Evidence direct to policy

Evidence direct to policy Management and drivers of change of pollinating insects and pollination services

MANAGEMENT ANDDRIVERS OF CHANGE OF POLLINATING INSECTS AND POLLINATION SERVICES National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England AUTHORS Deborah J Steele, Katherine C R Baldock, Tom D Breeze, Mark J F Brown, Claire Carvell, Lynn V Dicks, Mike P Garratt, Hannah Norman, Simon G Potts, Deepa Senapathi, Adam J Vanbergen. JANUARY 2019 Published by: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK https://bit.ly/NPSevidence2019

The evidence need National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England (2014) In 2014 Defra published a 10 year plan, core commitments: • Support pollinators on farmland • Support pollinators across towns, cities and the countryside • Enhance the response to pest and disease risk • Raising awareness of what pollinators need to survive and thrive • Improving evidence on the status of pollinators and the service they provide.

Timeline – 1 year 1. Define scope & approach – set questions 2. Gather team – talk together 3. Consult stakeholders - adjust approach 4. Draft / Aid & consolidate (54 pages) 5. External Peer Review 6. Evidence Statements & assign confidence (14 pages) 7. Panel of authors refine statements & choose main messages (3 pages) 8. Stakeholder & policy peer review 9. Publication

Set Policy relevant questions Examples • Have the abundance or distribution of different pollinator groups changed overall? If so, over what time period? And has the rate of change varied over time? • Are there any particular crops or geographic regions that are at risk of loss of quality or yield? • How effective has the creation of wild flower habitat in the UK been in improving the status of pollinators? • How successful are innovations to boost nesting opportunities for wild pollinators?

Update the evidence base Chapters • Status and trends of pollinators and pollinator dependent wild plants - Wild pollinators - Managed pollinators - Wild plants - Pollination service and pollinator dependent crops - Monitoring pollinators using DNA technologies • Values of Pollinators - Economic impact of pollinator populations - Social and cultural values of pollinators and pollination

Update the evidence base Chapters • Drivers of pollinator status & current and future risks - Land use - Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides • Climate change • Invasive alien species • Pests and diseases of bees • Effectiveness of management and policy for pollinators - Agriculture - Nature Conservation - Urban and Transport infrastructure - Beekeeping and pollinator management

Example main messages Status and trends – Wild pollinators • Past declines (1950s-1990) in species distributions of wild bees and hoverflies in the UK have slowed, but not ceased, since the 1990s, with the overall trend across species remaining downward (established but incomplete). Fluctuations notwithstanding, in the short-term (since 2010) trends in a number of species in these groups in the UK have stabilised (established but incomplete).

Example main messages Values of pollinators – Economic impacts of pollination service in the UK • Pollinators add substantial economic value to crop production through improving crop quality and quantity (well established). The economic benefits of pollination to crop production in the UK is approximately half a billion GBP a year, based on yield (established but incomplete). This estimate only considers direct benefits to current producer profit, and does not include additional economic benefits such as reduced prices for consumers, costs avoided, and natural capital benefits/losses.

Example main messages Drivers of status – Climate Change • Climate change has already altered the range (range contraction/poleward movement/higher elevations), abundance, and seasonal activity (overwintering behaviour) of some pollinator species, and will continue to do so; and range alteration is likely to increase in the coming decades (established but incomplete). The combination of climate change with other global change pressures (e.g. land-use changes, invasive alien/non-native species) are likely to pose significant future threats to pollinator communities (established but incomplete).

Example main messages Effectiveness of management – Agricultural Landscapes • Protection and restoration of flower rich semi-natural habitats (e.g. grasslands, heathlands and broadleaved woodland) will be more effective for improving the status of pollinators if targeted to landscapes with between 1 and 10% pre-existing flower-rich semi-natural habitat (established but incomplete).

Lessons Approach • Set policy relevant questions. • Consult stakeholders early. • Be flexible in format of information. Layout • Separate evidence gaps at the end of each section. Evidence Statements • Each sections should include all the information a policy maker needs to know.

How/where statements are used • Pollinator Strategy • Environment Land Management Scheme • Ministerial briefings

How/where statements are used • Reviewing our policy actions so far and developing future policy actions • Make links with other policy areas: agricultural/planning policy • Briefing, and writing speeches for ministers • Direct text in reports to be published • Lines and context for press • Supporting business cases: project funding, annual budgets • Responding to Public & Parliamentarian requests for information Deborah Steele – Defra, UK.

Evidence direct to policy