The Conservation and Use of Pollinator Diversity

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Lawrence Isaac Warren
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1 The Conservation and Use of Pollinator Diversity

2 Definition of ecosystem services the benefits provided by ecosystems to humans in the context of Food, Fiber and Fuel production these include: Nutrient cycles Soil processes Water cycles, water quality Pollination Pest and disease suppression Invasion resistance Carbon sequestration Aesthetic, cultural and spiritual values

3 Importance of Pollination Services

4 Importance of Pollination Services 80% of flowering plant species are highly dependent on animal vectors for successful reproduction

5 Greater dependence on animal vectors for pollination in the tropics (Bawa 1990)

6 Importance of Pollination Services Insect pollinators: 20,000 - species of bees together with moths, flies, wasps, beetles and butterflies. Vertebrate pollinators include geckos, bats, monkeys, rodents, lemur, tree squirrels, and birds.

10 Importance of Pollination Services The contribution of foodstuffs for which pollinators are important: To the diets of people living on minimal calories To the diets of people below the poverty level

11 Importance of Pollination Services The contribution of pollinators to yield and quality

12 Trends in Bumble Bee Tongue Lengths There is no question that bee populations are suffering around the world

13 "What escapes the eye... is a much more insidious kind of extinction: the extinction of ecological interactions. Daniel H. Janzen

14 What have we learned about the characteristics of Pollination Services as an Ecosystem Function?

15 Characterisation of Pollination Services as an Ecosystem Function Patterns of Biodiversity: Conventional Wisdom

16 Patterns of Bee Diversity

17 Pollen limitation more severe in biodiversity hotspots (Vamosi et al. 2006)

originally; Healthy pollination services

18 Pollination syndromes and robustness: Generalization is the norm in plant-pollinator interactions Syndrome and blossom class from Sprengel originally; Healthy pollination services are best ensured by an abundance and diversity of pollinators

19 Greater role than expected in ecosystem architecture/design While large mammals may be considered bulldozer herbivores or ecosystem architects - rearranging and consuming vast quantities of low energy material Elephants, Tsavo National Park

Greater role than expected in ecosystem architecture/design Stingless bees nesting in Commiphora, Kitui, Kenya Bees are high end recycling centers

20 Greater role than expected in ecosystem architecture/design Stingless bees nesting in Commiphora, Kitui, Kenya Bees are high end recycling centers Considering that pollen is high in protein and nectar is high in energy, the ability of bees to redistribute high-value material within ecosystems is considerable.

21 Lack of conventional density dependence

22 Greater richness in disturbed/agricultural environments Kakamega Forest, western Kenya Cumulative # bee species by successional gradient (Gikungu 2006)

23 Different models for protected areas for pollinators

24 Different models for protected areas for pollinators

25 What have we learned about the characteristics of Managing Pollination Services for Human livelihoods?

Assessing Pollination Needs Simple field-based methodology, comparing optimum levels of pollination service with current levels Realistic for farmers, whole

26 Assessing Pollination Needs Simple field-based methodology, comparing optimum levels of pollination service with current levels Realistic for farmers, whole plant as an experimental unit Modification and application to a circumstances in developing countries: small fields, home gardens, and high environmental variability.

Ghana by 35%, improve production of mustard seed in Nepal

27 Better management practices to ensure abundant pollinators have been shown to increase fruit set in mango orchards in Ghana by 35%, improve production of mustard seed in Nepal by 25%, and increase the canola oil content in Brazil by 8%

28 Managing cropassociated biodiversity is closely linked to pesticide management Simple methodology to assess the context of pesticide exposure for bees, applied in Kenya, Brazil and the Netherlands

29 Apple growers in India now understand that small black flies are important crop pollinators, not crop pests

30 Managing landscapes for pollinators Through identification of best practices And development of community-based management plans

31 Garden egg producers in Ghana have adapted the hedgerow concept to address food security concerns

32 Community Pollination Management Plan Kilimambogo, Kenya Farmers have chosen to produce Acacia and Croton tree seedlings nursery to reforest nearby National Park, for pollinator forage

33 Building on Traditional Knowledge In cultures throughout the world, social bees have been honoured through picture and song, appreciated for the production of honey, and amongst some cultures revered as magical or even divine.

appreciation of wild pollinators is often greatest when they nest

34 Characterisation of Pollination Services as an Ecosystem Function: Status of Traditional Knowledge Communities understanding and appreciation of wild pollinators is often greatest when they nest in human- made structures:

35 Characterisation of Pollination Services as an Ecosystem Function: Status of Traditional Knowledge Communities understanding and appreciation of wild pollinators is often greatest when they nest in human- made structures: Apis cerana, Eastern honey bee, in northern India)

36 Long tradition of making space for wall hives in stone and brick houses, with an entrance hole on the outside... (Apis cerana, Eastern honey bee, in northern India)

37 And an opening inside the house, only deep enough for the bee keeper to reach in... (Apis cerana, Eastern honey bee, in northern India)

38 Harvest honey as needed and reseal the hive... Bees are known to survive winter better in wall hives, than in freestanding hives or wild colonies. But there are less and less of these traditional, thick-walled houses

39 Hive innovations in Himachal Pradesh, to mimic traditional houses and building techniques (Apis cerana, Eastern honey bee, in northern India)

We can improve the way we live together with that biodiversity.

40 In multiple ways farming landscapes host a large share of the world s biodiversity, much that is extremely critical to human livelihoods. We can improve the way we live together with that biodiversity. Thank you! Tools and documents available on:

IMPLICATIONS OF THE IPBES ASSESSMENT ON POLLINATORS, POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION FOR THE WORK OF THE CONVENTION Note by the Executive Secretary

IMPLICATIONS OF THE IPBES ASSESSMENT ON POLLINATORS, POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION FOR THE WORK OF THE CONVENTION Note by the Executive Secretary CBD Distr.: GENERAL UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/20/9 2 March 2016 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE Twentieth meeting Montreal, Canada, 25 30 April 2016 Item 7 of