The Welsh Government has announced plans to tackle the dwindling bee population in Wales.
Launched by Natural Resources Minister Alun Davies on Tuesday, the draft ‘Action Plan for Pollinators for Wales’ is in response to a 2011 survey which showed bee populations have been in steady decline across the UK for the last 30 years.
The decreasing population poses a threat to Wales’ wildlife, according to the Welsh Government, and could impact on food production capacity. Twenty percent of the UK cropped area is made up of pollinator dependent crops and a wide selection of flowering plants in Wales rely on insect pollination for reproduction.
Last summer the Welsh Government announced it would be taking action to protect the populations of honeybees, bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies and other pollinating insects in Wales.
Since then the Welsh Government has undertaken research, evidence gathering and close working with key partners, and has now set out its vision for protecting pollinators in Wales.
Speaking about the new action plan that is out for consultation, Alun Davies said: “We know that estimates put the value of pollinators to the UK at over £430 million per annum and that they provide a vital ecosystem service. However despite this pollinator populations have been on the decline for the last 30 years and if we don’t take prompt action this trend will continue.
“There has been a great deal of interest in our work to protect pollinator populations in Wales. The draft action plan sets out our vision for the best way forward and I would urge anyone with an interest to consider the content of the plan and feed back their comments.
“Pollinators are vital to our future health and well being so it is important that we all work together to get this plan right.”
The draft action plan looks at how the Welsh Government and its partners can promote diverse and connected flowering habitats across farmland, the wider countryside and in towns and cities. It also looks at how Welsh Government can support healthy pollinator populations and raise awareness of this important issue across Wales.
The Welsh Government presumably needs extra powers, like to ban sale of the insecticide blamed for the fall in bee numbers. You can bet that certain people – like Right-wing Tories – are not in favour of Cardiff having that power.