Quantifying the value of ecosystem services: A case study of bee pollination in the UK

Transcription

1 Quantifying the value of ecosystem services: A case study of bee pollination in the UK Gay Marris et al. (fera (National Bee Unit)) Glyn Jones (Agricultural Development and Advisory Service) Paul Mwebaze (Student International Development fera) Simon Potts and Tom Breeze (University of Reading UK)

2 What are ecosystem services? Ecosytem services various definitions, all relate to the natural environment providing goods and services fundamental to human wellbeing Examples Provision of O 2 through photosynthesis Nutrient recycling (N cycle, H 2 0 cycle) Flood prevention (woodland / saltmarsh) Seed distribution by wild birds Pollination

3 Why value ecosystem services? Without Ecosystem Services (ES) human society would not exist Since not easily valued, ES are undervalued If not valued, ES are overexploited, degraded ES need to be protected Policy designed to protect ES requires appropriate valuation

4 Project aim Estimate the value of bees to society by considering the contribution they make to ecosystem services through pollination

5 Pollination The process by which plant pollen is transferred from the male reproductive organs to the female reproductive organs to form seeds A pollinator is any agent that moves pollen from its source to the recipient flower The polleniser is the source of the pollen

6 Natural Pollinators The wind The rain Birds Mammals Insects

7 Insect Pollinator Statistics 84% of commercial crops are pollinated by insects One third of these are pollinated by Apis mellifera These include vegetables, oilseeds, legumes, fruits and fodder

8 In the UK the honey bee is the most important commercial pollinator NB. There are approx. 220 other species of bee in the UK that play an unmanaged and unmeasured role in crop pollination

9 Why put a value on Pollination service provided by bees? Justification for preservation of wild vegetation & improved conservation management Justification for bee R & D Consideration of pollination alternatives in face of declining bee numbers: WHAT IF??

10 Methods of economic evaluation Replacement Cost Scenarios Examine hypothetical situations in which a commodity that normally depends on bees for successful pollination must be pollinated entirely artificially, in the absence of any natural or managed pollinators, by some artificial means Contingent Valuation Uses socioeconomic survey of public attitudes to theoretical pollinator protection policy

11 Methods of economic evaluation Replacement Cost Scenarios Examine hypothetical situations in which a commodity that normally depends on bees for successful pollination must be pollinated entirely artificially, in the absence of any natural or managed pollinators, by some artificial means Contingent Valuation Uses socioeconomic survey of public attitudes to theoretical pollinator protection policy

12 Replacement Cost Scenario Suppose you have a crop production system that depends on bees for pollination Then suppose that ALL the pollinating bees are removed. Assuming that there are no other wild pollinators (birds, bees, flies etc.) waiting in the wings.. HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST TO POLLINATE BY MAN MADE MEANS?

13 Designing the Replacement Cost Scenario Step 1. Selecting an appropriate plant/bee system Plant is dependent on bees for successful pollination Measurable product arises as a result of bee pollination Step 2. Selecting an appropriate bee - substitute Must provide a level of pollination that is equivalent in quality & magnitude to the service provided by bees Must be the cheapest available alternative

14 STEP 1 Selecting an appropriate system

15 Apple trees are very dependent on bees for pollination Self infertile Apple pollen is heavy and sticky Apples trees rely on insects to carry pollen from flower to flower Poor pollination results in small, misshapen apples that are slow to ripen

16 Apple orchards are a major part of UK horticulture Industry Apple orchards (cover ~ 15,000ha) UK apple market worth ~ 320m Approximately one third of orchards grow dessert apples (others are for cooking or cider production) Several dessert apple varieties grown (e.g. Cox s Orange Pippin, Fiesta, Braeburn, Jonagold,, Royal Gala)

17 Using managed bees ensures reliable pollination Commercial orchards hire honey bee colonies to ensure sufficient pollination

18 STEP 2 Selecting an appropriate bee substitute

19 Man-assisted pollination Hand pollination of date palms (Assyria 870BC)

20 Methods of man-assisted pollination Rub flowers of desired crop plant with polleniser inflorescences Truss vibration - use of vibration devices to encourage movement of pollen from donor to recipient flowers Polliniser bouquets placed in orchard/field to serve as sources of donor pollen Caprification Bunches of wild figs hung in braches of domestic fig tree to facilitate pollination by fig wasps Hand Pollination - Collect pollen from donor plant and introduce it into flowers of recipient manually

21 Examples of artificially pollinated crops Hand pollinating vanilla Vanilla Orchids Figs Roses Cherimoya Grapes Oil palms Kiwi fruit Papaya Pistachio Pears Dates Olives Apples Hand pollinating roses

22 Hand pollination of apples Used where: Unfavourable weather conditions occur during critical flowering period Appropriate polleniser species are absent Pollinators are rare or absent

