Over one third of Northern Ireland’s bee species are under threat of extinction, Environment Minister Edwin Poots MLA has said on World Bee Day.
The Minister spoke as he launched two new initiatives in Northern Ireland aimed at protecting pollinators such as honeybees and hoverflies.
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme and All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021-2025 will allow communities, farmers and businesses to provide data and increase pollinator-friendly land management techniques.
Launching the initiatives at the premises of bee keeper Sam Baird in Couny Down.
Minister Poots said:
“Today is World Bee Day and it’s important that we raise awareness of our struggling bee population. Pollinating insects such as bees and hoverflies perform an important role in maintaining our natural habitats, and in providing essential pollination services that we rely on for some of our crops and our gardens.
“However, pollinators are declining at a worrying rate. This is mainly due to the reduction in the areas where they can nest and the amount of food our landscape provides for them. In particular, over a third of our bee species are threatened with extinction. That alarming statistic has led to numerous government and non-government organisations coming together to address the problem.
“I am therefore delighted to launch these new initiatives in Northern Ireland which demonstrate opportunities to support both UK and All-Ireland Pollinator strategies, and national and international partners. My Department is committed to supporting the delivery of actions to support conservation of pollinating insects.
“I encourage the public to contribute by taking part in the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme with a 10 minute Flower-Insect Timed Count survey.”
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme:
In order to assess the scale of declines and understand impacts, more evidence is required. By joining the UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (PMRP), which aims to establish how insect pollinator populations are changing, two new large-scale surveys have been established under the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme banner (PoMS). This relies on citizen science to gather data to improve our knowledge on a national level. This is delivered through Flower-Insect Timed Counts, a quick 10 minute count of general insects, and also more intensive 1 km square monitoring.
Northern Ireland is pleased to join this collaborative project, with other project partners across the UK. PoMS supports the UK Pollinator Strategy and contributes data to the UK Biodiversity Indicators. The survey app is available to members of the public at:
All Ireland Pollinator Plan
Following on from the first All-Ireland Pollinator Plan’s success over the last five years, this 2021-2025 plan sets out 186 actions to support pollinators. New areas include working more directly with communities, farmers, and businesses to increase pollinator-friendly land management.
The AIPP was the first cross–border pollinator initiative, and has subsequently gathered international recognition. The plan brings together over 100 statutory and non-government organisations and many other businesses and community level groups. All support the delivery of a range of actions across the themes; Providing Food, Shelter and Safety for bees.
DAERA have active representatives on the steering group, and have also directly adopted actions, such as pollinator friendly management of NIEA Country Parks, and pollinator options in Environmental Farming Scheme grants. These actions in turn form part of Northern Ireland’s nature recovery strategies.
Over the first five years (2015-2020), this plan built a solid foundation to bring about a landscape where pollinators can flourish. As species do not recognise county or national borders an All-Ireland strategy facilitates the protection of rare pollinator species and supports management of harmful invasive species. DAERA is pleased to announce further commitment with the launch of the next All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021-2025.
Further information about the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme can be found at:
Facts:
One third of 98 bee species are threatened with extinction in Ireland.
Declines in wildflower numbers subject our pollinating insects to risk of starvation.
Our tendency to tidy up the landscape rather than allowing wildflowers to grow along roadsides, field margins, and in parks and gardens is playing a big part in reducing these resources for bees.
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