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PRODID:Amateur Entomologists' Society Events listings
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UID:20210325T000000-1055@amentsoc.org
SUMMARY:Protecting British Pollinators: Addressing Long Term Threats to Bees and Pollinators
LOCATION:Online
DESCRIPTION: Recent difficulties around the transportation of bee populations due to border constraints imposed by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic have underlined the increasing scarcity of native pollinators in Britain, and the potential threat this poses to the British agricultural industry. Three quarters of British crop species either rely on pollination for seed production, or benefit from it in increased yield and quality. However, the UK's honeybee population is insufficient to supply more than a third of agricultural demand for pollination services, according to the University of Reading. Wild bees and pollinators therefore play a vital role in crop pollination - but research suggests they have declined in diversity and occurrence over recent decades. Defra's 2020 biodiversity indicator for UK pollinators, measuring wild bees and hoverflies, shows a decline of 30% over the last 50 years; and a study from 2019 found that these pollinators have now disappeared from a quarter of the places in which they were observed in 1980. This symposium will therefore provide an opportunity for local authorities, environmental organisations, conservation practitioners, beekeepers, farmers, and other key stakeholders to analyse current government pollination policy, develop potential strategies to reverse the decline of British pollinators, and share best practice in the protection and management of bee populations.
DTSTAMP:20210525T121702
DTSTART:20210325T000000
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