23 Hand pollination of apples Common practice in rural China (Sichuan Province), where all insect pollinators were eradicated due to long term, excessive application of chemical insecticides

24 Hand pollination of apples We can use the real facts and figures relating to the costs of hand pollination in China to develop an equivalent hypothetical scenario in dessert apple orchards in the UK

25 Chinese hand pollination method Anthers picked from polliniser flowers Anthers dried to release pollen grains Pollen grains diluted with flour/milk powder Pollination tool (bamboo stick and feather) used to transfer pollen into flowers of fruiting variety

26 Economics of hand-pollination in Chinese apples 2,830 ha of orchard yield 30,000 tonnes apples/year This is equivalent to 10.6 tonnes/ha/year Average smallholding has 0.2 ha planted area Average small holding yields 2.12 tonnes apples/year

27 Economics of hand-pollination in Chinese apples It takes 20 people 1 day to pollinate an average smallholding It will take 20 man-days to pollinate enough trees to produce 2.12 tonnes of apples The hand pollination rate for apples can be expressed as 9.43 man-days/tonne

28 Economics of hand-pollination in English dessert apples - I Assumptions: UK hand pollinators work at same speed as those in China Working day is 10 hours long Paid minimum hourly rate of 5.73/h (HM Revenue and Customs 2008) Then, the Replacement Cost of pollinating sufficient trees to produce 1 tonne of apples is: 10 h x 5.73 x 9.43 man-days = /tonne

29 Economics of hand-pollination in English dessert apples - II Current annual production of dessert apples is 129,300 tonnes (Defra 2008) Value of these home produced apples is 56,070,000 (Defra 2008) This sum is equivalent to /tonne If the RC/tonne of hand pollination is expressed as a percentage of the market value of dessert apples:

30 Economics of hand-pollination in English dessert apples - III If the RC/tonne of hand pollination is expressed as a percentage of the market value of dessert apples: is 125% of This means that, to maintain the status quo, the price of each individual dessert apple would need to rise by 125%

31 In the absence of bees, hand pollination doubles the cost of an average UK dessert apple

32 Cost of hand pollination versus cost of using managed pollinators Apple pollination requires 1 hive / ha Yield of dessert apples is around t /ha Cost of hive hire approximately 42 /hive Hence cost of pollination using managed bees is approx /t Hand pollination would cost 320 times as much as using managed honey bee hives

33 Methods of economic evaluation Replacement Cost Scenarios Examine hypothetical situations in which a commodity that normally depends on bees for successful pollination must be pollinated entirely artificially, in the absence of any natural or managed pollinators, by some artificial means Contingent Valuation Uses socioeconomic survey of public attitudes to theoretical pollinator protection policy

34 Designing the questionnaire 1. Supply interviewee with some basic facts about importance of pollinating bees 2. Introduce concept of an ideal policy that, if implemented, would effectively preserve bee no.s at present levels 3. Pose questions about: Whether they would pay to support such a policy? How much they would pay? Who should pay? 4. Additional questions re. personal status: Household income? No. of dependents? Age/gender Education?

35 Carrying out the survey Great Yorkshire Show Reading University campus Fera colleagues (scientific and other) Family and friends Fera training events Beekeeper groups Required no. of responses 300 No. obtained - 345

36 Contingent Valuation - Results 85% of interviewees were aware of declining no.s of pollinating bees

37 Contingent Valuation - Results 85% of interviewees were aware of declining no.s of pollinating bees 64% of interviewees were willing to pay to maintain bee populations

38 Contingent Valuation - Results 85% of interviewees were aware of declining no.s of pollinating bees 64% of interviewees were willing to pay to maintain bee populations Most interviewees believed that the Government (28%) or the Government in partnership with industry (53%) should pay public good

39 Contingent Valuation - Conclusions Based on the results of our survey, the mean willingness to pay to support the bee protection policy was: 1.37*/week/household (* 1.37 = 1.57)

40 What can you get for 1.37?

41 Contingent Valuation - Conclusions Based on the results of our survey, the mean willingness to pay to support the bee protection policy was: 1.37/week/household There are 24.9 million households in the UK, and 52 weeks in a year: Equivalent to 1.77 billion p.a.

42 What can you get for 1,770,000,000?

43 In Summary The study places two very different economic values on pollinating bees Remember that economic studies have to be based on assumptions Results should not be seen as carved in stone but hopefully provide food for thought

44 Acknowledgements Mildred Reiners, Holly Richardson, Kate Parker,Selwyn Wilkins and Ben Jones (NBU); Andrew Cuthbertson, Helen Anderson, Paul Mwebaze (Fera); Simon Potts, Thomas Breeze and Alison Bailey (University of Reading); Colleagues, family, friends, and everyone else who generously gave up their time to respond to the pollination survey.