Caring for Pollinators - Bundesamt für Naturschutz

Ssymank Highlights - Zusammenfassung
5. Highlights
Considering the functional importance of pollinators in ecosystems worldwide, the pollinator
decline due to climate change and other causes with the risk of a major reduction in pollination
capacity, the FAO 2008 first Rapid Assessment of Pollinators’ Status Report
(http://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/sbstta/sbstta-13/other/sbstta-13-fao-pollinators-en.pdf) the
functional and economic importance of pollinators in all ecosystems worldwide, the presentations
and discussion reiterated and stressed the following:
1. a reinforcement of studies on pollination ecology
• Reinforcement of fundamental taxonomic research, in order to reduce the large number
of pollinators that remain undescribed or virtually unknown, even in the most
"well-studied" regions:
• The recognition of Hymenoptera and Diptera as the most important pollinator groups
and flower visiting insects among a number of other pollinator groups;
• Build determination tools/ keys for all key pollinator groups
• Reinforcement of studies on pollination ecology (both in fundamental & applied research)
• Enhancement and completion of information on pollinator species, their ecology and
functional interactions as a necessary basis for assessing pollination services and to
maintain biodiversity
• to systematically expand applied pollinator research to all crops (including regional
crops)
2. greater capacity-building
• Greater capacity-building in institutions and higher levels of human resource development
and training;
• Maintenance and reinforcement of the activities of the existing pollinator initiatives,
based on a review of the ongoing projects around the world;
• Expansion of the activities of pollination initiatives to cover all major ecosystems & all
major pollinator groups;
• Creating a Non-Bee Pollinator Initiative/ Action Group and to put more emphasis on
so far neglected groups like the Diptera.
3. improved awareness and networking on pollinator issues;
• The global economic importance of pollinators to sustainable crop production (food,
biofuels, animal-feed-stuffs);
• Awareness of pollination services to the maintenance of the diversity of medical
plants and to plant diversity as a whole;
• Improved communication, education and public awareness and networking on pollinator
issues
• Greater financial support and more political awareness for taxonomic initiatives relating
to pollinator biodiversity, in cooperation with the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI)
• systematic assessment of the value of pollination services for all major pollinator
groups
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