London, United Kingdom
April 20, 2009
Source:
United Kingdom government
Up to £10 million is to be
invested to help to identify the main threats to bees and other
insect pollinators, under a major project announced today.
Pollinators - including honey and bumble bees, butterflies and
moths - play an essential role in putting food on our tables
through the pollination of many vital crops. These insects are
susceptible to a variety of disease and environmental threats,
some of which have increased significantly over the last five to
ten years. Climate change, in particular warmer winters and
wetter summers, has had a major impact on pollinators.
As a result, the numbers of pollinators have been declining
steadily in recent years, with the number of bees in the UK
alone falling by between 10 and 15 per cent over the last two
years.
To gain a better understanding of why this is happening, some of
the UK's major research funders have joined together to launch
an important new research programme.
The biggest challenge will be to develop a better understanding
of the complex relationships between biological and
environmental factors which affect the health and lifespan of
pollinators.
The funding will be made available to research teams across the
UK under the Living With Environmental Change (LWEC)
partnership, the major initiative by UK funders to help the UK
respond effectively to changes to our environment. This is a
joint initiative from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council (BBSRC), Defra, the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC), the Wellcome Trust and the Scottish
Government.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said:
"Aristotle identified bees as the most hard working of insects,
and with one in three mouthfuls coming from insect-pollinated
crops, we need to support bees and other pollinators.
"I announced in January that Defra would put an extra £2m into
research funding, and I am delighted our partners have agreed to
boost this to up to £10m.
"This funding will give some of Britain's world-class
researchers the chance to identify the causes of the decline
we're seeing in bee numbers, and that will help us to take the
right action to help."
Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC Chief Executive:
"We are facing a fundamental problem with the decline of bees
and other pollinators. They have an absolutely crucial role in
pollinating many of our important crops. Without effective
pollination we will face higher food costs and potential
shortages. This programme will help us to understand why numbers
have decreased and the steps we could take to reverse this.
Complex problems such as this require a modern systems biology
approach, a strategy at the core of BBSRC's vision. This will
also feed into BBSRC's wider food security research programme
which aims to deliver the science necessary to provide the
nutritious and affordable food we need for the future."
Professor Alan Thorpe, Chief Executive of NERC:
"Through the Pollinator Initiative, the LWEC partners will
address what is a complex multidisciplinary problem. We need to
conduct research that will help us to understand the links
between bees and other pollinators and the range of
environmental factors that affect them in various ways. This
research will provide vital insights into why there has been a
steep decline in these insect populations in recent years and
help us to find solutions to the problem."
Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust:
"It is extremely important that we move swiftly to understand
and try to reverse the decline in the populations of bees and
other pollinating insects. The devastating effect that this
decline may have on our environment would almost certainly have
a serious impact on our health and wellbeing. Without
pollinating insects, many important crops and native plants
would be severely harmed."
Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary of the Scottish Government:
"It is vital that we increase our understanding of the issues
affecting populations of bees and other pollinators such as
wasps, butterflies and beetles and in particular whether these
are due to climate change. The impact these insects have on our
rural industries, such as the soft fruit sector, and on plant
biodiversity across Scotland cannot be under-estimated. Any
reduction in numbers could have catastrophic consequences not
just for our environment but also for our economy. I welcome
this initiative and am confident the results of the programme
will enhance our knowledge and help prevent further declines in
bee numbers."
Elin Jones, Minister for Rural Affairs of the Welsh Assembly
Government:
"Honeybees and other pollinators are vital for local food
production, which is the key to environmentally sustainable
farming. By working with the other partners in this initiative
Defra have shown their commitment to safeguarding the population
of the honeybee in the UK."
The funding programme will be administered through BBSRC. The
NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology will provide post-award
coordination for the programme and contribute special expertise
in long-term and large-scale ecology that will strengthen the
research effort.
Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) is a collaborative
partnership involving the UK research councils, business and
policy-making organisations and was launched on 18th June 2008.
LWEC will invest £1 billion over five years in programmes to
address national and international needs arising from the pace,
magnitude and extent of climate and other types of environmental
change. It has about 20 active lines of research in train
already. http://www.lwec.org.uk
About the partners
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
(BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life
sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around
£420 million in a wide range of research that makes a
significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens
and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders
including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and
pharmaceutical sectors. BBSRC carries out its mission by funding
internationally competitive research, providing training in the
biosciences, fostering opportunities for knowledge transfer and
innovation and promoting interaction with the public and other
stakeholders on issues of scientific interest in universities,
centres and institutes.
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk
Defra is the UK government department with an overarching
challenge to secure a healthy environment in which we and future
generations can prosper. As we build a low carbon, resource
efficient economy, Defra helps people to adapt to changes, deals
with environmental risks and makes the most of the opportunity
we now have to secure a sustainable society and a healthy
environment. Research and analysis is at the heart of good
policymaking at Defra. Every year Defra spends around £300
million on research, which includes a range of social and
natural science disciplines. These activities provide evidence
for decision-making, help us find new policy solutions and help
us to identify and tackle future issues.
http://www.defra.gov.uk
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funds
world-class science, in universities and its own research
centres, that increases knowledge and understanding of the
natural world. It is tackling major environmental issues such as
climate change, biodiversity and natural hazards. NERC receives
around £400 million a year from the government's science budget,
which is used to provide independent research and training in
the environmental sciences.
http://www.nerc.ac.uk
The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds
innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally,
spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest
scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports
public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health
and wellbeing.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
The Scottish Government provides funding of around £70 million
on an annual basis towards a wide range of environmental,
biological and agricultural research. A large proportion of this
research is carried out by the Macaulay, Scottish Crop, Rowett
and Moredun Research Institutes as well as Scottish Agricultural
College and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. It also supports the
Fisheries Research Services and the Scottish Agricultural
Science Agency and the scientific work of SEPA and SNH. More
information on the Scottish Government research programmes can
be found at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/srg.
The Welsh Assembly Government's role is to exercise functions
devolved to Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government is responsible
for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of
Wales, including the economy, health, education, local
government and rural affairs. The Welsh Assembly Government
supports the countryside and rural communities, encouraging the
sustainable management of agriculture and the environment. For
further information please visit
www.wales.gov.uk |
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