Green NGOs appeal for bee decline to be tackled at CHOGM

Environmentalists have urged Commonwealth leaders to use the upcoming CHOGM summit as a platform from which to tackle the global decline in bee populations.

A report drafted by Friends of the Earth Malta, Friends of the Earth UK and the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council calls on Commonwealth leaders to develop national bee action plans, including policies to address pollination as a food security issue and to support bee abundance in urban areas.

They also recommended the establishment of a Commonwealth-wide programme to record bee populations, as well as further investment in university courses to provide more pollinator experts.

Addressing a conference at the Institute of Tourism Studies, Paul de Sylva from FOTE UK said that the annual economic value of wild and managed pollination stood at €153 billion in 2005, a figure that is likely to have increased significantly since.

"Bees and other creatures pollinate over 87% of plant species, that we then use for food, medicine and livestock feed," he said. "However, worrying evidence shows that bees are declining across the world, particularly due to habitat loss but also exacerbated by pesticides and climate change."

On a local level, MCAST agriculture lecturer Mario Balzan said that the annual economic value of pollination in Malta stands at around €8 million, equivalent to 15% of the value of the total agricultural production.

"Several local crops including peaches, melon, watermelon, bambinelli, strawberries, and tomatoes are dependent on natural pollination," he said.

"As stewards of the environment, it is our moral obligation to reverse this decline. Failure to address bee decline could deal a heavy blow to farmers, as well as on Malta's tourism industry, given that several tourists are attracted by Malta's natural landscapes."

Environment minister Leo Brincat was originally supposed to address the conference, but he dropped out due to further commitments the day before, instead sending a ministry representative to deliver a few words in a speech that lasted under a minute.