Recommendations for EU Public consultation on an EU initiative for pollinators
As a recent Public consultation on an EU initiative for pollinators has been published. BeeLife’s team has reviewed the questionnaire and proposes a set of answers you may find below.
*Also find some extra notes at the end that help better understand BeeLife’s expert opinion.
*Notes on several points of the questionnaire:
4. The cost of protecting pollinators is only existent due to ourselves. Unsustainable agricultural practices, and other man-made factors are the ones responsible for the current situation.
5. The contribution of wild and domesticated pollinators depends on the context. They are both equally important and necessary in different contexts, rendering the question void of sense.
7. Agricultural intensification can’t be isolated from its parts nor its parts among themselves. Fertilisers, pesticides, monocultures are part of the whole in the agricultural system.
7.6 Diseases take more or less importance depending on the context. When and where they occur, they are important.
10. There is a distinction between policy definition and policy implementation and enforcement. Such distinction is not mentioned and is key for ensuring better conditions for pollinators in the EU.
13.3. There are many aspects of innovation which are to be helpful to pollinators. Ranging from technical to cultural, BeeLife stands for promoting innovative practices that benefit our bees’ health.
13.9. The definition of “combat” must be specified as control instead of eradicating. Considering combatting invasive species as ‘controlling’, BeeLife recognises its importance.