Bees: Conservation

(asked on 14th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what further steps his Department will take to prevent the decline in the bee population after the end of the transition period; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 22nd October 2020

Protecting pollinators is a priority for this Government. The National Pollinator Strategy is a 10-year plan published in November 2014, developed after a thorough review of the evidence base and wide consultation. It sets out how Government, conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers and researchers can work together to improve the status of pollinating insect species in England.

In 2019, alongside our research partners, we updated the evidence base supporting our action. We are therefore confident that we are focusing on the key risks to insect populations, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, inappropriate pesticide use, pests and disease and climate change.

Our Agriculture Bill introduces an ambitious new land management scheme, based on the principle of “public money for public goods”, which will allow us to reward farmers and land managers who protect our environment. The scheme will provide a powerful vehicle for achieving biodiversity and other natural environment goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan, including to improve the overall status of species groups such as pollinators. Our existing agri-environment scheme packages include measures to support pollinators, which have proved popular. We are looking to build on this popularity in the design of our new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme so that many more farmers and land managers can take positive action for pollinators and other farm wildlife.

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