audit report on the protection of wild pollinators in the European Union. The National Strategy for the Conservation of Pollinators addresses all these antecedents and incorporates the relevant commitments in this matter from the new EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 and the EU Farm-to-Table Strategy.